it’s alhambra or nada in granada, spain (part dos)

arches of shrubberies! at generalife, alhambra

we get to alhambra and there is a long line for the tickets. we queue up and after a while S.O. steps away to have a smoke. out of the corner of my eye, i see a woman roaming up and down the line, saying, “dos, dos billetes (two, two tickets)” and the german dude behind me starts to talk to her in broken english. that’s when i wise up to the situation and whip out my grade-school español, “si! si! queria dos billetes, por favor.” she immediately turns her attention to me and explains that she has two extra tickets because her friends couldn’t make it. and i immediately pay her for the two tickets and thank her profusely for saving me the long wait and possible denial of entry to to alhambra, UNESCO world heritage site! incredible! in the meantime, the german dude’s GF joins him in the line and even though i don’t know any german their conversation went something like this:

german GF: what? she just bought two scalped tickets? why didn’t YOU get them?

german dude: i…tried…but this chick just interrupted me…and she got them instead.

GGF: wtf? $%^&* how could you be so slow and stupid? now we have to wait in this long line and who knows if we’re even going to get in?! $%^&*

GD: i…uh…tried…but…but…she spoke spanish!

uh-oh. someone’s in the schnauzer haus.

and that’s how we got tickets to the alhambra — and yes, they were real, bona fide tickets. and let me tell you, it was WORTH THE TRIP! you’re probably tired of hearing my bourgeois griping about the lack of impressivity of the castles in europe. well, this was the castle of all castles. the castle to knock your calcetines off. and i really have to send a big muchas gracias to señor rodriguez, my high school spanish teacher for teaching me basic conversational español.

alhambra has three parts:

1 – the alcazaba (fortification): this fortification makes all other fortifications pale in comparison; the views of the nearby sierra nevada are stunning; oh and even though you’re in the south of spain, it’s chilly here so make sure to layer up.

2 – generalife (architect’s garden): it’s pronounced, “he-ne-ral-LEE-fe” despite it’s resemblance to the name of a life insurance company; i felt like alice in wonderland strolling through the manicured topiaries and walkway of cyprus trees; it’s very surreal and romantic here.

3-palacio nazríes (nazrid palaces): the crown jewel in the complex; it has incredible ornate detailing in the architecture and you really see the moorish influence here; they don’t like to have too many visitors at once, so on your ticket, you have a 30-minute alloted entry time (ours was 1:30-2:00). but once you’re in you can stay until it closes.

see the pictures of alhambra, UNESCO world heritage site!, on my flickr photostream.