Alhambra Itself

We've skirted around and about the Alhambra. We explored the free areas pretty early in our visit, but waited until after the holidays to go through the ticketed areas. We are trying our best to avoid crowds, and the ticketed areas are the most indoors and congested. Unfortunately, the holidays here just seem to go on and on.... New Years is immediately followed by Reconquest Day, then Tres Migos, then Epiphany. 

When we finally entered the Nasrid Palaces and gardens, we also did the Generalife. But then we returned a second day to go to the Alcazaba, because it was socked in with fog our first day. We also circled back into the Alhambra Museum inside the Charles V Palace. I can see the tourist experience doing all this in one day as a necessity, but spreading it over three days was delightful. We got to sink in and really enjoy it. 

The gardens were quite a surprise. It's January and a bit barren, but roses and irises and snowdrops were blooming. The horror of ornamental kale is found here too. The orange trees lured us in and I peeled one of the fruits. Brian took a big bite and I'm lucky I was standing to the side, else he would have spit all over me. SO SOUR. I, wisely, only nibbled mine.

The artistry of the Alhambra is the major draw. The tiles and the woodwork and all the amazing architecture. Now that we have enjoyed this, we are all cued up to see Morocco and enjoy the same, without the Catholic overlay.

Alcazaba in the Fog

Brian in the Nasrid

Brian in the Generalife (post-orange)

Lucy in the Alcazaba (still foggy)

The towers of the Nasrid Palace

The Gardens of the Nasrid - they knew water

View from the Nasrid to the Generalife

Love among Topiary

Rosas

Bouganville and bright sun

The Charles V Palace

Back to the Alcazaba in the sunshine

The Alcazaba Belltower that rang all of 2 January. And yes, Brian lost his sunglasses in Philadelphia.

A few more observations: the Alhambra cats are delightful. The Wine Gate is a lie (no wine). And we had to show our passports to get to six different parts of the monument. We literally have only shown our passports at the airport before now. Bizarre.

~Lucy

Cementerio de Granada

Yes, everyone comes to Granada for the Alhambra. But if you go uphill east of the Alhambra, past the ticket sellers, car parks, up up up….you get to a really, really great cemetery. It has it all. Water features. Statuary and cool engravings. Orange, olive, cypress, topiary, and some other unidentified tree with an amazing scent. View points that look out to the snowy Sierra Nevada Mountains. An elevator – the first I have ever seen in a cemetery. Collective burial sites for members of religious orders. Memorials to those killed by Franco. History remembered. 

I'm a sucker for topiary.

The elevator in the cemetery - we opted to take it up, not down.

Franco's Victims - Remembered

Yes, I'm a little pink. Did I mention this is up a big hill?

And smack in the middle – a 13th century archaeological site. I swear, if they had tucked a library into a corner I would still be there. All my favorite things. 

 

Archaeological site, cypresses, and a view of the snowy Sierras.

Plus Brian and an olive tree.

Of course, it is also full of people (dead ones). The cemetery dates to the mid-to-late 1800s (long before Vatican II), so the majority of the gravesites are wall niches. Newer areas include columbaria for those who chose cremation. Since we visited just after Christmas there were flowers everywhere. Except for those spots slapped with the threatening sticker: rent due. 

Walls of niches, well decorated.

 

"You must pay the rent, I can't pay the rent!"

If you aren’t familiar with that situation, many European grave sites are rentals only. None of this “in perpetuity” nonsense. If your family and friends opt to not renew your lease, out you go. There are real concerns in the US funeral industry that with the Boomer generation nearing its expiration date, there are not nearly enough burial sites available. Expenses are already high and will get worse. The shift to cremation has lessened the pressure, but not nearly enough. Keep your eyes on that industry to see some real innovations in the coming years. 

In the meantime, this is a pretty sweet place to be planted.

A little more topiary to round it out.

 ~Lucy

More Granada

So with the holidays already here we really need to upload some of these photos already!!!

So we arrived in Granada a couple of weeks ago and loved that our little place had a pocket view of the Alhambra.

Our view upon arrival.

About a week later we woke up to some noise that we weren't quite sure of. It turned out it was an electric tree trimmer.

Here is the result:

View 2.0. A bit of an improvement.

We have not been disappointed by the civil authorities here in Granada. Kudos on the welcoming committee.

The last couple of weeks in Madrid were quite wet, so much so there was flooding in the Metro the day we left for Granada. We unknowingly avoided it, thankfully. Our 4 1/2 hour bus ride down was a bit wet but uneventful, the way we like it. We had a couple of cloudy and damp days upon arrival but since then it has been sunny and warm. We can see why there are so many expats here.

We have been out walking quite a bit to get our bearings and see some of the sights. Here are a few.

A view of the Alhambra from just above our place.

Our first really nice day. We could finally see the fresh snow on the Sierra Nevada from Mirador de San Nicolas.

Mirador de San Nicolas. Thank goodness it's the "slow" season.

This person had a small "Alhambra" in their yard.

‎⁨Mirador de San Cristobal⁩ looking over Granada

Mirador de San Miguel

They bought a stove for lunch or the hooka, not sure which though?

Taking a breather at the top of the hill.

Lucy loved the "Matchstick Men" aka Nutcrackers.

Flowers in December?

 

 

~ Brian

Granada

We’ve arrived in Granada, our home for the next month. We've been here for over a week, but are behind in blogging. As I admitted to Annie, when I was last blogging I was traveling (mostly) solo so blogging was a good way of writing home and downloading my brain. Sharing travels with Brian, a lot of the reactions are shared. So it feels less urgent to write it all down. Nevertheless, an update!

 

I know Granada is hugely touristy (the Alhambra is the most visited site in Spain, etc), but I’m already liking it better than Madrid. For one, our apartment is larger, has a better shower and hot water delivery, a better kitchen, etc. We have a view of the Alhambra from our dining room table. The air smells like cypress trees. We’re on a car-free street in the El Albaicin neighborhood, which is largely car-free anyway.

 

Of course, I’d hate being here in August in the heat and crowds, but right now it’s magical. The day after our arrival we went to the Arabian baths. Brian found an early bird special – 40% off if you went on a weekday before 4pm. Um, fine? The hammam was delightful. It was also Brian’s first full body massage. Plus we enjoyed four pools of different temperatures, a steam room, hot stones, candles, Arabian tiles, and mint tea. Just wonderful. We’re definitely eyeing the possibilities in Morocco in January….

 

 

~Lucy