katydid...fall under the spell of the Alhambra.

I am now in search of Washington Irving's Tales from the Alhambra. It's a stunning place, both the palace and generalife gardens are just majestic. You can't help imaging a different time and royal intrigues, romances, and events that have taken place there, despite the throngs of tourists.


Everyone should see it before they die. For some history: See this article.

Sadly, when we went the lion fountain was under constuction, but the article gives you photos. My photos totally don't do the place justice. The Alhambra is a place you really need to experience for yourself!











View from the Generalife gardens:

katydid...love Seville (Spain).

We went to Spain for our anniversary: Madrid, Seville, & Granada. Seville was our favorite, hands down and I therefore highly recommend everyone to visit. The city is a beautiful mix of Islamic and Baroque-looking (to me) architecture, delicious tapas, tinto de verano (red wine with sprite...just as refreshing as sangria, but cheaper!) and so many things to see and do. I actually didn't find, despite the exchange rate, Spainish food or sightseeing to be radically different than the States. You could get a beer for less than $3, a serrano ham & manchego cheese sandwich on baguette for $4.50-$5, and a meal of tapas for about $15-$20pp (which is about what we would pay at Jaleo)

Cathedral

I'm fairly certain this was built on the site of a mosque after the Christians re-conquered Andalucia. It's stunning, both inside & out. We climbed up the tower and saw a great view of the city.



And, the cathedral had the remains of what is believed to be Christopher Columbus. And, I saw a recent Discovery Channel (or was it History Channel?!) show that DNA tested the remains against his brother's bones & the remains in the cathedral were related to Diego Columbus!



Alcazar
It seemed to me that each main city had it's own Alcazar. It was part palace, part fort. And, in Andalucia, these palace-forts had strong Islamic-influences. I've never been in such beautiful buildings before. I've been inside lux Danish castles with gold everywhere and the detailed carving and thoughtful architecture of the Alcazar & the Alhambra (wait for another blog post!) were far more breath-taking. Seriously. You walk through and can't help but imagine a more romantic time.



Italica

Just outside of Seville are ruins of the Roman city of Italica. It's amazing. And, for an entry of 1.80E (so, about $3), it was a total bargain. Bonus points was that it was practically empty...so it was like we had the whole city to ourselves.