Granada and the Alhambra

I am attempting to continue our post from our Spain trip. After a good day in Mijas and an evening at the beach, we packed up the car early that next morning and drove 2 hours or so north east of Malaga to Granada. I didn't understand fully why we were making the trip until I arrived. Rachel had been telling me that when we go to Spain, we have to go visit the Alhambra. We arrived in Granada and proceeded to drive up the hills till we arrived at a large citadel/palace. I again didn't see what all the hype was until we got inside the complex and were able to explore. It was a beautiful day for this time of year. Because of the elevation, it is usually much colder than it was this time of year. Here is a link to a brief explanation of what the Alhambra is for those of you reading this who are/were as unaware of "The Alhambra" as I was.

http://www.andalucia.com/cities/granada/alhamhistory.htm

This is a photo of the Alhambra Palace.

Andrew had an incredible time playing at "the castle" as he called it.  He loved exploring every possible place there could be.  Even this dirty dingey window looking in on the dungeon.

The grounds of the Alhambra are covered in beautiful gardens with trees, flowers, and shrubery impeccably maintaned.

More architecture showing the mixture of Moorish and Christian influence.

Another entrance to a "castle".  Pushing the stroller around this place was a nightmare.  The pathways are mostly cobblestone, making it a bumpy ride for Andrew and Talia.

Rachel waited outside this "castle" with Talia because talia had fallen asleep and strollers were not allowed in this part of the complex.  Andrew and I went in on foot and "stormed the castle".

This was the face that he gave to me everytime I asked him to take a photo.  It's his "hurry and take the photo Dada, I'm too excited to sit still, come on lets go, there's so much more to see" face.  He still talks about the castles in the mountains of Spain he ran around in.

We made it to the top of the highest tower and this was the view.  I had to snap this photo quickly because just as soon as Andrew realized that there weren't any more stairs to climb, he wanted to go back down.

Rachel took this photo inside the Palacio de Charles V.  It is kind of blurry with a shot of the back of my head, because as she was taking it, I asked her where Andrew was.  I had Talia in the stroller and there were a number of stairs in this palace that made it a two person job to get the stroller up and down them.  So when Rachel looked around for Andrew, she saw him making his way through a crowd towards a roped off area.  As Rachel called his name and ran to get him, he thought it would be funny to run away and laugh (as most 3 year olds do when their parents call them).  So he booked it through the crowd, under the ropes and into an area where tourists are not supposed to pass.  Right on his tail came Rachel chasing him, making her way through the crowd and under the ropes in the no trespassing area.  As soon as she went under the ropes, cameras began to flash as all the tourists took pictures of Rachel chasing Andrew in a preserved, no tourists allowed area.  A minute later Rachel caught Andrew and she found me laughing with a tour group as they showed me the photos they captured of Rachel chasing Andrew.  I thought it was funny, but Rachel was still sweating and embarrassed.  Now she laughs about it.

Andrew is in "time out" for his publicity stunt.

As soon as Andrew was released from "time out" he made a quick break for it.  It didn't last long as the Alhambra security guards were on to him.  He was stopped and detained by a security guard . . . and then faced the wrath of Rachel and some more "time out".  Time out doesn't work as well when they are in a giant castle.

Andrew's second time out.  This is Andrews "oops I guess I pushed the envelope to far this time" face.

Amazing detail in the walls and ceilings.

Out of the palace and into the garden area for a break from carrying the stroller up so many stairs over the past couple of hours with the kids in it.  Andrew is content playing with my iPhone.  That phone proved to be a life-saver at times during this trip.

Wait . . . there's more!  Just when we thought we reached the end and were taking a break, we looked up and saw that there was still more to see.  We gradually made it to the top and back.

Millions of flowers everywhere.

Quick stop for a family photo to prove that we were here.  This was an incredible day and I can see why Rachel wanted to get up here so bad.  Andrew had a blast, Talia was an angel as usual, Rachel and I had a great time seeing all there was to see.  Now back to the car for the 2 hour drive back to Marbella.  We returned to Marbella tired yet fulfilled from our great day of exploring castles.  We made some dinner at the condo and went to bed.  We needed our rest because early tomorrow morning we have a boat to catch to Morocco.