Alhambra Granada

Stay: Granada as per last night
Visited: Granada -Alhambra well worth the €15.40 each there are a few places to buy food 

We walked into town to the Plaza de Isabel Catolica to catch the C3 bus up the hill to the Alhambra's main entrance. The Alhambra complex includes various palaces built mainly during the 13th and 14th century in the Nasrid dynasty and includes beautiful gardens.  As our alloted time to be at the Nazaries Palace was not until 12:30, we had plenty of time to explore other areas. We started with the Generalife built as a country estate of the Nasrid kings as an escape from palace intrigues. We strolled through lovely gardens offering great views of the city and the Sierra Nevada before entering the building and it's beautiful courtyard gardens. 

We were particularly impressed with the staircase that had water flowing on either side in the 'handrail'. After finishing our time here we walked into the main walled area of the Alhambra and  looked at the bathing area. 

We then climbed up a few towers in the original citadel, the Alcazaba fortress, and took in more great views of the city and beyond.

Before lining up to enter the Nazaries palace we went to visit the museum focusing on the building techniques in the Charles V Palace (built in 1527). 

 Finally it was 12:30 and we were able to visit the main Palace.We walked through its various courtyards and rooms.

 The patio of the Mexuar was where the sultan would listen to the petitions of his subjects and meet his ministers. The Patio de Arrayanes with its large pool reflecting light into the surrounding halls. 

The throne room with a ceiling representing the seven heavens of the Muslim cosmos. 

Patio de los Leones lined by beautiful arcades with the centre piece of a 12 sculptured lion fountain. 

On one side of this courtyard is the Sala de los Abencerrajes with a geometric patterned ceiling inspired by Pythagoras theorem. 

On the other side was the Sala de Dos Hermanas with its honeycomb dome of 5000 tiny moulded stalactites regarded as the ultimate example of Spainish Islamic architecture. 

The Rooms of the Emperor were built by Charles V when he decided to settle in Granada but were soon occupied by Washington Irving. We walked through some gardens to The Partal the oldest building in the Alhambra.  

This concluded our visit to the Nasrid Palaces. We went back to Charles V Palace and visited the other museum there that focused on the Alhambra in the 18th century. By now it was 2:30 and we had been here for nearly 5 hours! We always get our monies worth... time to catch the bus back down  and walk the 30min back to Bluey. Although we did stop on the way for a glass of Rioja wine and tapas. While in Spain... Fitbit steps 17,700

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