La Alhambra

On our drive from Valencia to Gibraltar, which took all day, we stopped in Granada in order to see the Alhambra Palace. The Alhambra Palace, recently voted one of the modern wonders of the world, was constructed by Moorish kings in the 14th century on a hill overlooking the city. As the Spanish Christians retook most of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors during the Reconquista, the Kingdom of Granada remained under Moorish rule until 1492 when it finally fell to the Christians. (1492 was an important year for Spain in two other ways as well: Columbus discovering the new world and the Spanish Inquisition demanding all Jews convert to Catholicism or be expelled from the country.)

So anyway, we rented a car in Valencia and started driving towards Granada. Almost all cars in Europe are manual transmissions, so if you don't know how to drive stick it can be very hard to drive around Europe. I drove for about three hours of the way to Granada, without stalling, but then when we were exiting the freeway in Granada the road turned sharply on a steep incline. Apparently I didn't downshift fast enough, and the car stalled on the exit ramp. And if you've ever driven a stick, you'll know that if you start the car on an incline, it rolls back before it goes forward. Very scary on a steep hill with cars coming up behind you exiting the freeway! Luckily I switched seats and my dad got it started with no problem. Note to self: practice driving stick up hills. =)

We got to the Alhambra around six, after several incorrect directions from tourists, and went inside. The palace is beautiful, and is definitely worth a visit if you are in Andalucía. The palace is huge, and is built in several sections and rooms.

El Patio Dorado:

El Patio de los Arrayanes:



El Patio de los Leones:



Sections near the Patio de los Leones, highlighting the mocárabes, or honeycomb structures present in several rooms in the Alhambra:







An archway looking out to one of the many gardens:

The Alhambra has extensive gardens that you could easily spend hours walking through. Unfortunately, we didn't have too much time because we still had a nearly three hour drive to Gibraltar left. We did walk around the gardens right outside the palace for a little while.

There were lots of stray cats wandering through the gardens:



The gardens themselves are also beautiful:



There are goldfish swimming in many of the ponds:



We didn't have time, but the last time I was at the Alhambra three years ago, we also toured the Palacio de Generalife, the summer estate of the Nasrid sultans of Granada. This palace is next to the Alhambra Palace proper, and has very famous gardens as well:



After touring the Alhambra, we walked back to the car, getting a great view of the city of Granada with its traditional white buildings:



And of course, Spanish graffiti on a wall nearby: