Granada
Two rivers cross through Granada. On the way into town, we saw the Genil running placidly alongside a park-like avenue in the center of town. The Darro (which appears as a canal in picture number three below) runs between the two hills that make up the old part of the city where we spent most of our time.
The Alhambra stands atop one hill. In pictures 4 and 9 below you can see the walls and towers of the Alhambra from the Plaza Nueva, the oldest square in the city, situated by the Darro and between the two hills. The other hill is the picturesque barrio called the Albaicin, filled with shops and restaurants.
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Washington Irving traveled to Granada in 1829, when Spain was regarded as rather wild and dangerous, with robbers lurking in every mountain pass. He actually took up residence in the (then neglected) Alhambra, with the permission of the governor of Granada, for several months. There he wrote the Tales of the Alhambra.
That book is out of print, for the most part. In the midst of searching for it before the trip, I stumbled on a piece of sensible advice: wait until you get to Granada, and buy it there. It is available in more than a dozen languages. This is what we did.
The descriptions from a hundred years ago are still uncannily accurate, though the Alhambra is much cleaned up since then and today Granada is a must-see for many European travelers. It is still the Calle de Gomerez ( 6 above) that climbs from the Plaza Nueva to the gates of the Alhambra.
Next: The Albaicin