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edenfallingToday we saw the Alhambra, the Generalife, the Royal Chapel, and the Granada cathedral. The Nazarid Palace in the Alhambra is as amazing as the guidebooks claim, and the rest of the complex is pretty awesome too, especially the gardens of the Generalife and the Alcazaba, or the old fortress at the far end of the complex. Emperor Charles V´s palace, on the other hand, is quite forgettable. It´s not anything like as dramatically out of place as a cathedral in the middle of the Mezquita, but not an eighth as interesting either.
The Royal Chapel is gorgeous and historically interesting. The cathedral is a huge, blocky Rennaissance construction -- logical, since Granada was Muslim until Ferdinand and Isabella (who are always referred to as "the Catholic monarchs" here) took the city. It´s quite light and bright and impressive inside, but while I like Rennaissance artwork and am down with Baroque altarpieces, I vastly prefer Gothic architecture. Gothic is less "I will impress you through sheer SIZE, and to hell with grace when I have strength and (theoretically, at least) balanced proportions," which is my general impression of Rennaissance architecture, and more about "I will impress you through HEIGHT, and also look at how many windows I can fit in! Yay windows and pointy arches!" I am, as you may have gathered, a fan of pointy arches and giant stained glass windows. :-)
Random observation: instead of real votive candles before the various chapels, the Granada cathedral has little banks of electric fake candles, which you "light" through a coin-operated machine. Every ten Euro-cents buys you one candle for a certain length of time. I bought three candles and asked for nothing to go wrong during the rest of the trip, on the off chance that someone or something both exists and might be listening. Given the predicted blizzard on the east coast, I figure I have a right to be slightly worried about the weather conditions when I fly home on Wednesday!
Between the Alhambra and the cathedral, we had tapas for lunch; the best part was the figs wrapped in Spanish ham, which I could happily eat every day hereafter. Alas, I don´t think I can get that dish in Ithaca. :-( After the cathedral, Mom and Dad went to climb a hill and hopefully see the Alhambra at sunset. Vicky is taking a nap. I wrote and stamped three postcards and took the opportunity to check email and write up the day. We hope for an early-ish dinner, so we can leave for Madrid at a reasonable hour. If we succeed, we may detour for a brief stop in Toledo. If not, well, we will at the very least get to Madrid, which is all we strictly need to do.
In a small side note, our hotel has heated towel racks, which is very helpful in drying hand-washed clothes. :-D
Now I am off to rest a bit before dinner, as we probably can´t get into any restaurants until at least 8pm. Spain is weird like that.
The Royal Chapel is gorgeous and historically interesting. The cathedral is a huge, blocky Rennaissance construction -- logical, since Granada was Muslim until Ferdinand and Isabella (who are always referred to as "the Catholic monarchs" here) took the city. It´s quite light and bright and impressive inside, but while I like Rennaissance artwork and am down with Baroque altarpieces, I vastly prefer Gothic architecture. Gothic is less "I will impress you through sheer SIZE, and to hell with grace when I have strength and (theoretically, at least) balanced proportions," which is my general impression of Rennaissance architecture, and more about "I will impress you through HEIGHT, and also look at how many windows I can fit in! Yay windows and pointy arches!" I am, as you may have gathered, a fan of pointy arches and giant stained glass windows. :-)
Random observation: instead of real votive candles before the various chapels, the Granada cathedral has little banks of electric fake candles, which you "light" through a coin-operated machine. Every ten Euro-cents buys you one candle for a certain length of time. I bought three candles and asked for nothing to go wrong during the rest of the trip, on the off chance that someone or something both exists and might be listening. Given the predicted blizzard on the east coast, I figure I have a right to be slightly worried about the weather conditions when I fly home on Wednesday!
Between the Alhambra and the cathedral, we had tapas for lunch; the best part was the figs wrapped in Spanish ham, which I could happily eat every day hereafter. Alas, I don´t think I can get that dish in Ithaca. :-( After the cathedral, Mom and Dad went to climb a hill and hopefully see the Alhambra at sunset. Vicky is taking a nap. I wrote and stamped three postcards and took the opportunity to check email and write up the day. We hope for an early-ish dinner, so we can leave for Madrid at a reasonable hour. If we succeed, we may detour for a brief stop in Toledo. If not, well, we will at the very least get to Madrid, which is all we strictly need to do.
In a small side note, our hotel has heated towel racks, which is very helpful in drying hand-washed clothes. :-D
Now I am off to rest a bit before dinner, as we probably can´t get into any restaurants until at least 8pm. Spain is weird like that.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-12-26 10:39 pm (UTC)I agree with you about the Nazarid Palace (very beautiful, with all its intricate details) and how dull Charles V's palace was. Did you get to see the fountain in the court of the Lions? It was still under renovation when I was there.
The Royal Chapel was all right, though not as spectacular as the Alhambra. I think it was more about how dim it was compared to the light that shone through the Moorish palace.
There's a blizzard blowing through the East Coast right now. Here in NYC, we've gotten several inches of snow already though the final totals look to be considerably less upstate. Hopefully, the airports and delays will be better by the time you fly back to the States.
And do stop in Toledo if you get a chance! It's so much fun to walk up and down the narrow streets throughout the town.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 04:10 am (UTC)I found the Royal Chapel interesting more for historical reasons than artistic ones, but that is par for the course with me. *wry*