Granada part dos y tres

We are resting in our lovely room with a view (of the Alhambra, that is) after a great day visiting the palace complex.  We slept in a bit, till 9am, and had a nice little continental breakfast at the hotel and walked up the back side of the hill on which the Alhambra is situated.  Our hotel is very centrally located and we really are enjoying it as a place to stay. In fact, our room when we arrive was small, but nice, the problem was however, since it was winter and they had turned off the hotel's air conditioning, the room did not have a window which opened to the outdoors, it was warm & stuffy, and definitely too warm to sleep comfortably. When we inquired about this they stated they would upgrade us to another room the following night free of charge - very nice!

The view from our room up to the Alhambra

Back to the day - we walked up to the palace and did the tour of the main palace or Palacios Nazaries. We really enjoy traveling in the fall/early winter as the crowds are less and there are fewer children to trip over.  I can't even imagine how exhausting this place would be at the height of tourist season with the summer heat, but we had a lovely sunny, crisp day with only a few tour groups to navigate around.

Reflecting pool at the "Court of the Myrtles"

A small bite for lunch at the plaza within the Alhambra

The views from the palace were amazing and we could see our hotel from several vantage points. 

Our hotel is up the street in the center of the photo

With all the fall colors blanketing the trees, it proved a nice contrast to the red palace and the bright blue sky.

Yesterday, after sleep almost 13 hours (I think we were both exhausted!) we had our brunch of Tortilla Espana & sliced chorizo while basking in the warm sun.  The restaurant was along the Carrera del Darro near our hotel and provided the perfect spot for people watching out on their Sunday stroll.

Reeves and a lovely brunch venue

We then walked up and down the Albaicin area till we arrived at the Catedral.  It wasn't open yet so we decided to take an open-top bus tour around the city.  It was so-so, with the audio cutting in and out, but it let us see a few parts of Grenada outside the area we could comfortably walk. 

We arrived back at the Catedral and visited the Royal Chapel & the main church.  It was such a spectacular interior and much more uplifting and light than the typical English or French cathedrals which was a nice change.

We ended our day with a huge lunch which was actually our dinner since we had skipped "lunch". It was an incredible Paella which we shared and did very well, almost finishing the whole plate!

Paella!!!

By 7:30 we were ready to collapse and enjoy an evening in our cozy room with a view.