The Alhambra!

We have set our alarm for 7am to have time to pack and check out from Carmen de la Victoria and then to be by the door of the Nazaríes Palace at 9.30am. When I open the window I see this sight - the dawn on the Albaicin hill - and I feel wide awake.

Soon we're in a taxi with a driver who takes us again the long way down the hill, complicated by the fact that it is the school hour. He keeps asking if we have the big or the small tickets. I think he's trying to sell us something and assure him we have EVERYTHING, but it turns out the small tickets gets us straight to the palace entrance, and thus we're 45 minutes early on that cold, cold morning. We have time, then to visit the Alcabaza, which from the 9th century is the oldest part of the complex. In front we find couple of cold cats warming each other

 and from the top of one of the towers is the most beautiful view of the hills surrounding Granada.

Then we join the line already formed in front of the palace and we're in - alas with several groups and their guides, French, Korean, and Spanish. We walk from room to room admiring details of woodwork tiles, and vistas

as we have in several other Moorish palaces by now, but the Patio de los Arrayanes (Court of the Myrtles) takes out breath away, it is so graceful with the still, mirroring water.

At the same time we have these posings for photos to block out, although we see these same Koreans endearingly do Tai Chi-like stretching exercises, when we happen to run into them at the coffee bar at the end of the tour.

Behind is the Salón de Embajadores with a wonderfully carved ceiling and the Sultan's throne

and next is the much expected Patio de los Leonares, with a marble fountain held high on the back of 12 lions, which represent the hours of the day, the months and the zodiac signs, and surrounded by graceful collonades. The guidebook says it was here the sultan enjoyed his harem

We're curious to see the ensuing Sala de los Reyes, with it's profane paitings on leather, but it is closed for renovation. We move on to the Patio de la Reja, where Washington Irving camped out while writing his Tales of the Alhambra, and pass through the lovely Royal Baths, the Daraxa patio, and the Queen's Dressing Room

Then we're out of the palace and sit for a while in the sun, enjoying the peace and the gardens in front of us. Up a long path lies the Generalife, the summer palace, and after a while we stroll in that direction, passing on the way a group of very small school children, dressed in identical dark blue wind-breakers. They're standing in the cold shade with their teachers and are being taught how to clap their hands and their chests to get the circulation going, all of which they do enthusiastically. We wander on and find a bench in the sun, where we sit for a while looking down at the view and the elaborate gardens,

marveling at the wonder of it all. Eventually we find the energy to move on and see the rest of the summer residence, basically the outdoors, which is the pleasurable retreat one could imagine with shady gardens, and patios with many splashing fountains. A summer's day would have added the scents from the many flowering plants.

On our way out we see the little kids are now seated in a row in the sun listening to a teacher. Suddenly they break into song and sing all the words with gusto, so much so that we clap and shout "Bravo!" when they're done. The teacher's voice floats acoss to us, "Digan gracias." 

After a quick coffee we catch a cab back to the Carmen and share a nice smoked salmon salad with Chino and Pelma, two rather hungry cats, with cold cerveza for good measure. Then Abel and Carlota arrive from their half hour later Alhambra experience and we all pile into Paco's cab to go to Malaga, where Oswado and Abel will give their talks tomorrow. It's a bit of a culture shock to enter a big busy city and to be dropped at a Tryp hotel, but the rooms are comfortable and the internet works. We end the night with a cheerful dinner at a nearby restaurant

Here are the many photos from our visit: https://plus.google.com/photos/108088723826036223432/albums/5954020537580381185?authkey=CIazwdyekd2LXg