Episode 33 --Trip to Spain (2) Granada/Nerja/Sevilla/Madrid

As a continuation of my last post, I will go on writing down my journey to Spain. After my first stop at Barcelona, we also went to Granada to visit Alhambra, and we watched an authentic Flamenco dance show in Sacramento. 
One exciting thing about going to Granada was that I was able to overlook the Barcelona's coastline through the window on the plane. The plane kept flying at a relatively low altitude, and it was so beautiful when I saw that the sea and the sky somehow linked together, making it a harmonious scene. 

I'd say that Alhambra was not as majestic as I expected (only my personal view), probably because I have seen similar places before, such as Imperial Palaces in Beijing and Potala Palace in Tibet. Therefore, the whole view of Alhambra did not strike me as breath-taking. However, it is still a must-see place of interest in Granada as the tickets are usually sold out very quickly and the lines to get into the palace were crazy long. 

 

This is a bird's eye view of the city Granada. 

Inside the main building of Alhambra, we'll see.....

The third stop was Nerja, which is a small city near Malaga that a lot of visitors don't go, but we made a wise choice to take to bus there and check it out. To anyone who is interested in visiting Spain, Nerja won't let you down! It is a city to chill out, enjoying the sea view and have a bottle of wine. 

After spending a cheerful afternoon in Nerja, we took a train to Sevilla. Sevilla is my another favorite city in Spain, second to Barcelona. What is amazing about Sevilla is that it is just like a magnified painting, full of bright colors and vitality. The orange trees are everywhere; the horse carriages are busy with carrying the visitors around several main scenic spots. We stopped by Catedral de Sevilla and Plaza de Espana, and we lived within the Barrio de Santa Cruz, which all made my stay at Sevilla unforgettable. 

The cathedral in Sevilla does not pale in comparison with Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. In fact, it seems to me that the main lobby is much bigger than Sagrada Familia, and it took more time to explore the whole cathedral. 

It was a lot fun riding on the horse carriage to tour around a part of the city, especially when the horse took you to the street with cars and buses running past by. 

It is the square in front of the Catedral de Sevilla.  

We rode the horse carriage to Plaza de Espana. It is another piece of architecture that fascinated me. 

Look at the cloud! 

Finally, since our hotel is very close to the Cathedral, we went to the terrace to see its night view.  

Madrid was the last stop we chose to cap off our wonderful 10-day trip to Spain. Royal Palace of Madrid became the deepest impression that I had about this capital city. From my personal aesthetic point of view, I tend to choose the palace in Madrid over the one in Granada. 

Also, we explored the famous Plaze de Toros de Las Ventas. Since it is winter, there is no event scheduled during that season. But when it comes to spring, people will be flocking to the plaza to witness the performance of matador. 

So that is pretty much about my trip to Spain. Even now, I can still feel this Spanish hangover as I browse these pictures. It is such a wonderful trip and an amazing country. I'd love to go there again if there is a chance.