After the gardens we decided to walk to the Albayzin neighborhood (the one on a near-by hill that you saw so many times from the Alhambra). Based on our basic map we went looking for what looked like a short cut. I am so glad that we did. The short cut actually passes through the Alhambra through a valley. It is the valley that separates the Generalife from the Nazarí. Here are some of the bridges that link the two parts.
You can also see the "Tower of the Princesses" from this side.
Because the path is at the bottom of the valley there is a charming tinkling stream. But be advised, after this point the path gets really steep. The kind of steep that means going down is almost as bad as going up.
There were great views of the Albayzin though. (that is the tower of San Nicolas on the top right.)
There were also views of sections of the medieval wall that once bordered the city.
At the bottom you can turn to see this view of the Alhambra scraping the skyline. It makes the journey so worth it. We stopped and had a caña, shopped at a local craft fair and enjoyed the view before tackling the steep streets of the Albayzin.
The streets are like a maze and you can find lost tourists everywhere, holding their smartphones and looking confused. We tried to keep the map checking to a minimum and headed up and to the left. we were looking for a look out point "el mirador de San Nicolas".
The view was definitely worth it. But I'll tell you a secret. The Mirador was PACKED with tourists, some of whom glared when you started taking pictures. How could you not take pictures of that view?
My secret is to visit this mosque, Mezquita de Granada, NE of San Nicolas. The gardens are beautiful, it is so peaceful and the view...amazing.
I hope you have enjoyed our visit to Granda. I know that we will be back one day.
No comments:
Post a Comment