Granada

So our next stop in Spain was Granada, the home of the Alhambra. The Alhambra was the center of the Moorish government in the Iberian peninsula and it pretty much makes all other government buildings look weak by comparison, but more about that later.

All around the Cathedral were a number of stands selling spices it was our first experience with this and it was pretty interesting. Unfortunately they had way too much Anise at the stands and so the air was like you were trapped in a bag of black licorice on a hot Summer day.
This is the Cathedral it was just a short distance from our hotel while were there. Although you can't see them in this picture, Roma women prowl the area giving people fresh sprigs of Rosemary and then when they open their hand they read their fortune. At this point they demand money and don't accept coins because they are bad luck. So 5 euro is the least they will take. We were not caught by them though because our guide book warned us. (Rick Steves in case you are wondering).

Your guess is as good as mine, it is a blindfolded naked man on a horse. It was on some sort of government building but why the horse is balanced on giant gold balls is as weird as why a naked blindfolded man would be on a horse.
This picture and the next are of the cave houses in the hills above Granada. They are primarily owned by the Roma population although working class families have started to intermingle. Granada is for some reason the city in Spain where the Roma have not been assimilated into the dominant culture. The neighborhood is called Sacromonte.

Door to a cave house.

Overlooking the cathedral.

I don't really know what was going on this day but the roads were lined with people on horses and women in some really over the top dresses with big things poking out of their hair. It was just one of those things you wander across while on vacation.

The Alhambra, I will keep the text brief here, there are no witty jokes to tell about the place, it is just generally one of the most impressive man made structures on earth. On the way up to it on the hill there are channels of water rushing down the hill from all of the spring fed fountains the decorate the palace.

Up close view of how detailed the stone work is.

One of the many rooms probably 25 feet from floor to ceiling and decorated as intricately as in the previous picture from top to bottom.

Windows into a courtyard.

One of the many ponds on at the palace.

View from one end of the Palace Complex to the other. The very tip is the Red Fort.

More fountains and gardens at the Alhambra.

Another view of the main Palace from the other end of the complex.

Columns, every inch of the residencial portions of the Alhambra are covered in decoration like this.

The end.

PS we forgot to mention in our last blog that while we were in Barcelona Jake fell in a fountain. It just seems like something we should mention because, really how often do you see a person fall in a fountain?

Barcelona

Days 1-3 of our trip were in Barcelona (so long as you don't include the day on the airplane).

The first two pictures are of Parc Guell, designed by Gaudi. It was impressively difficult to find considering its enormous size. We somehow managed to walk through a forest to find the place when it is entirely within Barcelona. Then we finally reached the gate which was locked, we shared that special moment with equally frustrated French tourists. Then we walked the 87 miles (estimate) in the three hundred degree weather (also estimate) around the hill to the side gate and got in.

I believe every child in the Barcelona Metropolitan area was at Parc Guell that day, making odd squeaking noises with their mouths.

Sam and I at Parc Guell

The Sagrada Familia was also designed by Gaudi and is enormous. It might get finished some day. When it is done it will devour another entire city block. These views are technically of the side entrances and the main entrance has not yet been built.

Casa Batlo, more Gaudi architecture, this was a person's house at one point.

The roof of Casa Mila.


A building whose name we can't remember or even seem to find in the travel guide. Supposedly it lights up at night (as seen in a million postcards) but we can conclusively say it did not light up when we were there.
Rafe and a Mammoth... 'nuff said.

Sam took this picture then got tired of taking pictures that day. Rafe took about fifty pictures of this arch and then accidently deleted the whole day of photographs (probably about 300 or so).