Another Wow and to me a highlight, as I dragged us all to this southern corner of Spain. It took about 2 hours by fast train and a further 1 and a half by bus from Madrid, to get to this beautiful town. The landscape on the way there reminded me of South Africa’s Bushveld and Karoo but only with Olive trees. For about 400km as far as you can see- only Olive trees, and now and then maize and wheat. The main attraction: The Alhambra- one of Spain’s most visited sights and a Unesco world heritage sight. It was originally a military fortress and around 1238 the palace was built by the Moorish king Alhamar and later extended by Yusuf 1 Sultan of Granada. In 1492 King Ferdinand 2 of Aragon and Isabella made it their royal residence. If you plan to visit it, book tickets online 3 months before to ensure the date and time you want to go. Once in Granada take a bus or taxi to the top unless you are very fit and it is not 36 deg. Go also much earlier than your timed slot as it is far to walk to get to the palace entrance. You want to do sight- seeing along the way. All the patterns are carved out of plaster (Stucco) .The decorations are Arabic inscriptions , mostly poems or praises for the palace. It is manipulated into geometric patterns, with floral patterns in between.
Our treat airbnb was a cave house, there are many caves dug out of the hills in the Sacromonte area of Granada and some has been converted into tourist accomodation or restaurants. It is amazing how cold it is inside around 18 to 20 deg C all year round. With 36 deg outside it was a welcome refuge. It was so cold after a while that we wore a light jumper and had a blanket over the knees. I loved sleeping underneath a duvet again. It was a wonderful experience. If you have respiratory problems reconsider or read up about cave environs as I found it challenging when having a cold while we were there. It is very damp in there. If you are claustrophobic you might not like it much.
The history is incredible, such a privilege for you to see and touch……