Granada and Alhambra Palace

We decided that it was a must to visist Granada whilst my daughter was here and although had kind of planned the day in advance we managed not to get a very early start, best laid plans of mice and men... We stopped for some food just outside Granada and decided that in view of the late start it would only be possible for us to take in one of the tourist attractions and that would have to be the most famous. Alhambra.

The little specks that you can see are my daughter and myslef, just before the batteries died on the camera....Doh! I have to say to anyone who has not yet visited Alhambra, do it now it is well worth the visit. You will need a good day to do this, and make sure that you are fit, have sensible clothing, as you will struggle otherwise. We took my mother, and because she has a heart condition and we knew there would be a good bit of walking, we took her wheelchair, just as well as she would never had made it otherwise.

This is my daughter posing again, taking photos here is an art form and a lot of patience is required as there are so many people milling around doing exactly the same. It is often difficult to get a clear shot, oh and take more than one set of batteries for your digi cam. I did but my camera is a bit fussy about batteries and just will not operate if you load the ones it does not like.

Beverley looks somewhat bored on this one, well she was, mainly because her Gran insisted looking around all the gift shops, whereas Bev wanted to go to the main attraction and we were running out of time. If I went again I would not be taking anyone in a wheelchair unless they were quite happy just to sit and admire the gardens as the whole thing is not wheelchair friendly including some parts of the gardens.

The gardens are stunning and extensive, very ornamental and very tranquil, with lots of water features and shaded areas, which were very much appreciated as it was a very hot and humid day.

Sadly these were all the phots that I managed to take before the camera died which was such a dreadful shame as there was so much to see and lots of ornamental plaster work, the like of which I have never seen. It cost us €10 per head for the full tour, you can also hire electronic guides which tell you all about the areas you are in, very handy indeed. With a bit more forward planning a guide book would have been most helpful, as most of the time we did not know what we were looking at as there is not much in the way of information around on the tour.
We got caught in a terrible downpour and mother got soaked. My other half, Rob, took her back to the car and Bev and I finished the tour. I have to say we were both exhausted and dripping with sweat by the time we had finished as there were lots and lots of stairs to climb.

I have enclosed a link so if any of you plan a trip to Alhambra you will at least have some idea of the scale and also the history. I will go again but this time with batteries for my camera and also a guide book.

Guide to Alhambra de Granada