Sunday 19th May Granada 

The Alhambra - how marvellous to be here, to have a three hour tour with a local guide, was a wonderful thing. We visited the Alcazaba, which was the more military area





Entry was through this gateway, it was quite spartan, with ruins of where the high ranking soldiers lived, but it provided some wonderful viewpoints over Granada and other areas of the Alhambra and surroundings.

The Granada cathedral is unmistakeable, we are staying close by to that, Didn’t go inside but did go to the Royal Chapel where the tombs of Isabel and Ferdinand are placed. They are called the catholic monarchs - titles bestowed upon them by the pope - because they rid Spain of the Moors in 1492, and Granada became their Capital, They obviously appreciated the beauty of the Alhambra and used it as their palace, 


Then we entered the Nasrid palace where most of the photos are taken, with all the Moorish decoration and a little bit from the Catholic Monarchs, not sure I photographed any of that though!







And there’s more! Believe me I have edited out a lot - it was just so beautiful and a perfect day to visit and a guide who didn’t speak English as fast as they speak Spanish!





Alterations were made by Charles 5th - the holy Roman emperor, who built a palace there although he never lived in it, it has been repurposed as museums, art galleries, shop, concert venue and administration etc.  Napoleon’s armies destroyed some areas and looted it in the early 19th century - they seemed to be good at that … The Rainbow Warrior ! 


We then visited the Generalife - pronounced Heneralifay - sort off, this was mostly exterior gardens and a place for the Moorish court to go when it was super hot. Lovely views back to The Alhambra on the way!



We could see snow on the top of the Sierra Neva mountains as we walked up to the Generalife.






Then it was a walk back down the hill to the city through a beautiful wood and shops for another Granada ice cream before reaching the Hotel!






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