Villa D'Este

We went to the Villa D'Este in Tivoli today. It was built in the 16th century by Ippolita d'Este who was made Archbishop of Milan at the age of 10! He was a cardinal at 30 and wanted to be Pope but was thwarted in his ambition so he decided to garden instead!

The fountains and gardens were truly magnificent and had been designed by some of the finest artists and architects of the time putting all that church collection money to good use :)

Charlie at the Rometta fountain which had a scale model of  an ancient Roman boat

Rog being Monty Don on the Avenue of a Hundred Fountains

Spot the difference :)

Fountain of Ovato

The Fountain of Neptune

Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli

Emperor Hadrian assumed power on 2nd Aug 117AD. He was a highly cultured man, appreciated all forms of art and had a special passion for architecture. He rebuilt London in 122AD after the fire and constructed Hadrian's wall. His private villa was constructed between 118-134 AD and occupied a site of 300 hectares of which only 1/5 is still visible today. The villa complimented the surrounding countryside and was of a scale and refinement not previously seen.

We particularly enjoyed the scale of some of the buildings, the fish and turtles in the water features.

Emperor Hadrian
(born in Spain)

The great Baths in the background

The Canopus

La Alhambra

Today we visited the breathtaking Alhambra palaces and gardens.

The Alhambra (meaning red in Spanish due to the colour of the stone) was originally constructed as a fortress in 889 (the Alcazaba) and later converted to a royal palace in 1333. The Alhambra's Islamic palaces were built for the last Muslim emirs of Spain in the 14th century and followed the consistent theme of 'paradise on earth' with column arcades, fountains and reflecting pools. The Palace of Charles V was built in 1527 and contrasts sharply with the earlier Moorish architecture.

The Nasrid palace was truly amazing with stalactite ceilings, highly decorated stucco walls, marble fountains, geometric tiles and arabesques. There were bathrooms with hot and cold running water and pressurised water for showering.

The older fortress occupies a strategic position at the front of the plateau and has expansive views over Granada.

The palace and gardens of Generalife (Garden of the Architect in Muslim) was the summer palace and country estate of the Nasrid kings and became part of the Alhambra complex in the 1900's.

I cannot find words to describe the beauty of this place, even Chocolate Moose was impressed!! He has a few comments as always... we're on the run from the Andalucian authorities now!! Back to hide out in the mountains!!

Detail of the Nasrid Palace

Courtyard of the Lions

Courtyard in Nasrid palace

View over Alcazaba and Albaicin (district of Granada)

Nasrid palace in background

View from Generalife to Alhambra

Court of la Acequia (Generalife)

Chateau's

Chateau's Galore in the Loire. Sarah is reliving her childhood wondering around Chateau's in the Loire. Alex and Charlie are learning to speak French. I'm still struggling to get the mac connected to the Internet hence the brief posts from my iPhone.