Monthly Archives: October 2012

Alhambra by Night

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The Alhambra in Granada, Spain was the only attraction that we booked ahead of time, and I’m so glad that we did.  The ticket-buying process was fairly painless, and we were assured entrance into one of the greatest sites in Spain. 

We decided that both a night visit and day visit would be worth it for us.  Reading the online reviews, it was almost unanimous advice that the day visit was not to be missed, but that a night visit is worth an additional trip if you have the time and don’t mind spending the money.  Well, I’m going to argue that I enjoyed the night visit more.  The biggest downside was that our time was limited at night (we only had one hour inside).

Our first night in Alhambra was the night we chose for the visit to the Palacios Nazaries at the Alhambra.  For 9.30 euros each, we purchased tickets to the 22:30 entrance.  The palace at night was magical and much less crowded than it was during the day.  There are no audio guides available for the night visits, so it’s important to either visit at night after a day visit, or bring along a different type of guide – in our case, this was Rick Steves’ Spain (we talk about his books a lot – he has some great tours).  We learned about the history of the Alhambra and stories about each room and Courtyard, while examining the palace under the moonlight.  The Courtyard of the Myrtles (pictured above) and the Courtyard of the Lions (pictured below) were my two favorite spots in the palace.  Both were interior courtyards, but open to the sky.  They exuded elegance, luxury, and privacy and I could imagine how perfect they would be for relaxation.

The spacious Courtyard of the Lions with the prominent fountain in the middle.

The palace was well-lit, so we were able to enjoy the Moorish details on the walls, ceilings, and archways.  There were no tour groups to clog up the walkways and just a lot less traffic in each area of the palace.  We left the palace only when we were kicked out and couldn’t wait to go back for more! 

We ate a huge, very late lunch, but otherwise, a night visit to the Alhambra can be finished off with a late dinner in Granada.  We enjoyed two different areas of Granada for dinner – the sit-down restaurants on Paseos de los Tristes and the tapas bars on Calle Navas, which is just off of Plaza del Carmen.  Both offer late-night dining that would be perfect after a nighttime visit to the Alhambra! 

City Overview: Granada, Spain

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City.  Granada, Spain

When?  Tuesday, September 11 – Friday, September 14 (3 nights).  I actually think the three nights was plenty – they were very busy days, but we did pretty much everything we wanted to, including a day trip (about 7 hours total) to Nerja.  

Where? We stayed at the Carmen de la Alcubilla del Caracol hotel in a room with a private terrace (we were in La Torre, which was on the second and highest floor with a commanding view of Granada).  The hotel was located a quick 10-15 minute walk away from the Alhambra (pictured above), which was super convenient for us since we visited twice.  Our room was 140 euros and breakfast was an additional 8 euros per person, but it was a great breakfast and definitely worth it.

Transportation.  We walked a lot in Granada.  As I mentioned above, our hotel was conveniently located close to the Alhambra, so there was no need to take public transportation up to the entrance.  Also, the main area of Granada (near the cathedral and Royal Chapel) was a downhill walk from the hotel and was not too steep to walk up.  We did use the bus for two trips: the minibus to the caves of Sacromonte and the Alsa bus on our trip to Nerja.   

Food.  We had some fantastic food in Granada, including a few free tapas!  Our last night in Granada we went to Calle Navas, which is just off of Plaza del Carmen (and close to the Cathedral and not far from Plaza Nueva – really, everything in that area is very walkable).  There were so many tapas bars concentrated on this one street, and it was bustling until late in the night.  We had a mix of tapas – marinated tomatoes, jámon iberico, fried baby squid, and grilled cuttlefish, and they were all delicious!  We were especially impressed with the flavor and freshness of the tomatoes and the lemony cuttlefish grilled to perfection.  Calle Nueva was also a great place for people watching.  I just wish we had tried out the area before our last night!

Day Trips.  We took a partial day trip to Nerja, on the southern coast of Spain.  We rode the Alsa bus both ways, which took around 2 hours and was comfortable (our bus on the way there even had wifi!).

Attractions.  There were so many things to do in Granada.  The best site was definitely the Alhambra, which I’ll talk about in more detail later, but we also enjoyed other sites like the San Nicolás Viewpoint (with a great view of the Alhambra) and the Cave Museum of Sacromonte (pictured below).  The caves took a bit of time to get to (including a hike up a steep hill), but it was really interesting to see the caves set up as if they were currently being used as houses, kitchens, stables, and rooms to make crafts.  We also decided to relax a bit and tried out the Arab Baths at Hammam Al Ándalus.  For 23 euros each, we had 90 minutes to relax in the warm pool, hot pool, cold pool, and steam room.  Only 30 people are allowed during each time slot (every 2 hours, 10:00-24:00), so it’s not super crowded.  It was nice to get out of the heat of the day and do something we normally wouldn’t do.  There is also a location in Sevilla!

