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