Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Alhambra, 2013, Part The First

From Toledo we drove down La Mancha, high and dry country, toward Granada, the plains giving way to more hilly and then mountainous features. Olive groves everywhere, but nothing to compare with Greece's Sea of Olives near Mt. Parnassus. Anyhow, we reached Granada in fine order and found our old friend Camping Reina Isabella, rather fuller than at our last visit. Our 2nd night there, there were only 4 vacant spaces left. Mostly northern Europeans heading back home, we surmise.

The Alhambra is Vicki's favorite Moorish spot. We visited in January of 2010, and I recall posting several items. I'll do fewer this time, but allowing for the fact that April is a wonderful time to visit this world class site; everything is in bloom. January was not.

As everyone knows, the Alhambra is divided into four distinct areas: Adventure Land, Frontier Land, Tomorow Land...wait, no. That's the old fortress, the Alcazar, the Nazrid Palace (the truly Moorish part), Charles V's Palace, and the Generalife, which is the garden/summer palace and not an insurance company.

We begin with the old fortress and views from it.
Old fortress; as I said, everything is in bloom














View from the fortress; newer Granada














Older Granada














Sierra Nevada, at the base of which Granada sits














Wisteria on the Alcazar


















From the Alcazar, looking back to the Nasrid (ancient kings
of  men, neither living nor dead; wait, no, that's the Nazgul)
and Charles V's palace















You just know the builder of this place, Charles V, is going
to to go on and build something really cheery, like the
Escorial
















Inside the unfinished Palace


















Everything in bloom

1 comment:

Tawana said...

We were there in May and there were still lots of blooms...lots of roses. The mountains still had snow on the tip tops...not nearly as much as in your photos now.
Gosh, we may have to go back again, too. Love your photos.