Granada February 2017 Friday
Today is Alhambra day!
Hotel breakfast was delivered to our room in a lovely basket, stuffed with fresh croissant, rolls, cheese, orange juice, tea and coffee all of which were enjoyed in bed, something that just HAS to be done when on a break.
Walking boots on, we trolled up the steep path to the Alhambra, about 23 degrees according my iPhone compass app, so frequent stops were taken to ease the ascent.
Tickets purchased well in advance on the advice of many travel pages and were picked up conveniently from a local Caixa Bank cash point to avoid the rush and crush of picking them up at the Alhambra booking office.
When we booked this break I enquired of Mrs Y what there was to see in Granada, she replied “the Alhambra of course!” This is something that she’d always wanted to see and was way up on that “To Do” list of hers. I’d heard of it but had no idea what it really was or how significant it was to Spanish history. To be honest, it is simply stunning. The Moorish architecture is astonishing in its detail, design and symmetricity. It’s gardens are simple yet beautiful with simple fountains that add gentle and calming background water music to the scene. Very hard to put it all in to words. A waiter later said to us “the Alhambra was wonderful”, I think I have to agree, it truly is a wonder.
Pacing our visit to coincide with our allotted time in the Palace, we headed to the Palacio de Generalife first. This is the summer palace and gives great views across the Alhmabra itself, almost a warm-up for what was to come.
Then a gentle walk around the ravine to the Alhambra itself.
During our visit we sat in one of the many plazas taking in the sun and enjoyed a couple of cold beers and being entertained by the cats that live in the Alhambra. Truly charming place.
Tonight we booked up to see a Flamenco show. There are plenty to choose from with our hotel offering special deals for organised trips that include transport, food, wine etc. But we researched around on Google and discovered the Arte de Flamenco, a pure dance studio with a tiny stage and very limited auditorium offered something that was close to the traditional thing. The auditorium was tiny seating around 50 people at most. Very intimate.
The singing was incredible and very passionate. The dancing was simply amazing. How it’s possible to move feet THAT fast I’ve no idea. No photo’s or video recording were allowed during the performance until a chap gives the nod for the last dance and the curtain call. Sceptical at first, but won over totally.
Our first day had been really busy but the night was still young, so wandering back to the city centre, we found an ice cream shop and sat outside the theatre watching Granada enjoying the evening.
mrandmrsyoung 