granada... a month late

Well I just got about a month behind in blogging. I blame many things. Being forgetful, being busy, midterms, traveling, and the Spanish Postal Service. The last reason brings a story. Nothing is really "overnighted" here. For this reason, I limped along for 2 weeks without a macbook charger. One of the those weeks being mid-term week. Despite the apple customer service promising an overnight delivery there was a bit of struggle in between. Communication with customer service was a bit of a struggle. Spanish wasn't there first language and neither was English. Here is a quick glimpse at the tracking of the package for a good laugh. The charger came on Thursday afternoon, after I turned in my last paper and finished my last exam. And then I left for 6 days in Italy.

Well back to more interesting things than lost packages. 

GRANADA. It's my favorite city in Spain. Decided. I know that I've raved about every city that I've been to but I can honestly truthfully say that I don't think anything will top the weekend I spent in Granada.

The last city that the muslims held onto in the 15th century, after visiting the city I know why Ferdinand and Isabella fell in love with it. In fact, they liked it so much that they didn't destroy it. And that's saying a lot because well the Catholics really liked to demonstrate their force. In the south of Spain the city is tucked in the Sierra Nevada mountains. With a river running through the center of the city it was a pretty obvious place to create a settlement. And well the Moors did just that.

The city is home to the Alhambra. Construction began in the 10th century and was originally used as a place for sultans to vacation. Since then the complex has passed through a slew of owners. Most notably, when Granada was finally conquered in 1492, the  sultan handed over the keys to the Catholic Monarchs. Well that's just a short little historical context for the incredible grounds. For six hours my friends and I walked through the gardens and palaces in awe of the beauty. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Protesting is actually a national pastime. Here's a shot from inside the Alhambra grounds and protesters carrying on their way.

A view of the city for one of the towers.

Detail from inside one of the palaces.

A ceiling that looked kid of like a honeycomb.

Sunset from Generalife (part of Alhambra). View of the towers in the distance.

Some fountains inside Generalife.

Palacio de Carlos V

Jamming out. Granada is definitely has a hippie feel to it. It's pretty great.

View from the other side of the city. In the foreground you can see some caves that gypsies live in.

A city that I am considering going back to before I leave Spain. Loved every second. Thoughts on Italy soon.