Nothing 'General' about these Gardens

What better way to end a visit to the Alhambra than with a visit to the General Life gardens. It may sound like an insurance company, but there the comparison ends, as you can see ...


We really liked this spot amongst some orange and lemon trees and clearly we looked at home here, as when we went to get up after our photo, lots of people begged us to stay where we were so they could take a picture of us too. We were flattered to be so much in demand.

For those of our readers who aren't too wordly wise, it's important to know how to pronounce General Life. You need to call the gardens 'Heneral Leafay' and then you will sound like a local, not a tourist.

The main attraction of the gardens for us, was all the lovely water features. Even though it was only March, it was hot enough for us to be glad of the cooling effect of the rising and falling water. We took lots of photos to show gardening bear Tommy, in the hope that he can emulate some of these features in the gardens of the bear cave.


As we strolled along the colonnades beside the water troughs, we could look out, through the arches, at the buildings of the main part of the Alhambra ...


It was all quite simply, idyllic and we were sad to leave this wonderful place. Although it receives thousands of visitors, we were still able to enjoy some peace and tranquility and it didn't feel too touristy.

Hopefully, one day we'll return.

Lots of love George, Yorkie, Pedro and Gio xxx

Alhambra 2

We hope you enjoyed the Suffolk branch's post from Brittany as much as we did. It just goes to show what a nose for travel us bears have; we get everywhere. In fact, while the Suffolk branch were sunning themselves in Brittany, we were away on yet another Norfolk branch adventure, but before we reveal more, it's back to the Alhambra and another stunning picture to start us off.

Often when we tour round historic sites and old monuments, we begin to flag quite quickly as we get culture overload. Not so with the Alhambra - we remained bright eyed and bushy tailed for many hours drinking it all in.

This was because there was so much to see and so much variety. After visiting the palaces, we investigated the Alcazaba (great name!) which was the military fortress.

It was grand from the outside and also on the inside ...

The architecture was very different to that of the palaces, as you would expect. Climbing to the top of the tower gave us some views to marvel at ...

At the best of times Gio can't help being a bit boggly-eyed, which is part of his immense charm, but even he had to boggle more than usual ...

... and we still hadn't got to our favourite bit yet. Pictures coming soon!

Lots of love George, Yorkie, Gio and Pedro xxx

One of the 7 Wonders of the World?

The highlight of our week in Spain was undoubtedly our trip to the Alhambra. There was so much to see, and it was all so stunning, that it will fill a very long chapter in the Friendly Planet Guide.

We decided to pass on the organised HPB trip and arrange our own, so we could depart at a civilised hour. Trig, our trusty hire car, had a long run up to Granada but we enjoyed the scenery en route, especially the views of the snow capped Sierras.

Granada also looked a fine city as we drove through, but, on this occasion, the Alhambra was more than enough for us, so we ignored its charms.


Our timed slot to visit the Nazaries Palaces was at 2.00 p.m. so we made sure we were there early. The timed slots work well and we enjoyed being able to view these stunning palaces and courtyards without having to fight our way through huge crowds.

We had hired audio guides so we were able to hear lots of fascinating facts about the Alhambra, all in English! There was a lot to learn, but to be honest with you, we've forgotten it all now, so we won't spout any exotic names or dates. In any event, the Alhambra is a feast for the eyes, far more than a feast for the ears.

We particularly enjoyed the open spaces ...



... and Gio was thrilled with all the scallop shells at the entrance to the places, as they reminded him of his time walking the Camino to Santiago (the scallop being the emblem of St James).


Pedro and I were quite taken with the ornate niches, of which the following is a good example.


They made good resting places for bears and strangely enough they were always unoccupied, possibly as they were too small for humans. We liked the suggestion that, historically, they were places to leave your slippers when you went inside, although this probably is just a fanciful notion.

We hope you're beginning to get a flavour of the Alhambra and why we enjoyed our visit so much.

We've got lots more Alhambra pictures to share, so keep looking out for our next post.

Lots of love, George, Yorkie, Gio and Pedro