Language Barrier.  Similar to Sevilla – I was able to use some Spanish when I could, but everyone spoke English very well.  

Cost.  Aside from our first lunch in Granada (after checking in it was almost 16:00, so we had limited options and went to the fancy restaurant nearby), our food was very reasonable.

Advice.  Book ahead for the Alhambra!  I will be writing more detailed posts about our two visits, but I would highly suggest a night visit for less crowds and a more magical experience.  We also enjoyed our day trip (we had a lot more time), but it would have been too hot and too crowded had we not chosen one of the first few time slots. 

Closing comments.  Andalucía is a beautiful part of Spain and should not be missed!  We absolutely loved Granada and Sevilla and would love to visit the area again.  Even though Granada is a large city, it felt personal and very cultural. 

Traveling on RENFE Through Spain

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Back in July, I posted on our positive and money-saving experience of booking tickets online before our trip.  I figure I’d post a follow up on our success with using the online tickets, as well as our experience on riding RENFE’s trains.  We bought tickets for 3 individual journeys online to connect Barcelona, Sevilla, Granada, and Madrid.

Our original plan was to collect paper copies of our tickets from the self service machines at each train station.  Our desire was to get “real” tickets that my wife could use to scrapbook, but we brought along paper copies from our printer at home as backup (which work just as well, as far as the conductor is concerned).  It’s good we brought along the printouts, because the self service machines at the Barcelona train station did not have a clear option to change languages and certainly no option to print tickets from an advanced purchase (although this is supposedly available).  With little time before our departure, we decided to forego the “real” tickets and head straight to the train. Continue reading →

London: The Extremely Detailed Itinerary

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Our London trip is fast-approaching, and while I’m not stressing over learning a new language or wondering what the weather will be like (I know it will be freezing!), I am completely overwhelmed by all of the must-see sites and attractions that London and the surrounding area has to offer.  For a first timer, a 7-night trip seemed more than long enough, until I realized that even with 7 nights, there is no way we could fit in everything (and do it well).  So, we decided to map out a detailed, tentative itinerary (to be changed while we’re there, I am sure!).  As a warning, this post is going to be lengthy and wordy, but hopefully it will help show how we came up with our plans. 

Ryan has been to London twice before, and so he has seen many of the major sites.  That being said, most of them are worth visiting again, so we really aren’t taking into account what he’s already seen.  I made a list of the top 10 sites we wanted to visit, as well as additional attractions and things to do.  The list is no where near exhaustive, but we had to start out with something manageable.  We tried to rank the sites in order of priority, but changed our mind as we were planning out which thing to do or see on each day. 

Here are the sites we considered: Tower of London*, British Museum*, British Library, St. Paul’s Cathedral*, Westminster Abbey*, London Eye*, Churchill War Rooms and Museum*, Tate Modern, Parliament*, and National Gallery*.

Westminster Abbey and other sites in London.

Here are the other attractions, areas, things we wanted to fit in (including day trips): Day trip to Bath and possibly Stonehenge, day trip to Brussels*, Hampton Court Palace, Kew Gardens, Windsor, Covent Garden*, Portobello market* (Notting Hill – Saturdays), a musical* (Les Mis is on the top of our list), Christmas Market(s)*, outdoor ice skating*, Greenwich*, the Docklands*, Harrod’s*, walks* (through the Westminster area, West End area, Southbank area), Hyde Park*. Continue reading →

Mudéjar Elegance at Sevilla’s Alcázar

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Sevilla impressed us all around, from its cathedral to the Barrio de Santa Cruz, but perhaps most at the Alcázar.  The Alcázar is a palace originally built for local Muslim rulers in the 10th century, but then rebuilt by a Christian king in the 14th century.  It is built in the “Mudéjar” style, which is Moorish style built for Christians.  It contains many of the same elements of Moorish architecture (e.g. the Alhambra), but you can also see images of living creatures, which are forbidden in Islamic architecture. 

The Alcázar’s Courtyard of the Maidens (Patio de las Doncellas) is a highlight of not only Sevilla, but all of Spain.

The entrance of the Alcázar looks like a medieval fortress, not that different from other old castles in Europe.  After entering the fortress walls, the first destination is the Admiral’s Room, where visitors can appreciate the space where Columbus, Magellan, and other explorers planned their journeys to the new world.  The real highlight is just beyond, at the Courtyard of the Maidens (pictured above).  The courtyard appears to be perfectly preserved, complete with a reflecting pool and ornate Mudéjar imagery adorning arches.  We took arguably our best photograph in Spain.  Unlike our daytime visit to the Alhambra in Granada, we were able to appreciate the space in nearly complete solitude.

Continue reading →