Estaba Encantada

Estaba Encantada 

CGIS Granada 2015

Mis amigos y yo fuimos a dos lugares muy preciosas, Nerja y La Alhambra. 

Nerja

La Playa de Nerja 

On Sunday, a few of my classmates and I took a bus ride to a beach near the popular city of Malaga. The name of this beach is Nerja. I was told that this beach was less "tourist-y" and more "natural." It was still a very, very beautiful because however it truly was full of tourists and the city as more developed than I had originally thought. 

Panoramic view from Balcon de Europa

The bus ride was supposed to be about an hour, but it took us about an hour and a half to reach the beach, and the drive home was over two hours because of traffic. However, the drive was well worth the day we had. 

My friend, Natalie, has a cousin also studying in Granada who informed us about a program for students studying abroad here. They offer weekend trips to different places both inside and out of Spain. The day trip including bus fair and free lunch and drinks was only about $20 dollars. That's a great deal considering buy the bus tickets both ways on my own was over that price. 

My personal favorite picture of the beach, however no photograph can truly capture the beauty it holds in person.

We arrived to the beach at about noon, however if it were up to me we would have been there as soon as the sun came up. I could stay at the beach all day and all night if it was possible. I can sit in the sun all day - no problem. 

Panorama of the beach

The best part about this beach is that there is a nice breeze, so even though the sun is hot, it doesn't feel as though you cannot breath. The sand was a bit rocky which is really different form the sand of the beaches in Michigan. I didn't swim.... I hate swimming most days. The water was also very, very cold, and the waves terrified me because when I do decide to swim, I cannot do it well. The beach is lined with twenty zillion gelato shops, bars in the sand, and shopping locations. From the beach you can see all the cliffs, and the mountain range behind the city. It was truly beautiful. It's impossible to be bored when surrounded with that kind of natural beauty. 

I won a free trip to the next beach trip this weekend, but I'm not sure if I'll have time to go. Either way, experiencing the Mediterranean was amazing. 

Amigas a la playa 

Yo!

Más Amigas!

La Alhambra 

The Alhambra is the most visited site in all of Spain which makes it a very important location for all the people of Spain as well as the city of Granada. I think I could write pages about this place, but I'm hoping to let the pictures do most of the talking. The entire castle/ city is so extravagant it's nearly impossible to take pictures to capture the true detail of every room.

Hall of the Ambassadors

The Alhambra comes from the term "Al Hambra" which translates into "the red one." It was named this because of the red stones it was initially made out of. It was constructed by the Moorish ruler Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar. Later it was converted to a royal palace the Sultan of Granada, Yusuf 1, in 1333. This palace was built by the last muslim rulers of Granada before the "Reyes Católicos" conquered this area of Spain in 1492.

 Gardens that still continue to grow the original types of crops

The first destination on our tour was the Generalife, or the summer palace and gardens. Although most of the gardens are now reconstructed with beautiful plants and flowers, some gardens still remain "in tact" more or less resembling a similar condition they did when the Alhambra was still a royal palace. These gardens grew fruits and vegetables, and today crops are still harvested.

The summer palace is set up higher on the mountain where the Alhambra is built. It faces a certain direction so that the palace would get more wind where it was built. I'm not sure about the specifics on how it works, but I did feel a difference in temperature, especially in certain rooms. Also in these gardens and throughout the palace, exists an extravagant aqueduct system. It runs solely on gravity from the water of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The natural engineering of the system amazed me. It's so surprising to me that the original system is still in place to irrigate the gardens, provide water for the summer palace, as well as water for the fountains and other water fixtures in the main palace itself. Today we use so much energy to simply move water from one place to another, but hundreds of years ago without the technology we have today, they were able to come up with a more simple system. Today, Spain is still known to produce some of the most intelligent and well respected engineers.

Photograph of the remastered Garden

The design of the Generalife and the summer palace was to create an idea of "7th heaven." The air in this part of the grounds was amazing. Everything smelled so sweet. The beauty of this part of the castle was breathtaking in such a natural way, but I had no idea that it was only just the beginning of my amazement.

Overlooking the Gardens at the Summer Palace

After leaving the gardens and summer palace, we walked through what used to be the living quarters when people lived within the city inside the walks of the Alhambra. People who lived here included high ranking officials of the Court, religious and administrative persons, and there were also several small gardens. Unfortunately these buildings were ruined and never restored. You can thank Napoleon for that. I don't have any pictures of the ruins, however it was interesting to see how strong the foundations must have been to survive the bombings at that time.

An amazing view

Next we arrived at the far end of the Alhambra where the military and militia equipment was held. This part of the castle is decorated much less because it was not used for royalty. However, the views from  the lookout tower were amazing. According to my tour guide, Granada was one of the last cities to be conquered by the catholics because of the location and geography. The Alhambra sits on a mountain, which overlooks a cliff and had been surrounded by a moat as well as a river. However, the river was later covered to create a main street for the city hundreds of years later. Behind the castle is a range of mountains, and from the lookout at the highest point, it's possible to see for miles and miles.

A picture of the baths today

In this same area were the Arab baths. The Arab baths were an adaptation of the Roman bath houses. Again the all natural irrigation system was used to produce water for these baths, and a "heater" of sorts was always running to make them warm. Nothing says paradise like an in ground all natural hot tub.

An original mosaic 

After I thought nothing could be more interesting or amazing, we finally were allowed to go into the royal areas of the Alhambra. These rooms were all different meeting grounds. Some rooms were for subjects to wait before meeting with the king, other rooms were personal quarters. Each was incredible. In between many of the rooms were outdoor corridors with many fountains, plants, etc.

An Original Wooden Ceiling

Some original wood carving still exist today, as well as the mosaics on the walls. Some are also remastered to give the same effect. I was told that at the time when people lived in the Alhambra almost everything on the inside was painted different shades of red, blues, and greens, as well as other colors. Although the red brick was made to create the Alhambra, it was also white washed in certain areas. The porcelain looking carvings on many of the walls are actually plaster molds that the artisans made in order to be more efficient. All of the patterns are very intricate and geomatic. Apparently around this time many great mathematicians were starting to discover the importance of different numbers and equations. Many different architects worked on the Alhambra because it was continuously added to throughout the reigns of various Sultans and then afterwords, Kings.

The very famous Fountain of Lions

Washington Irving also lived in the Alhambra for a period of time to write his series of essays Tales of the Alhambra. The site is commemorated with a plaque.

Breathtaking Honeycomb Ceiling

Panoramic Vertical to show the details of the ceiling 

On the Royal Grounds

 There's many stories and much history behind each of the buildings of the several separate palaces, towers, and gardens. To write all I have learned couldn't scratch the surface of the amount there is to know about this palace, nor do it justice. Visiting the Alhambra has made me very curious to do further reading. I'm also thinking about returning again in attempts to see the other rooms that I couldn't the first time.

And lastly, if you're wondering how I felt about the Alhambra... I can easily say that I never wanted to leave.