Alhambra!

This time while going to the Alhambra, we took the shorter path, so that we did not have to hike up a mountain again to get there. The full Arabic name for Ahambra was Calat Alhambra which means the red fortress. Aparently they weren't very creative in names in the 14th century, when it was built. It was taken by King Ferdinand II in 1492, but was abandoned until the 19th century. This place was massive, which numerous palaces and fortresses on top of the hill. The view was beautiful and I can see why someone would want to build a palace there. This was definitely the highlight of my trip to Granada.

At the hostel we met an older lady from Canada that is traveling all over Europe. She was going to travel when she was younger but joined the Peace Corps and went to Africa to help people there instead. Then, she started a career and had a family and never got the opportunity go on this trip. Someone finally told her that she can take money out of her house and go. So she did and had already been all over and was going to be in Europe for a while. We even ran into her at Alhambra and she took her picture. It just shows that if you are determined enough to do something you can make it happen.

After we went to Alhambra, a few of us went to a Cartuja monastery, which ended up being a lot further away than we thought. We had to climb up another massive hill to get there as we walked the length of Granada. The reason why I walked up so many hills that weekend is because Granada is next to the Sierra Nevada mountain range, which are the highest mountains in Spain and a popular skiing location. Overall the Granada trip was great and I am so glad that I am getting this change to explore cities in Spain.