Granada and the Alhambra

I can't believe we have been in Spain for over a week now. The country has been nothing but amazing. We spent the last two days in Granada which is a 3 hour train ride southeast of Sevilla. Traveling Spain by train has been so easy and convenient - something I wish the US did better. The countryside of Spain is green and beautiful. Vineyards line much of the land and rolling hills can be seen in the distance. It's a nice change from the views you normally get from an interstate or a plane. 

We arrived early Monday (day 8) morning in Granada. We have another amazing view from our rooftop terrace...this time, The Alhambra. Today we explored the streets of Granada. The city is separated into a Christian quarter and an Arabic quarter and the architecture changes drastically as you go between the 2. We went up to El Mirador San Nicolas which overlooks the Alhambra from a hill across the way. The views were absolutely amazing. Granada is nestled in the foothills of mountains and even though it's mid-May, the caps are still snow covered, making for a lovely backdrop. 

Church in Granada square 

River bank 

View of Alhambra from Mirador San Nicolas

Alhambra 

One of my favorite parts about Granada is the food - a mix between Spanish and Arabic, with lots of  Moroccan-esque dishes. While overlooking the Alhambra, we had lamb cous-cous and Moroccan mint tea with pastries....doesn't get much better than that!

After soaking in the views, we decided to soak in some baths...Arab bathes that is!  We did a 2 hour "spa" trip which included a massage, a warm, cold and hot pool for soaking and a steam room.  Now, my college roommate Katherine and I got tricked into something similar by Tanya in Korea when we visited her....thankfully these were bathing suit required this time (and co-ed)! It was a very relaxing 2 hours which left us tired and ready for bed!

Queen Isabel Square

Tuesday (day 9) was the big day, the day we got to see the Alhambra! I didn't do a lot of google searching for images of where we were going, so this was a huge surprise. The Alhambra consists of a few separate areas: the Nasrid Palace, the Alcazaba (the citadel) and the Generalife Palace and gardens. It was a lot to see in a day and we were exhausted after about 2.5 hours. The Alcazaba was my favorite area by far and had amazing views of the city and the other areas of the Alhambra. Other than that, a lot of very detailed architecture, beautiful courtyards, and huge gardens full of damask roses. Not too shabby.

Nasrid Palace

Nasrid Palace 

Gardens at Nasrid Palace

View of Nasrid Palace from Alcazaba

Alcazaba

Alcazaba

Alcazaba 

View of Alhambra from Generalife Gardens

Generalife Gardens

Generalife Gardens

Damask Rose at Generalife Gardens

Pineapple tree?

View from Generalife Gardens

This morning we left for our last stop in Spain. We headed back to Madrid for the last 2 days. Stephen flys home and I head to Milan on Friday morning. Though I am excited to see other countries, I absolutely fell in love with Spain, it's culture, and most importantly it's food! Luckily the next stop is Italy. I hear they know a thing or two about food as well! 

On Friday, I meet up with my friend Jessica who has been doing her last semester of business school in Milan (tough life, I know). We are going to explore Prosecco Road and Venice for a 3 day weekend and then back to Milan for a few days before we head off to Switzerland.

If you have made it this far reading this entry, yesterday was a big day for a reason other than our trip to the Alhambra....Stephen proposed! We went up to the San Nicolas viewpoint for a lovely dinner. We watched the sun set and the Alhambra light up...one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. After dinner, he got down on one knee and popped the question (I said yes!). Three progressions of sunset to follow...