October 27
Granada
Continuing from Part 1, at a high point at the Alhambra . . .
[The flags are telling us – what?]
[Yup, that it was breezy and chilly. Just ask this charming couple . . . ]
[Overlooking Nasrid Palace . . . ]
[Bill and Anne . . . ]
[With Granada . . . ]
[As the backdrop . . . ]
[Granada, in a hazy mist . . . ]
[Heading back down the stair well from where we were taking the preceding photos . . . ]
[Back to the gardens . . . ]
[From here our guide Anna bade us all adios, it was time to tour on our own . . . ]
[As we continued our garden tour . . . ]
[The rain began to become annoying . . . ]
[While the weather was uncomfortable, the rain brought the sense of smell into the picture – it was fresh . . . ]
[Where we were, with Anne pointing to the way out . . . ]
[The exit route . . . ]
[It was a long slippery downward slope in a pouring rain . . . ]
[I think I had to have the Super hold the umbrella so I could get these photos half way down. Really, Washington Irving? Washington Irving (1783 – 1859) was the son of a New York merchant, he was trained in law but gave it up for the family business. When it collapsed he turned to writing but also figured proximately in the diplomatic world. In England he was secretary to the American Embassy and then took up the post in Spain as Ambassador. In 1829 he journeyed from Seville to Granada and then took up residence in the Alhambra palace when it was in an abandoned state. In Spain he wrote “Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada” (1829) and his best known work “Tales of the Alhambra” which was first published in London in 1832 under the title “The Alhambra; a series of tales and sketches of the Moors and the Spaniards”. It weaves a series of stories around the folk with whom he shared his life there. Irving was largely responsible, along with the French writers of the same period, for the Romantic image of Al-Andalus which persists to this day. The book met with immediate success wherever it was published. A best seller of its day (www.andalucia.com/history).]
[Our hike down the hill has led us to the Grenada Cathedral. Recall the previous photo of this cathedral taken from above at the Alhambra . . . ]
[Unlike most cathedrals in Spain, construction was not begun until the sixteenth century, after acquisition of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada from its Muslim rulers in 1492. While its earliest plans had Gothic designs, such as are evident in the Royal Chapel of Granada by Enrique Egas, most of the church’s construction occurred when the Spanish Renaissance style was supplanting the Gothic in Spanish architecture. Foundations for the church were laid by the Enrique Egas starting from 1518 to 1523 atop the site of the city’s main mosque; by 1529, Egas was replaced by Diego de Siloe who worked for nearly four decades on the structure from ground to cornice, planning the triforium and five naves instead of the usual three (Wikipedia).]
[Wandering the cathedral’s exterior neighborhood . . . ]
[Just in time for a wedding?]
[Grand Plaza of the cathedral – we likely would have spent more time here in better weather . . . ]
[And . . . we’re in . . . ]
[Granada’s cathedral has a rectangular base due to its five naves that completely cover the cross.. All of the five naves are staggered in height, the central one being the largest. At the foot of the cathedral there are two towers. The left one, called the tower of San Miguel, acts as a buttress which replaced the planned tower on that side. The main chapel consists of a series of Corinthian columns on which capitals is the entablature and, over it, the vault, which houses a series of delicate stained glass windows. The facade consists of a framed structure in the form of a triumphal arch with portals and canvas. It consists of three pillars crowned by semicircular arches supported on pilasters . . . The pilasters don’t have capitals but projections sculptured in the walls, as well as attached marble medallions. Above the main door is located a marble tondo from “José Laughing on the Annunciation”. Additionally, there is a vase with lilies at the top, alluding to the virgin and pure nature of the mother of God. The sacrarium, raised between 1706 and 1759, follows the classic proportions of the whole, keeping the multiple columns of the transept the shapes of the compound of Siloam (Wikipedia).]
[The Super ordering paella?]
[From here, photos throughout. The contrast in lighting just made one do so . . . ]
[We always say, sometimes all the cathedrals just seem to meld together. Kinda liked this one though . . . ]
[Back at the hotel, time to check out social media. What did we used to do?]
[Wondering where we were going to go for fine dining . . . ]
[Then a brain storm. The weather wasn’t very good for outdoor wandering, so we just decided to eat at the hotel restaurant. Most of these upscale hotels have excellent restaurants, but it’s like you never fish in the lake you live on. So, here we are at the Garbo with wonderful ambience . . . ]
[It even comes with a fake bookcase . . . ]
[It appears we’re eating at proper Spanish dining time – 8:00 . . . ]
[The Super checks the menu . . . ]
[I had the duck breast. On the morrow, we would be off to Sevilla.]
That’s all from Granada, folks!!
Spain travel tip: If bathroom genders are indicated by flamingos, the boy flamingo is the one with a hat. I learned this the hard way. ~ Dave Barry
Up Next: Cardinal sports
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