Day 5
The drive to Grenada was absolutely gorgeous. We went through much more mountainous ranges & curvy roads with tunnels.We finally arrived at our destination in Granada for the entire day: The Alhambra. This was a large area of multiple sites consisting of grounds where this area's kings lived and constructed Moorish buildings to depict "paradise on Earth."
First we toured the beautiful gardens
amphitheater
the country estate
all of the buildings at Alhambra had this intricate detailing in its architecture...
Amy (my sister-in-law, in case you don't already know :) )
Then we went to the other side of the property that was once protected behind the city walls & a moat...
This large square building was actually the new Palace (built in 16th century for Charles V)
& we were shocked when we got inside to discover that it was circular, like a coliseum, and didn't have a roof. The original plan included a domed center roof, but the Palace was never finished & left as it stands today (thankfully it didn't fall into ruins)
Next was the original Palace grounds, Casa Reales, (14th century) that had the same plaster detailings everywhere as in the picture I posted before
incredible ceilings
gardens
view down to the city below
We ate lunch on the property & went to every little local shop there was...
From here you could see the Sierra Nevadas.... where you can drive 30 minutes up to fresh white ski slopes and then 40 minutes over the mountain to sunny hot beaches. How cool is that?
yet another wonderful day exploring whatever Spain had to offer us!
4 comments:
the color in all your pics makes me feel like i can jump into them or "take them out of there and see it" like bennett always wants to do with things he sees on tv or computer :) loving these posts ee!
I want to go to the Alhambra! I agree with Nat, the colors are so vibrant, and those gardens are gorgeous!
Oh my, the gardener in me is smiling! I love these photos.
Hi Erin! After stumbling across your blog a while back from a friend-of-a-friend, I love checking back and reading your posts. I just caught up on this trip and your pictures are AMAZING!! They made me start itching to take a trip soon! I spent 2 weeks in Madrid, Barcelona & Pamplona a few years back and your pictures and descriptions reminded me so much of what a wonderful trip that was! Thanks!
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