Granada continued

On a bright and sunny morning, it was time to visit the cathedral precinct:

The first thing to be seen was the Capilla Real or Royal Chapel, built for the Catholic Monarchs between 1506 and 1521. There were warning signs everywhere about NO PHOTOS. I’m not sure whether this was to ensure the purchase of guide books, or simply to speed up visitor progress. It is a beautiful building and contains the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella in lead-lined coffins in the vault, as well as their daughter, Juana the Mad, and her husband, Philip the Handsome. The following pics show statues of the Monarchs at prayer:

I studied a unit about this period at uni in London, so I was specially pleased to visit the chapel. There are figures of all four carved in Carrara marble above the vault. Here are two of them:

Ferdinand and Isabella.

I had a quick look at the Cathedral next:

Now free to take photos.

Views of Granada

Yesterday morning’s weather forecast was for several hours of rain. I sheltered in my hotel for a while, but it didn’t want to stop. In the end I put on my Rohan rain jacket and set out to walk up the hill to the Alhambra. My leggings and feet were soon soaked. It took me about half an hour. Water was pouring down the channels on both sides of the road, the abundant green vegetation the only thing enjoying it:

At the top, I had the idea of going into the Parador for a bit, in order to dry out. There were signs saying House Guests Only, but I was too wet to care! I sat on a window seat that had hot air coming from below which was pretty good.

One of the inner courtyards of the Parador.

I had a quick snack in the Parador cafeteria when it opened at 11.30 am. The place was buzzing as everyone was coming out of the rain.

Later that day…

The receptionist advised me to climb up to a lookout with a view of the Alhambra. It’s a favourite spot to see the glow of the sunset on the towers:

Lots of others had the same idea:

This view is across to the Sierra Nevada, with snow on the most distant mountain:




On the way down from the Mirador I found myself in the Albaicin quarter. All the little Arabic shops had opened up, selling goods from Turkey and beyond:

Mounds of Turkish Delight.

Sugared nuts.

Malaga to Granada

When I went to the station the previous day, I was told that they couldn’t guarantee that there would be any trains on 30 April. They didn’t say why. (Was it to do with the fact that 1st May is a big public holiday here?) I was advised to go by bus, so that’s what I did. ALSA were running plenty of buses; they took half an hour longer, had many stops, but were cheaper. My journey was from 12.00 to 2.00 pm. I took a taxi to my hotel, Anacapri. The traffic was heavy at this time of day. I was pretty hungry and soon found a quick bite just round the corner:

Everything is mechanised, but instructions come in many languages.

Hotel Anacapri is surrounded by eateries of every kind. It’s on a pedestrian street but is extremely noisy, with most of the noise coming from other guests talking in the foyer. It does have a beautiful bathroom, with a mirror that lights up at the push of a button on the glass itself:

I woke up this morning to pouring rain: don’t say it has followed me from Malaga! I decided to cheer myself up with a nice breakfast:

The other news is that there are no tickets available for the Alhambra for about 2 weeks. It appears that everyone books well in advance. Oh well, I have seen it before. So, when it stops raining I’ll just walk up there and see it from the outside.

Alcazaba and Picasso

I had to postpone my visit to the Alcazaba yesterday because of a sudden shower of rain. I didn’t want to risk getting my cashmere sweater wet. So I came back to the hotel and downloaded an e-book (The Last Devil to Die).

Another day and bright sunshine appeared. The Alcazaba was built on top of the Roman settlement and the excavations can be seen from above:

Then it’s a slow climb upwards:




There were plenty of views down towards the harbour:

The gardens were lovely:

I didn’t climb to the top as I came to a shaded cafeteria and was tempted to have a beer after all the climbing:

A squirrel ran across the path as I was sitting there:


And now to Picasso:

I had made an online booking for a slot between 3.00 and 5.15 pm. As I got near the museum, it came onto rain again (just like yesterday). However, today was much worse. Thunder and lightning and a real tropical downpour. Plus, the queue was really, really long - even with pre-booked tickets:

The rain was soon flowing down the narrow street and people were getting soaked. Some sent their partners off to buy an umbrella for €5. I managed to squeeze under the awning of a cafe, but I was soon shivering with only a blouse on. I sat there for an hour, waiting for it to stop - wondering if it was all worth it, but I had paid €11 so I stuck it out!

Photos from inside follow:

Probably best seen on a laptop not a mobile!

Finally, a shot of the museum’s courtyard: