Annoyingly we still had to queue to get in, which really didn't help the mood! We've since found out that they only allocate 6,500 tickets per day. So it was a good job we booked as people were being turned away at lunchtime. Once in, we were confronted by a series of walks in gardens and the choice of palaces to visit. But we could only enter the Nasrid palace at our allocated time of 1:30pm. As we were all hungry we bought lunch, ate that sitting in the garden on a park bench, and then took in what we could. Without the audio guide (NOT included in the price) we were a little stuck as to what was what. The site plan was OK, but there were no facts, no detail, no history. And I think that spoiled it a lot for us. We were unable to put it all into context, to understand the purpose and significance of it all.
Me being me, I've since read up about it all and realised what a remarkable place we have seen. I don't think Ed will change his perception of the place, (queues are not his favourite pastime!) but for me now knowing a few facts, such as that part of it was built in the 13th century, it was created to belie an image of waning power so supposedly symbolises paradise on earth, and it was the last palace of the Nasrid dynasty before Granada was handed over the the Catholic King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, that they met Columbus there before he set off for India (but discovered the Americas), that later additions were made by Charles V, that the American writer Washington Irving had apartments there, and it suffered an attempt by Napolean's troops to blow it up means that it really is an amazing piece of history and yet again we have been rather privileged to have seen it all first hand.
Clare
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