The second half of our spring break trip to Spain took place in Granada. We woke up bright and early on our fourth day in Seville and boarded a bus for a three hour ride to Granada. Unfortunately, it poured for a majority of our stay but we made the most of it. Here's a peak into the three days I spent in Granada, Spain!
Upon our arrival to Granada, to our great dismay, our rooms weren't yet ready, which meant the siestas we had been planning on having became impossible. After hanging out in the hotel lobby for an hour, we made our way to the Alhambra for a tour.
The Alhambra is a famous palace located on the outskirts of Granada. It was originally a small fortress and was constructed into the beautiful palace it is today by a Moorish king in the 14th century.
The Alhambra is a huge complex full of gardens and buildings with intricate designs. Even though we were all pretty exhausted, the beauty of the palace perked us up a bit. I tried to narrow down my pictures but it was hard, so here are my picks from our trip to the Alhambra.
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| Our entire group squealed with excitement at spotting this cat. Maybe just me, but it looks just like my kitty! |
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| There were so many spectacular views of Granada from all over the Alhambra. |
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| Most of the rooms had these spectacular, intricate designs covering the wall. |
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| The palace had so many layers to explore. |
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| The ceiling of one of my favorite rooms in the palace. |
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| There were so many different types of beautiful flowers, some I'd never even seen before! |
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| These were my favorite. I wouldn't mind reading a book under this everyday. |
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| The most fragrant flowers I've ever come across! |
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| And these colors! |
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| A peaceful inner courtyard. |
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| What a spectacular view! |
Luckily for us, the rain withheld for our trip to the Alhambra but clear skies were scarce for the rest of our trip. During the few breaks in between torrential downpours, we escaped into the city to do some exploring, getting caught in the rain more than once.
We were in Granada on Easter Sunday, so a few of us decided to go into the center of the city to watch the final processions and attend Easter Mass. While the processions weren't as grand as in Seville, they were just as beautiful.
During the procession, people threw flower petals from their balconies onto the floats, which were more colorful than those I had seen in Seville. I believe the change was due to it being Easter Sunday and more of a celebratory procession than one of mourning.
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| This beautiful cathedral is the third largest in the world. |
On our last full day in Granada, the weather wasn't horrible so some of us decided to go on a free walking tour advertised by our hotel. Our tour guide was great and brought us through the city, sharing its history and legends. It was a very interesting and, although it ended in us trudging through the city in the rain, I was quite glad I went.
Of course we still enjoyed our tapas while in Granada. This is something I still miss quite a bit from my time in Spain. I vote for the entire world to adopt the true tapas and siesta lifestyle, whaddya say?
This brings my time in Spain to an end. It was an amazing trip and I absolutely fell in love with the country. I cannot wait to return and explore more cities to really immerse myself in the culture.
Until next time,
Grace
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