Traveling from the mountain town of Ronda, we headed to the fabled Spanish city of Granada. Our residence during our stay in Grenada was the elegant Alhambra Palace Hotel.
The hotel was constructed at one of the high points surrounding the town and afforded views of the rooftops and distant mountains.
This was one of the views looking out of our hotel window.
A special Flamenco program with accompanying Sangria was hosted for our group. This took place in a cozy theater venue designed to provide an intimate entertainment experience.
Visitors will find that Granada has a certain romantic flare almost any time of day, but in the evening this allure intensifies. The subdued lighting along the downhill slope of the street leading to the main part of the city is just one example and one website describes it as “Andalucia’s most dreamy destinations.”
The older parts of Granada offered more of the quaint, winding cobblestone streets and colorful housing that we found throughout our tour.
The marketplace arcades were interesting with maze-like narrow alleyways. Churches rose above the pedestrian thoroughfares to cast their religious overtones.
In and around the Calle de la Calderería Nueva (the Street of the New Cauldron Factory) there is a significant Moorish influence and this sector sometimes assumes the moniker of “little Morocco.”
Of course there were the familiar vendors of spices and…
exotic teas.
Herbalist and Essences from Granada
The sign – “Teas, Plants and FLowers collected. Safron, Spices, Granada’s products.
Natural cosmetics. Tea items and Incenses.”
A number of merchants were selling Turkish mosaic lamps that we hadn’t seen or noticed during our stops at the previous Spanish cities and towns.
Here is a vendor setting up his display of goods to attract passersby using the colorful garb as a lure.
We enjoyed strolling around the city in the early morning as the plazas were just awakening and tourists were fewer in number.
The colorful mosaic tiles of San Juan de Dios Roman Catholic Church atop the dome-like structure caught our eye.
And likewise as part of the facade of the Church of Iglesia de Santa Ana in the Albacin Quarter
Most tourists will want to visit the older sections of Granada as they should, but there are more modern flares to be enjoyed as well. This statue of Queen Isabela accepting the proposal of Columbus is set in front of a modern office building at the Plaza de Isabel la Católica (Columbus Square).
And in a nod to our technological societies there was a battery recycle bin on at least one corner in the central section of the city.
On our way back to the hotel to refresh a bit before we set out for our next adventure, we passed a seemingly popular bakery with happy cookies!
We were happy indeed because our next stop was the fabled Alhambra Palace.
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Continue reading about our trip to Portugal and Spain.
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