July 8, 2008 at 12:01 am | In Photo, Travel |

First off, my apologies for the lack of comments recently. I must admit I have actually still not caught up with parts of my blogroll since my trip to Andalusia and I currently have 333 unread posts. It will probably take a while until I get back into the swing of things and to posting comments regularly, but I will get to it eventually.

Now, finally the last part of my Granada review. I did upload the pictures yesterday already but it was too late to write a review, as I now work Mondays to Wednesdays and have to get up at 8.15am [I know that it isn't very early but for me it is, it also means I should get to bed at 1am at the very latest].

The day I arrived in Granada, I visited the Capilla Real [where you were not allowed to take pictures so I don't have any] and the Cathedral which are right next to each other. And while most Cathedrals make me think that the Catholic Church has way too much money, they are usually very impressive and nice to visit; I remember this one was quite big.

Afterwards I walked through the streets of the Alcaicería, the Arab bazaar of Granada. As far as I know this used to be where silk was sold, but now the narrow streets are full of tourist stores. Sounds worse than it is, as they have so many beautiful Arabic things to look at and buy.

I walked around the old town some more and saw the Plaza Bib-Rambla and the Corral de Carbon.

That night I went on a tapas tour with a few people from the hostel. The great thing about tapas in Granada is that when you order a drink, you generally get a tapa along with the drink [and it is not always just snack sized] so you can eat for very cheap. Afterwards we went to a tetería where I had a milk shake [at a tetería, yes, but it was hot, and I really didn't feel like drinking hot tea when it was already so hot outside]. We also smoked hookah [shisha] and that was the first time I did in my life, however, I am not sure I can see what is so special about it.

Anyway, the next day was Monday, my birthday, and I went to see the Alhambra. I got there, got my ticket from one of the ticket machines [which meant I only stood in line for a couple of minutes] and went to the Palacios de los Nasrides, which are essentially the main attraction of the Alhambra. And they really were breathtaking. The detail that went into the facades is just amazing. Unfortunately the famous lions from the Lions’ Court were not there as they were being restored.

I also got to have a beautiful view over Granada from the Palacios.

Same picture with me in it.

Afterwards I went to visit the Generalife, the gardens of the Alhambra, and its palace.

Same picture without me in it.

Afterwards I went to see the alcazaba, the citadel of the Alhambra. After a short climb up the tower I to to enjoy another view over the alcazaba and Granada.

I also went inside the Palacio Carlos V but there was not that much to see there as the museum was closed.

When I got back to the hostel at around 8pm after a good five hours walking around the Alhambra, I found out that that night there would be a Spanish dinner with gazpacho and paella, which was great, as I was pretty tired, and it was nice to eat in company [and not have to find a place to eat at or prepare dinner myself].

The next day, essentially my last day in Granada, as I would fly back to Barcelona on Wednesday, I went for a walk in the Albayzín, the Arab quarter of Granada which is very charming and consists mostly of white houses.

Since I did not have a very detailed map, I just followed other tourists uphill, figuring they would know where they were going. And it worked out pretty well, as I ended up at the Mirador de San Nicolás, where you have a beautiful view of the Alhambra.

On the way back down, I took a different route to see a little more of the Albayzín and I saw a few more charming houses and backyards.

Once I was back in the city center, I just strolled around town a little more. I went back to the hostel early and relaxed a little before I went up to the Mirador again [this time by bus] just around sunset to take night time pictures of the Alhambra.

Okay, I think this may be my most image-heavy Andalusia post yet, but I think the Alhambra absolutely deserves so many pictures! You can see a bunch more on Flickr, as always. Hope you enjoyed the pictures, as this marks the end of my Andalusia trip. Definitely eleven days filled with lots of sunshine, different impressions, and special memories of this very beautiful part of Spain. What a great trip this was, what a perfect birthday present!