I was starting to crave an all-American breakfast, so you can imagine my disappointment when I ordered an item titled “omelet,” only to receive a plate sized potato pancake. Ordering food abroad can often be a game of mystery and surprise. Greg and I were fueling up for our afternoon tour of The Alhambra. 

The day was sweltering to say the least, and we were already sweating bullets simply getting to the tour meeting point. I shouldn’t say simply though, because The Alhambra is perched atop a mountain-like hill, so getting to it is a quarter mile calf-burning ascent. As expected, the entrance grounds were swarming with tourists, but we were able to locate our tour group and get equipped with our headsets fairly easily. Though our tour was during the hottest hours of the day, we both thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved learning about this walled in city! One of the coolest parts for me was seeing ruins of the soldiers quarters, because you could see the foundations of their family homes, which truly gave me an image of daily life in a now dormant fortress. 

   
 Additionally, The Torre de Velas now provides us with a 360 degree view of the entire city, but back in the 11th century provided the Granada elite and sultans with extra security. 

   
   
But above all, the most spectacular sites within The Alhambra must be the palaces where sultans once dwelled. When you enter the palaces, it’s hard to not let out some kind of vocal adoration. The walls are chiseled with Arabic words, floor to ceiling. The ceiling of the first palace we entered looked like an arching, tiered honeycomb, and the courtyards are straight out of Disney’s Aladdin. I half expected to see Jasmine petting Raja by the fountain of one of the palace courtyards. Even with all the tourists snapping selfies, the courtyards possessed an ancient, magic, charm that I’ll never forget. 

   
    
    
 The Alhambra also boasts gorgeous gardens that are lined with shrubs that shape into arches and purple flowers that perfume the air. Beyond the gardens is the Generalife, and no it doesn’t mean general life, this was where all the agriculture was cultivated and harvested. The people of The Alhambra traded with the people of Granada, outside their walls as well. The tour was about 3 and a half hours, which was the perfect length. 

   
    
    
    
   
After Alhambra we strolled the streets more, acquiring unnecessary trinkets and souvenirs at the countless little shops along the way. When we got back to the hotel, we deliberated over our dinner plans, as I wanted to try one of the restaurants with a terrace overlooking The Alhambra that we had spotted on our walk the previous night up to the Mirador de San Nicolas, but Greg was concerned that this would be too romantic for us siblings. He was persistently terrified that people thought we were on our honeymoon. In the end, we decided to deal with the romance factor for the sake of dining with a view. 

   
 We chose a place called El Agua, and got there around 8:30. We were the only ones there and as soon as we sat down they turned on this romantic music and lit our candle…we both squirmed with humiliation, but quickly allowed the discomfort to evaporate as soon as we tasted the food. Oddly enough, this place was a fondu restaurant. I hadn’t had fondu since I was about 8 or 9, so this was truly a treat! We sat for hours, gazing out at the Alhambra in the setting sun, devouring chunks of bread dipped in gooey, delicious cheese, and sipping vino blanco. After dinner we walked up to the top of Mirador de San Nicolas one final time to say a final goodnight and God bless to the stunning relic atop the Andalusian hilltop.