Blogs from Granada, Andalusia, Spain, Europe - page 8

TUESDAY 7TH APRIL 2015 - By the time poor Ed and Sally got the ferry across from Morocco it was very late so a sleep in was the order of the day today. This is what Sally reported about yesterday evenings events - we all got to the ferry port and booked on to the ferry for 6 o'clock as we arrived at 1130 and didn't think we would make the 12 o'clock ferry. After going though customs they rushed us through but we got separated at the really cool x ray machine where they x ray whole vehicles. Being the last ones through found that the others were on the ferry but we didn't make it ;( Made for a very long day!! We had to wait in Morocco when the others were in Spain. ... read more

The Alhambra is one of those places you just can't be prepared for. I'm gonna have to let my pictures speak for me, since most of it left me speechless. I can say that Granada is much more of a city than Cordoba, which I visited yesterday. It feels more urban, and it has the dense array of shops and touristy things that you would expect a big city to have. I can also say that this was by far the best of the tours I've been on this week with Julia Travel - I guess 3rd time's a charm? The guide was head and shoulders above the others - Paco, who is about 65 and enjoyed some fine-smelling cigarillos at several points in the day. He's the kind of guide you hope you get. We ... read more

Our final destination in Spain: Driving through the arid Sierra Nevada foothills covered in gray-leaved olive groves we made our way to the sunlit city of Granada with its myriad of one way streets making driving a nightmare, the Moorish stronghold Alhambra, and a delightful Roman bath to sooth our travel-weary bones. Our hotel was an assemblage of old Spanish-style town homes with courtyards, stairways, wood beams in the old town at the foot of Alhambra. Our first try at the European bath scene. We LOVED it! The Roman bath experience of warm, cool, and hot water pools and steam room followed by a massage Exotic with domed ceilings pillars, candles, Arabic music. Cool mint tea to hydrate. Very clean. Alhambra was the draw to this remote city. An amazing Moorish stronghold and Nazaries palace full ... read more

Granada Alhambra Das mächtigste Bauwerk in Granada ist natürlich die Alhambra: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra) Streetart Ein absolutes Highlight ist der lokale Streetart-Künstler: "El niño de las pinturas". Einige seiner Kunstwerke hab ich fotografiert und url=https://plus.google.com/photos/116348154504999845704/albums/6079503868036415025?authkey=CO_khNmMpsngBghier online gestellt :- Sacromonte Auf einem Hügel ausserhalb der Stadt - Sacromonte - leben Leute in Höhlen ("for free"). Ursprünglich Gypsy, die in der Stadt nicht erwünscht waren, später fanden auch Hippies diesen Lebensstil erstrebenswert.... read more

It's great to go out with a bang and finishing our tour of Spain in Granada has certainly given us a grand finale. Granada remained under Islamic rule for 250 years after Seville and Córdoba fell to the Catholic kings in the mid13th century, until the fateful triumph of 1492. In that time it was ruled by the Nasrid dynasty who set themselves up in the Alhambra, andextraordinary complex of magnificent palaces, fortress and of course gardens that had me turning corner after corner with exclaming 'This is amazing!' until I sounded like a broken record. stunning vista after another. the complex includes the main Palacio Nasrid with ornate stucco plasterwork, tiles and ceilings, the vast and beautiful Lion's courtyard and rows of lovely arches. There is a huge fortress, a baths complex, new palace built ... read more