cold stormy days at the alhambra

the imposing catedral rises directly out of the city
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hopped a bus for granada on a stormy day in andalusia to go see the moorish castles.  it was cold and rainy a lot of the time, but we had moments of brilliant sunshine and a nice hostel run by austrians in the old juderia down the hill from the alhambra but uphill from the big, daunting half romanesque half gothic catedral and the shopping areas of downtown.

up another hill is the albaicin, the old moorish neighborhood which spills down into the plaza nueva and the juderia, with tons of moroccan vendors selling all kinds of random stuff and little teterias for ames to oogle at.  got free tapas at a bar with giant ham legs hanging everywhere and great indian food followed by a long hookah and tea relaxation session in one of the deep, comfortable teterias.

the patio de los leones, palacios nazaries
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the next morning we stalked the hill early to see the alhambra, visiting all the sights, the palacio carlos V, alacazaba, generalife palace, and the highlight, the palacios nazaries.  orange trees full of fruit everywhere played contrast to big greenish reflecting pools and intricately carved marble and stone walls, twisting wrought iron, and pointed arches.  it is indescribable in many ways, this place we visited on a grey day spitting rain and sometimes pouring it down on us.

a polish family followed us in generalife as the crowds began to mount at the end of the day, getting in pictures and generally looking unhappy and partitioned.

first courtyard in the palacios nazaries, the alhambra
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we left the next morning after a breakfast tea at a very localized moroccan cafe (ie we were the only people speaking english or spanish) and caught our bus back to sevilla.