Granada and the Alhambra

Coming into Granada...the Sierra Nevadas covered with snow.

Some of the artwork in the palace

the courtyard

The intricate detail on the ceiling

One of the towers

It looks like a kangaroo in stones on a pathway in the Generalife

Another courtyard

Looking out over Granada

Another stone pattern

Right at the top of the hill

Walking through the gardens

After reading all the information we could find on the Alhambra, we decided to make it an afternoon visit from 2-6pm even though the morning visit is from 8.30am-2pm for the same entry fee. We arrived much earlier and purchased tickets. Kiryn and Lorelle paid cash and were allowed in at 1pm, Elizabeth and I paid by credit card and weren’t allowed in until 2pm! We thought we’d wander the gardens for the next hour or so as were weren’t allowed into the Palaces until 2.30! Nope, we were not allowed in at all! We met an English guy who said there’s not guard on the side gate but by the time we got there, its guard had returned. He tried to distract the security guard in conversation but failed so we were once again told to get out. The guy and his girlfriend then said we could walk right down the end of the road and get in that way which we did. We managed to buy a couple of postcards just as the shop was closing at 1.30pm.  It’s another public holiday! They seem to follow us around. It was a public holiday the day we arrived in Corboba and everything was closed which is why we ended up ordering hamburgers, which were delivered to our room.

We felt like criminals avoiding the security guards whenever we could. I dashed into a toilet, took off my coat and headband and messed up my hair in case the guards at the top radioed down to the guards at the bottom. At 2pm we lined up for the Palaces and got to the front of the line at 10 past 2, however Mrs. Hitler would not let us past so we were the first of a very large group of people who were not allowed entry until 2.30! Consequently at 2.30, there was a stampede to get in. I don’t know whether it was the long wait, or their being sticklers for rules but we were mightily disappointed in the palaces. Maybe we would have enjoyed it more if we had had an audio guide, but we simply could not have walked all the way back to the entrance gates to get them, besides, we weren’t even supposed to be inside! I was far more impressed with the gardens and outer buildings and spent more time wandering through them, taking photos and getting lost! I even saw a squirrel but he was too quick for me to get a photo. Back at the entrance, I met Elizabeth who bought me a tuna and tomato pastry and a coffee  which we sat and ate while waiting for Lorelle and Kiryn to show up. They must have enjoyed it much more than we had because they started an hour earlier than us and finished an hour later!

The highlights of the day for me were seeing the Sierra Nevada Mountains covered with snow, which act as a backdrop for the Alhambra, and the drive there. We saw many pretty villages, hilltop castles and millions of olive trees! Now we know where all of the Spanish Olive Oil we buy in Australia comes from.

Kiryn took the alternate, faster highway route home and we arrived back in Cordoba in time for dinner, only problem being most of the restaurants were closed (public holiday again remember?) I finally found one open. Kiryn was too tired and footsore to eat, Lorelle went off to find Kiryn, which just left Elizabeth and me. Elizabeth had a beer and decided to head to bed. I had another couple of beers and an entrée of pork belly served on thick greaseproof paper with fresh bread, and a main of Andalusian pork steak in olive oil with the thinnest French fries I have ever eaten. The pork was delicious- it just melted in my mouth. The best pork steak I have ever had! I don’t know how they cook pork to make it so tender; maybe slow cooking? My hunger satisfied, I headed back to the Hotel Serrano as we have to be up early tomorrow to return the car to the station.