Alhambra, “the red one,” dominates the cliffs of Granada; its imposing stoneworks proclaiming the power of the generals and royals who built it.

I would love to tell you more about it, but those walls were about all we got to see.

One thing no one tells you about this place is that they only allow about 300 people in at a time, so you have to book a specific time slot. Makes total sense since it was only built to house like entire conquering armies, then later thousands of worshipers from across the region, right? So without a ticket or clue we find ourselves locked outside the gates.

A regular ticket (which, I think includes a tour) will run you about 14 euro per person. Either way, if you want to wander the palaces and halls, book your ticket about 2-3 months in advance. For those who want to live in the moment, I guess you will just have to do that elsewhere.

We were, however, able to snag some 7 euro tickets that let us walk the gardens and a small corner of some sort of palace, under the shame of night. I would be lying didn’t say it isn’t beautiful. The terraces of Cyprus and pine, perfected over centuries rise above the red brick covered in Islamic scriptures. But for 7 euros, you only get as short moment with it.

Another issue we had, which is a little crazy considering it’s you know, like a UNESCO World Heritage Site - something preserved for only like the whole world to enjoy - the tickets we were able to purchase stated our time to sneak in with shame, and under the cover of night was at 8:30.

Pulling ourselves away from free tapas and golden beer from the valley below, we raced up narrow streets and Cliffside’s dodging old people, taxis and tour buses to make it on time.

“We’re closed,” the security guys told us, glancing at the sweat soaking through our shirts and heaving shoulders. “Come back at 10:30”.

If you want proof, I still got the damn ticket. “Be there on time” it says. “You can only be there between 8:30 and 10:30” it says. “Fuck you” it says.

We stumbled across the street (and up even more stairs) to pay for our over priced beers and listen to American tourist compare hotel prices while we waited. Finally, the gods opened the gates to Alhambra to us. Here’s what we saw: (pretty cool, though, huh?)