Granada looks & feels like a much larger city than it is, with a population of approximately 250,000 & an urban area population of about 475,000. It was founded in the 11th century & was originally a Muslim fortress. Granada is very cosmopolitan & a university city sitting at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mts.
Our walking tour of Granada started right at Rio Genil. There is a beautiful park right next to the river, that ushers you into the city beyond. Fountains & al fresco restaurants are scattered among the well-tended gardens. Most of the buildings are very well maintained, & the city streets are very clean. I enjoyed seeing the lovely hanging baskets that decorated many of the lamp posts. We walked past a butcher shop, & I couldn't resist taking a photo of the "hamo'n" in the window. We had a couple of hours to roam around the city, do some shopping, & grab some lunch.
The Cathedral of Granada.
Back to our bus & a short ride up the mountain to The Alhambra Palace. The first hour of our tour was the gardens outside the Palace walls. The 2nd photo above was some kind of lush vine that had created a beautiful ceiling. Every square inch of the gardens was sensory-overload -- colors, smells, beauty!
The Alhambra was constructed during the 14th century.
Beauty abounding! The patios, courtyards & reflecting pools were built for the sheer joy of relaxing in beautiful surroundings.
We were told that each & every design had meaning, that none of the exquisite carvings, as in the above room, were done just for the beauty. It all had significance.
Looking down over all that The Alhambra would have protected.
We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day for this tour. The sun was shining, but it was just cool enough for a light-weight jacket. Between our stroll around Granada & The Alhambra, we've walked over five miles today. I think we will be very ready for Sangria when we get back to our hotel!
Thanks so much for stopping by. I'm having so much fun sharing our little vacation adventure with all of you. Stay tuned, there is more to come, but not too much more....lol!
~CAS~
Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI can't get over how beautiful all of those places are. I love the flowers on the light posts.
ReplyDeleteBreathtaking!
ReplyDeleteAwesome. And, with all that walking, I bet you lost weight too. Thanks for sharing. I'm enjoying your adventure too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely trip, I bet you had a blast. I love the ivy ceiling, such a bright green. All your photos are amazing, you did a great job with your shots:)
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful Cas! Enjoy. Those are fantastic photos.
ReplyDeleteLove the photos. Looks like a wonderful time!
ReplyDeleteHi, Cas
ReplyDeleteHow lovely and seem you all had a great time. Great pics.
Vanessa
Just getting around to all of your beautiful vacation photos. They are so pretty! Oh, how I would love to go there! It sounds like you had a wonderful time too. I really enjoyed hearing about the dinner in the lady's home in your previous post. That is so neat that they offer to do that for tourists. What a fantastic vacation!
ReplyDelete