Our grand tour of southern Spain February 4th Day twenty two Granada

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Saturday 4^th February day twenty-one

Why should you visit Granada and the Alhambra in Spain?

Can birds warm their feet on electric pylons?

The only reason we ask is that we are on the bus into Granada and we have just seen hundreds of Starling like birds sat on the hi-electric pylon wires, and since they don’t seem to be frying themselves, we can only assume they are warming their feet as the tingly current passes through them. After all it is currently -1C and its 0830.

Why the early start? We are off to the Alhambra and want to beat the coach parties! As we drive down on the No. 177 from La Zubria, the smoke from a few rubbish bonfires on the outer market gardening areas rises slowly and then gets flattened by the high pressure descending cold air. Thus, its spreads sideways, a smog drifting across the city. What we yesterday mistakenly took for dust blown off the surrounding mountains! Today we are revising that possible explanation to bonfire smoke. Above the lingering pall of grey – brown smut, hot air balloons drift across the city in the morning sunshine.

Before we know it, we have arrived at our debarkation point and we stroll along to the Plaza Rotary roundabout where we will catch the No. 13 bus up to the Alhambra. One euro per trip. Very reasonable and isn’t bus track a useful addition to google maps? Find your nearest bus stop, click on the bus icon and the timetable comes up along with the route of the bus laid out for you to follow!

As we start the zigzag climb up to the Sultan’s palace, our impression of Granada is one of garden parks and statues and outer local barrio residential areas clinging to some fairly steep slopes. Oh and graffiti artwork.  

Graffiti seems to be tolerated. Any bare wall seems to be a blank canvas for tic-tack signature and/or some very Banksy like art work. And it is skilled, eye-catching stuff. People put a lot of effort into some of these graffiti murals. It adds a certain flair and colour to an area and we wonder if we are missing a trick back in our home city of Plymouth. Why don’t the council hold mural and graffiti competitions If local communities agree – why leave loads of concrete wall space blank and ugly?

What can we say about the Alhambra?

Nothing because our words will never do it justice. Put it like this – we have been privileged enough to visit the Forbidden Palace in Beijing and thus far on our world travels – that is the winner by far for sheer stunning, take your breath away, hold your mouth open in awe-ness! The Alhambra? Comes a close second!

Within the King Carlos V palace, a stunning piece of architecture in its own right, there is an astonishingly small but sublime museum showing amazing Islamic art, pottery and woodwork. Exquisite golden dinars from the 1300’s; glasswork from even earlier which is so delicate, so beautiful. Visit this museum – seriously – go! This museum leaves you in complete admiration of the ancient artesian. Their deftness of touch, keenness of eye. The exquisite details and Islamic designs hand painted on jugs. The craftsmanship of wood carving and marquetry leaves me stupefied. How did they do this with the tools that they had back then?

From the Alcazaba fort, the views across outer Granada are stunning and we share the one tower viewing platform with a hundred Spanish teenagers all vying for that perfect selfie shot of themselves against a stunning backdrop of white houses and terracotta roofs interspersed with tall, slender cypress trees. Sounds horrendous but wasn’t – but then we are teachers and are therefore used to young people in big quantities. Don’t miss wandering around the ruins of the Islamic high guard quarters – the elite soldiers guarding the Sultan.

Crowds in sunshine and 14C. Nowhere near as bad as it sounds, for the Spanish have a civilised way of ambling .... a day out for many ... family groups, little ‘stickies and klingons’ running around (ask any infant teacher to explain those terms to you)

Upstairs back in the King Carlos Palace, we visit the art museum, enjoying many of the exhibits, but still leaving the modern contemporary art gallery, scratching our heads!

Morning coffee is taken sat on the low walls of the flat terrace under the imposing ochre coloured walls of the fort. Still chilly enough to be wearing duvet jackets but at least they are open zipped now.

Which then brings us to the Nistrid Palace. Moorish architecture and style in abundance built for the Spanish Muslim rulers of long ago. Intricate stucco walls, ancient wooden ceilings, brightly coloured tiled walls. Symmetry and perfect proportions. Porticoed galleries, marble fountains, courtyards and walls adorned with Arabic verses. And then the mesmerising gigantic interior domed ceilings and frescos.

I’m not often left speechless after all I’m Welsh and a teacher, but this set of palaces and halls did leave me very quiet and contemplative for a long time.

Don’t forget to go visit the other hillside called ‘General Life’. Ornate, stunning gardens and courtyards. Beautiful walking especially if it is hot. The shaped cypress trees and beautifully restored myrtle hedges are to be marvelled at!

Plan to spend a whole day at the Alhambra Palaces. Get there early before the crowds. Book an early slot at the Nasrid Palace if you don’t want every photo crowded! Get your tickets a few weeks in advance on-line if you don’t want to be disappointed on the day!

If travelling from Camping Reina Isabel .... number 175, 176, 177 buses from outside take you down to the roundabout at Plaza Rotary.  Be warned, some drivers drop you earlier than that, a street or two over, so follow your route on google maps. Here, at Plaza Rotary, you catch the No. 13 up to the palace. Give yourself at least an hour to complete the journey in total.

Note to the wise - on your return journey, the No 13 stops short by around a mile of the roundabout. You will need to walk to it. When you reach the bus stop where you caught the number 13, carry on past the bus stop towards the very large building that goes over the road ..... take the first left and walk up 100 metres to the three bus stops. The middle one is routes 175 - 177 back to the camp site.

More information about Granada:

We didn’t even begin to scratch below the surface of this amazing city. We failed to allow sufficient time here but we are planning on returning next year. In the meantime, these websites will give you plenty of reasons why you should allow yourself a three or four day stop over at this amazing city.

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/spain/articles/11-reasons-why-you-should-visit-granada-at-least-once-in-your-lifetime/  and https://www.thevivalavita.com/granada-worth-visiting/