Saturday, September 14, 2013

Alhambra

Hey everybody!! I survived the first week of orientation!! Woooo!!  Today we took a tour of Alhambra, which used to be a city.  It was beautiful!! We took a bus to Alhambra, thank God because I was not feeling a steep uphill trek at 10 in the morning.  We started our tour in a side entrance.
This is on the arch of the door and represents the 5 obligations of Islam.
Just forewarning...this pictures do not do Alhambra justice.  It is amazingly beautiful.  The only way to truly see it is in person.  After we entered we went into the military area of the city.  Here we saw the foundation of what used to be the living quarters, and where they kept their food, water, and prisoners. This is a picture of what the living quarters looked liked:
Next, we walked up to where they used to keep watch.  The view of Granada was unbelievable!
Next, was the palace. 
There were different designs, like the one below, throughout the palace.







 
After the palace, a few of us decided to stay and see the gardens and the summer palace.  The gardens were gorgeous!!!
 

If any of you decided to come to Granada, Alhambra is a must!! The detail that went into it is amazing.  During our tour we saw some ceilings that were just beautiful.  Sadly, it was one of those things that you just couldn't capture in a picture.  It just wasn't the same.
 
After the gardens, a few of us walked back down the hill towards home.  We had no clue where we were going, expect for we knew we had to go down.  But we made it, and we didn't get lost!! Meera and I had brought bocadillos, so we sat in a plaza and ate our lunch.  We stopped in a shop beforehand to get some water and chips.  I don't know if it's because I've been away from American food for a week or what, but those were literally the best Salt and Vinegar chips I have ever had!!
 
After lunch, it was siesta time.  After walking around all day at Alhambra, I was exhausted!! Plus, I had to rest before we went shopping!! It's interesting to shop here because their sizes are different from ours.  So I would want to try something on then go...is this even going to fit...what size is this...this not real...  It was fun! I did make my first big purchase.  After months of looking everywhere, I finally got a pair of boots!! (My mom will be happy to hear this!)  Now we're done for the day and it's just relaxing till Monday.  :)



 

2 comments:

  1. Great pictures Amanda! I can't wait for Grandma and I to come see you and Alhambra! The boots are so cute, you might need to post a picture on Facebook of them!

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  2. Hola Amanda !
    Que fotos tan bonitos :)
    Espero que estas pasando tu tiempo super bien !
    Dios te bendiga y no se te olvide a estudiar ;)
    Ja
    -Claudia

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