The Details.

The palace is covered in intricately carved walls, and is also open to the sky. These little birds have made themselves right at home.

 

Alhambra.

 

As the Catholic kings of Spain fought to take control of the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims, the last holdout of the great Islamic Emirate was the Nasrid palace at Granada, the Alhambra.

After the Muslims (and Jews) were all killed, converted or fled from the peninsula the Catholics got right to work destroying much of the artwork in the palace.

Spread over several acres, the palace and its surrounding grounds have been partially restored and are now a World Heritage Site.


 

NOTICE.

All employees must wash hands after DJing pizzas.


(Also, gross.  Is this making anyone want to eat at this place?)

Good God.

Down a side street in Granada, having a drink and a snack. The bar's interior was just every so slightly religious-themed.

The Pyrenees. (Without war elephants)

They say that Hannibal marched his army of war elephants over the Pyrenees and later through the alps to attack northern Italy. Tough guy (and tough elephants).

It took us about six hours to drive from Madrid up to the mountains, and we had the benefit of several tunnels cut into the mountains and an all-wheel drive Japanese car.

Deep in the Spanish Pyrenees, about 15 miles from the French border, we spent a long weekend at Baqueira Beret, the largest ski resort in Spain. The mountain is actually three mountains, and was way more than I could cover in just two days on the slopes.

Great snow and lots of opportunities for steeps and cliffs. It snowed the entire time we were there (which is not a bad thing in my book), but it means now photos from the actual slopes. After a day of skiing, Lydia and I drove through the valley with a few stops along the way for pictures.

Dam Staircase.

Well you know, because dams are cool looking. But also, because of the stair case dug into the rock facade. They weren't so much worried about hand rails at that point.