Our European Journey Comes to an End in Spain

Monday was my 72nd birthday. It was also a travel day as we were to take a train to Madrid where we would leave Spain to fly home. However, our train didn’t leave until nearly 3:00 so there was still time in the morning to do a little more exploring of Granada. We headed out towards downtown again. We were headed to the University which we had been near the day before, but it had been closed. I thought we…

Discovering Granada, Spain Outside of the Alhambra

Sunday in Granada was another picture perfect day with blue skies and warm temperatures. After our early start to the day yesterday, we decided we were not going to push ourselves today. I woke up late and had a leisurely breakfast before we headed out to see what else Granada has to offer. We headed into the downtown core. We knew there was a large cathedral there so we thought we would start there. Since it was Sunday, I wasn’t…

Alhambra: The Ultimate Moorish Architecture

Today was Alhambra day. I read that it was best to go early to avoid the crowds. Since it was also a Saturday, I figured that was even more true. There is one part of the Alhambra that has a timed entrance. All the rest you can enter as you please. I read that one couldn’t be late for the timed entrance so we got up and left shortly after 8:00 for our 9:00 entrance time. We grabbed some breakfast…

Looking for Moorish Architecture in the Alcazar and the Alhambra

The southern part of Spain is known as Andalusia. In many ways it is primarily an agricultural region. Historically what made it significant was that for many years it was under the rule of the Moors. The Moors were Muslims mostly from North Africa. They brought their own distinctive architecture into the region, the Moorish style. When Christians took over the region again, they changed some of the buildings such as turning mosques into churches. However, many buildings still remain…