Third Time's a Charm!

Yesterday I visited the most popular monument in all of Spain--the Alhambra.  Now this is a very cool, very big deal!  It's not every day that one gets to visit a former Arabian palace/fortress, right?  More like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Well, not for me! 

Wednesday was my third time visiting the Alhambra.  I went for the first time with my family during our trip to Spain in 2002 and again with my high school Spanish program in 2008.  Interestingly enough (and luckily!), the Alhambra seems to get better with age (mine), so going again was pretty awesome!  It was also awesome that I could walk to the Alhambra!  No one else seems to understand that it is clearly hugely incredible that I woke up yesterday morning and walked on over to the most important monument in Spain!  Big deal.

The Alhambra was built when the Muslims ruled Spain between 711 and 1492.  I'm not sure exactly when it was built during those 700 years, but it was sometime then.  It was used by many Arab kings throughout the centuries and then, after Isabel and Fernando died and their grandson, Carlos V, became ruler, it was used by the Christians.  Now, however, it is simply a monument to attest to the great mixture of cultures one sees here in the south of Spain. 

There are three parts of the Alhambra and we got to see them all!  The three parts are:

La alcazaba (The fortress)

Los Palacios (The Palaces)

El Generalife (The Royal Summer Home)

In addition, there are gorgeous gardens that unfortunately were not as gorgeous as they could be since it is winter and all.  Despite that, though, the trip was a huge success!  We had a very lovely day--it was even warm in the sun!  Still very cold in the shade, though, and inside the marble walls of the Alhambra.  A few flowers were still growing in the gardens, which gave me hope that Spring will come eventually and I will not be shivering in my own house anymore!  What a great thought :-)

I had my first exam in Spain today!  Hopefully soon I will start feeling more like I am living here and less like I am visiting.  I am looking forward to the real semester starting in a few weeks.  With any luck getting into a routine will help solidify everything and then I can try to turn into a Spaniard! 

We are going to Ronda on Saturday!  As much as I love Granada (and I really do!), I am looking forward to taking an excursion somewhere new for the day.  I've never been to Ronda!

Here are some additional pictures from the Alhambra that I couldn't resist sharing: