Grenada

Going to Grenada was one of those other-worldly experiences where I felt a lump in my throat the entire time. I guess I’m kind of emotional when it comes to seeing places I’ve dreamed about my entire life. (You can take the girl out of America, but you can’t take the drama queen American out of the girl.)

I was lucky enough to take a bus ride from Sevilla, one of my new favorite places on earth, to Grenada, so I could spend the day at the Alhambra. The Alhambra is an ancient palace the Moors built in the 11th century when they ruled Spain.

 Its been preserved really well and is now a big tourist attraction. I usually try to stay away from touristy places as much as possible when traveling, deferring to local knowledge of most hotspots or just wandering around until I find something I think is of note, but I’ve been dreaming about the Alhambra since I read about it when I was a kid. It was one of those places I thought I’d never get to. And yet, I did.

 The Alhambra is absolutely huge. If you get there, set aside an entire day to tour the palaces and grounds. The most spectacular part is definitely the royal complex, which can get really crowded if you go in the afternoon, so try to get an early ticket.

 You can probably see why it gets so busy though…talk about fantastic.

 The view from the palace wasn’t bad, either…

 Then there’s the fortress, which you can climb and walk the walls just like sentries did thousands of years ago. Talk about feeling like you’re on top of the world.

 The last part of the day should be dedicated to the gardens, which are kept absolutely immaculately. I am a pretty big lover of all things green and growing (because I kill all plants, sadly), so it was nice to spend a few hours walking around- mostly letting the fact that I’d made it to Grenada sink in.

As a writer I hate to say this, but sometimes a picture really is worth 1000 words. Not sure how many words I’ve saved in this post, then…what do you think?