Enjoy The Moorish Architecture Of The Alhambra Palace

Alhambra Palace is located in Granada, Spain and is a major highlight when visiting the city.  Honestly, the only reason I wanted to visit Granada was to visit the palace.

Construction began in the mid 14th century by Moorish rulers and was rediscovered in the 19th century.  It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has endured years of constant restoration so that us 21st century folks can enjoy it. 

The Court of the Myrtles, one of the most photographed spots of Alhambra

Since my friend and I were car-less in Spain we decided to take a bus tour to Granada from Malaga. We were so glad we did!  Not only did I get to sleep on the bus, but when I did peek my eyes open I was surrounded by endless vineyards and pretty green hills (if my flight hadn't been delayed for hours the night before I reckon I would have stayed awake for the sights).  When we arrived our tour guide quickly got us our tickets and we were able to head inside without waiting in any lines.  By the time we left Alhambra (around 1PM) they were announcing that individual tickets had already sold out.  I turned to the long line of people trying to get tickets and yelled out "Suckas!!!!!!"  No, I kid, I kid, but I did feel for them.  A little bit.

In case you're wondering that's not a giant black pendant around my neck

One downfall of being on a tour is looking like you're on a tour.  I'm one of those people that end up straying away from the group, and only half listens to what the guide is saying (because more often than not the guides accents are so thick I have a difficult time deciphering if they are speaking English or not).  Plus, the tour was in French and English, so I had a valid excuse to only listen to half of what the guide was saying. 

Palacio de Carlos V in Alhambra

For lack of a better and more intellectual word, and because "Elf" is one of my most favorite movies, the best word I can describe the size of Alhambra is GINORMOUS. It's mighty Ginormous in fact. It is so spread out, and deserves its own zip code. It takes construction companies years to build some homes, and that's usually with just plain old boring wood and dry wall.  These Moorish folks would have looked at our walls and doorways nowadays and just laugh, "How plain and boring these futuristic peasants are!  They can keep their Macintosh's and that gadget with a genie named Siri trapped inside, cause we've got fancy walls to chisel!" 

The Details are impressive

Uhhhh....Love...Love....Love

I've seen A LOT of old famous buildings and structures like the Coliseum, La Sagrada Familia, Parthenon, Stonehenge, Pantheon, Notre Dame, The Vatican, and Machu Picchu, but the details of Alhambra Palace are top notch.  I have a hard enough time carving a pumpkin for gods sakes!   I bet now you can see why they are still restoring the place!  Moorish Architecture I heart you!  I would start a big giant ballpark wave for you if I could!

Oh and how about the incredible tile work.  It is unbelievable. They even managed to make a tile mosaic that looks like me. 

 The Gardens

Another thing that is guaranteed to knock your socks off are the Gardens.  I fought the urge to skip around pretending to be the little girl from The Secret Garden.  A game of hide and seek would last for hours in this place.  The Gardens are filled with beautiful flowers, fountains, ponds, and pristine groomed bushes and trees.  Simply Gorgeous!

 The Palacio de Generalife

The days prior to arriving in Alhambra it had rained for days, actually it poured rained.  In fact, my flight was delayed the day before because the weather had been so bad in Andalusia.   As you can see from the blue sunny skies our timing to visit was dead on.

 Convent of San Francisco

The spot that really had me at hello was.....

...this stunning view of Granada

We walked out onto this little open bridge and my jaw dropped, literally, it fell to the floor, and I said, "This is too beautiful!  Is this real life? (uhh yeah I quoted David After Dentist)"  I didn't realize I said it outloud cause the lady next to me started laughing and said, "Yes it is beautiful."  The room across from the bridge had a balcony with huge open windows overlooking the above view.  If Alhambra had a penthouse suite I think this room would have been the one!  Personally, for me, it was the views from Alhambra that gave it the winning edge over the Alcazar in Sevilla (I will write about that in a future post). 

Alhambra was definitely worth the visit, and if you have the hankering to swoon over Moorish architecture then make sure you add Alhambra to your next Spanish itinerary.  

Date Accomplished:  October 25th, 2011