The Alhambra

There isn't much I can add to all that has been said about this magnum opus of Muslim rule in Spain. It's one of those places that you just have to visit at least once in your lifetime. I've been lucky enough to visit it three times and I'm still waiting to go back for a fourth and snap some more photos. I tried going last August, but it's almost impossible to go in the high season if you don't reserve tickets well ahead of time. And anyways, the summertime heat and groups of tourists make me prefer to visit in the spring or fall.

Nestled in the Hill of Sarika fortress lies a tale of the Arabian Nights, battles and lost kingdoms, of great beauty ... It is perhaps the beginning of a story of the largest Muslim monuments. But to say this is not only to honor what the Alhambra represents: An ode to power, the human feat, to the sublime. A place where mathematics becomes beauty, where the whisper of water elevates us beyond where the legend is surpassed by reality ... the legacy of ancestors who filled us with art, knowledge and culture. The Alhambra is for me, the representation of paradise on earth. Not only were these kings wise, they knew how to live on earth all earthly pleasures that the "infidels" they were banned ;) It was a place that you would go with tears down your face (like the king moro they had to surrender and was left with mourn only) of you know that you are part forever ...

The Alhambra is always the same and yet always changing. This castle of a thousand faces evolves with the changing light, showing off secret rooms and hidden corners, and is always captivating from any angle in Sacromonte, Albayzín, or Granada.

Its palaces, castles, the Generalife garden, the Grand Mosque., etc. Take a walking tour to discover the fascinated history and stories behind its walls, the views to the Albaycin and its very narrow alleys and from there to the Alhambra are stunning.

Take the hop on hop off train just for fun. It is too noisy to listen to the guide. Buy tickets to the Alcazaba before getting there. We went by car from Madrid and besides the many kms of hills full of olives along the way, which are indescriptible, you can not miss the La Mancha, the Land if Don Quijote.