There are in this world maybe a handful of places that have true, internationally-recognised 'wow factor'. Places that have insinuated themselves into world consciousness such that even
those who have never visited them are aware of their existence and, thanks to the modern world and its almost unlimited information available to us all at the touch of a keypad, can visualise them. The Taj Mahal, Machu Pichu, the Pyramids... We could all draw up a 'bucket list' of iconic locations that, given the opportunity, we would love to visit. Each of us would have a different list, for sure, but I suspect that common to a great many would be the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Andalucia, southern Spain.
I have been aware of the Alhambra for a great many years but in a vague 'isn't it meant to be lovely' sort of a way. I knew it was meant to be exquisite, one of the loveliest buildings in the world,
but more than that I did not really know. It was on the bucket-list, and I guess I thought it would remain there for some time. It was only when we booked a holiday to the Almeria region of
Spain that visiting it became a real possibility as it lay within daytrip distance of where we were staying. But having looked at flights we realised that adding a two-night stay in Granada at the
end of our vacation made more sense as, quite apart from anything else, it would allow us to visit the Alhambra without rushing, as well as having an opportunity to explore Granada itself. And so it was that in November 2015 we drove over the mountain pass and into Granada and caught our fist glimpse of this most astonishing of places.
This is an attempt to try and capture something of what makes the Alhambra Palace one of the most popular tourist attractions in Europe and hopefully to demonstrate why that status is so richly
deserved. We had very high expectations and we were not disappointed...