<By Anne Ducey>
My eighth day of travel in Spain brought me to the epic Alhambra, in the center of the southern city of Granada. My daughter and I had seen it before looming above the whitewashed dwellings of the Albaicin and framing itself in the windows of Federico Garcia Lorca’s summer home. “The Red Fortress” is a mass of Moorish architecture–the site of cultural and political battles, and the inspiration for stories and art for centuries. For me it represents another reason to celebrate my long-delayed wanderlust.
Washington Irving’s Recollections of the Alhambra inspired this series of pictures.
For my part, I gave myself up, during my sojourn in the Alhambra
...To all the romantic and fabulous traditions connected with the pile.
I lived in the midst of an Arabian tale
And shut my eyes, as much as possible, to everything that called me back to everyday life
And if there is any country in Europe where one can do so
It is in poor, wild, legendary, proud-spirited, romantic Spain
Where the old magnificent barbaric spirit still contends against the utilitarianism of modern civilization
Anne Ducey was born in Japan and lived all over the world during her youth as an Army brat. That came to a halt at the onset of adulthood. Her journey to Spain with her daughter, Robin Kilmer, is a first step towards continued travel during her third age. She lives in Kansas City and buys and sells stuff for a living.
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lovely photos!