Day 11 - Malaga, Spain

Today, we're off to Granada, Spain to see the Alhambra Palace that started construction way back in the mid-1200's. Its awesome Moorish architecture was declared a National Monument in 1870. Washington Irving lived there in 1829.

We began our tour in the expansive garden area where we saw a wide variety of gigantic hedges, exotic plants, fountains and water features.

The buildings adjoining the gardens had ornate carved plaster walls and ceilings.

Another nice garden is the Court of the Cypress.

From the gardens, we could see what lies ahead - the Palace itself overlooking the town below.

When we arrived at the Palace itself, we were awed by its beauty. Here is one of the entrances to the Palace on the other side of a reflective pool.

Inside, the walls had the most intricate carved plaster with a recurring theme that says "Only God is Victorious" in Arabic or Moorish script (and it is repeated over 9,000 times!) plus some of the most ornate courtyards we've ever seen..

 This was one of the most amazing places we've seen so far.