Tales of the Alhambra

Cal has visited his last European museum.  And the end couldn’t have come any sooner for him.  That boy is done.  It took everything we had to get him through this one.  He wasn’t excited to go.  He was cranky about the car ride. He was underwhelmed by the beautiful gardens.  He couldn’t even muster a smile for the camera.  That boy is done!  Declan managed to squeak out a bit of enthusiasm for the dungeons, the famous Alhambra bell, and have a good long tease about the audio guide. 

The English version of the audio guide is mainly excerpts from Washington Irving’s “Tales of the Alhambra” with a few choice historical bits thrown in for good measure.  When you are an 11 year old boy whose main interest is the history of warfare, zombies and vampires, Irving’s romantic notions of a mysterious palace and the secrets which it holds does not capture your interest.  I paraphrase - “Oh, many a day I awoke to see the Tower of the Three Princesses. Their mystery and the glow of the tower in the sunset helped my imagination take flight.”  Hmmm.  To Declan that quickly became, “Oh how I long to take this pomegranate and throw it at the princess’ heads and see how it would explode.”  And his improvisations went downhill from there.  Of course, that was better than Mr. Callum Mopeypants.  But these are the perils of traveling with children.  They have, for the most part, been extremely game.

I thought the Alhambra was gorgeous.  The gardens were spectacular and it was heartening to see so many people enjoy it.  There were many Muslim families there snapping away with their cameras, recording themselves in front of the intricate stone and wood carvings.  The gardens were full of Jasmine and small fountains.  Although the day was scorching hot, the gardens and the hillside location made it seem cool.  Blake and I agreed, however, that the Real Alcazar back in Seville was just as impressive.  In Seville, the gardens were even more impressive because they were unexpected.  Isn’t that funny.  When one’s expectations are high, they can only hope to be met.  When one’s expectations are low, they can be surpassed.