The Nasrid Palace & the Gardens of the Alhambra

Granada has a gorgeous landscape as you look over the city from the Alhamba. Cypress trees dot the landscape in between the numerous buildings that cover the city. And with the cool, fresh breeze under beautiful blue skies, it was the perfect day to explore one of the most beautiful historic sites in the world!

The Gardens and Pools of Hearst Castle

After the Grand Rooms Tour, we ended up back outside of Hearst Castle. Here's another closeup view of the front facade which has quite a Spanish flair.

Tales from the Alhambra

Spain is an amazing country with a colorful and vibrant history. It was too bad I had so little time to explore but even so, there was no way I was going to miss the Alhambra in Granada.  It is worth noting for first-time visitors that you will most likely not be able to get a same-day ticket to the Palace in Alhambra.  Be sure to book your tickets early online here in advance otherwise your trip there may be a dud. If you are informed that you can pick up the tickets when you arrive onsite, don't worry as you will be able to pick them up at the machines near the entrance of the complex.

Schloss Benrath

Schloss Benrath (Benrath Palace) lies on the southern outskirts of Düsseldorf and is easily reachable by either tram, metro or local train. As I had stayed at the Ibis Düsseldorf Zentrum which was rather close to the train station, I took the train straight there. On the left is one of the vending machines at the station.