Tales of the Alhambra

Granada was a fast 90 min drive from our house but of course, we didn't head out until midday. It's very hard to get everyone going in the morning!

We first headed to Plaza Nueva for a nice lunch at Torres Bermejas, a restaurant with both Granada specialties as well as pasta and pizza (satisfied all the constituencies!). I tried the Habas con Jamon - baby broad beans sauteed with bits of ham. It was pretty good although it was something that would have been better in a tapas portion!

After a short stroll around the town (with a yummy gelato stop), we headed up the hill to the Alhambra - we walked up, which was a little tiring, but pretty.

We had a specific entry time into the Nasrid Palace, so we headed there first. Although the tiles were less vibrant that what we had seen at Real Alcazar in Sevilla, the whole building was just wonderful. The only downside was that we were surrounded by a couple of tour groups so some of the spaces were a little crowded. And sadly, the lions in the Court of Lions had been moved elsewhere due to a renovation.We also saw the palace of Carlos V - like many conquering kings, he decided to build his palace on top of the palace of his vanquished foe. Which was a little incongruous - the solid Renaissance palace did not compare well to the light elegance of the Moorish architecture.

After the Palace, we walked down to the Alcazabar, the ruined fortress area that's the oldest part of the Alhambra. We had a great view of the town from the tower.Then we wandered around the Generalife which are the palace gardens. This was probably my favorite part of the complex - the gardens were lovely, there was a nice view of the palaces and the fountains were relaxing.
After roaming the complex for over 3 hours, we were tired but happy.