Granada- Still a Treasure

August 23-25, 2015

Alhambra here we come

I could visit the Alhambra over and over again. It is truly one of my favorite places in the world. The massive scale of the castle, the detail, the Moorish architecture, everything about it is amazing. Bringing the family was so great. I was so excited to have them in Granada, to experience another example of a southern city of Spain, taste the food, see the sights, see flamenco in the caves and just take in every sight and smell.




We checked into the Hotel Palacio de Santa Paula late in afternoon. this gave us enough time to explore the massive cathedral down the street from our hotel and go out for a late meal with the kids and then spend time in the bazaar, the historic district looking at all the things the kids wanted, but didn't need.

HOW DO YOU GET TO ALHAMBRA?
I bought tickets in advance for the Alhambra so that we could visit it the morning of the 24th. I strongly recommend buying tickets in advance or you may not have a chance to visit. Of course when we arrived for our scheduled visit, it was not well marked where we were supposed to go if we already had tickets and it was a bit stressful finding our way. Eventually we did and our visit was as wonderful. We did a self guided tour as to not bore the kids down with too many details. We shared with them what we knew and then let them take in what they wanted from all the various rooms and details. The mixture of Moorish architecture and design with some middle ages influence is fascinating. We quickly walked through Generalife, as the kids were not so excited about a bunch of plants and gardens.  I could spend hours there.

Following our morning visit to the Alhambra, we ate lunch and then purchased tickets for a flamenco show that evening. Since we were in the old Jewish quarter of town, we decided to stop in the Museo Sefardi of Grandada. We had a nice guided tour and learned a lot about the Jewish population that once lived in the region. The museum is located in what used to be the home of a Jewish family. There you can find information about their lives as Jews in Spain, objects of prayer and learn about important prominent figures that lived among the general population. After the visit, this was a perfect time to head back to the hotel for rest before our evening adventure.

The kids really wanted to see a flamenco show. We couldn't deny them as it is part of the culture of Southern Spain, and truthfully something they should experience. We went to one of the caves to watch, but did not add the meal package with the show. figured we would eat something before and after the show. Tapas before the show would be perfect to tie us over until dinner after the show. The kids enjoyed about 20 minutes of the Flamenco show and then found it to be boring, redundant and loud. However, ask them now and they will say they enjoyed it. So I guess it was a success.