The blog isn't called Adventures in España for nothing. Buckle your seatbelt for the long and bumpy ride that was Granada...
...It all began Saturday, July 26, 2008. The date of the last post.
After writing that last quick note, I scampered down to the bus, destined for childless days in the warm sun of Granada. Everything was going fine, until 5 minutes into the bus ride, someone elected to take themselves to the washroom to have the biggest poop of their life. Who gets on a bus and immidiately goes to poop? Now, please don't think I am some kind of fecophiliac, the reason I know this was such doozie was because I was dying in my seat from the smell. Was my seat near the toilet? No! It was so bad I had to hide my face in my shirt for the better part of twenty minutes until the stench evaporated. Spanish people are very fond of public transport, but they are also a people fond of cured pork products, and I really think the two do not mix well.
After surviving the stink, I made it to my hostal with ease and entered into my first private room in a month! HOORAY! The room I had at camp was shared with all the female monitors, and as you may have guessed from previous entries, it was not always a happy, or hygenic place. When I arrived at the hostal, David, the desk guy, gave me a full tour of the city via a small map he provided me and sent me on my way. The room was small, (7 feet x 8 feet) but ALL MINE and it had a nice big fan in it. Before my afternoon nap, I headed out for lunch.
First gazpacho in Andalucia! Andalucia is the southernmost province of Spain, and the reason for my return here. It holds so many famous cities which are rife with history of the Moorish empire and the reconquisiton of the Catholics, agriculture (where most of the olives and much of the citrus comes from) and culture in general (the home of flamenco, and unfortunately bullfighting). These cities include, Granada, Seville, Cordoba, Malaga and Marbella. And, since it is so hot down here (check out a map to see how close it is to north Africa), it is the loins from whence arose the cold tomato soup that holds a special place in my heart - GAZPACHO!
To go along with my gazpacho, the waiter brought me the largest olives I have ever seen in my life. They were like the size of a ping pong ball but olive shaped, and the pits were the size of a regular olive. They were easily the best olives I have ever had in my life. I think there was 8 in the bowl, and by the time he brought me the gazpacho (the first course) at least 5 of them were gone. I was too embarassed to accept the request for more when he made it, as to him, these were likely just run of the mill olives, and not something to get excited about. This man just thought I really liked olives. And I do, but in this case, there was more to it.
After lunch, I returned to the hostal and fell asleep for the better part of five hours. I woke up with a throbbing headache, for which I could not figure out the pathology. It felt like one of those headaches you get when you sleep too much, but with only 3 hours sleep the night before and maybe 2 hours on the bus, which was scattered, I hadn't slept nearly enough for that. The room was not too hot, so it wasn't a hot room headache, and it wasn't a not enough sleep headache either.... my mother thinks it was from dehydration, she was probably right.
I got up and wandered the city for a while, figuring out my routes for Sunday to the Alhambra and buying my ticket. I returned to the hostel and went back to bed. A nice sleep and a good start for my big day.
Sunday, July 27, 2009.
I know what you are thinking "A poopy smelling bus and olives? What kind of adventure is this?!!" Just relax. I packed enough in between Sunday morning and Monday afternoon to last me the trip as far as excitement goes. Keep reading.
The Alhambra is the jewel of Granada, for the most part it is why people go to Granada and it is well worth it. If you are reading this right now, I urge you to stop what you are doing and think about how you can plan a trip for yourself to Granada because it is that stunning. It is a military fortress with palaces, summer homes for sultan's, gardens, the remains of the town which surrounded it, all atop a penninsula in the Sierra Nevada. It was orginally built by the Moors, making its Islamic decor spectactular, and was then taken over by the Catholics in 1492 when they reconquered Spain. When you by a ticket it is good for half the day and you are assigned a specific time to visit the Nasrid Palaces, the most ornate and incredible part of the entire facility.
I bought a morning ticket. It was a gamble, I am not particulairly good at getting up in the morning, but I thought if I had a ticket I would have to get up and would then get a full day of sightseeing in.
For the most part the plan worked, I got up more or less on time. I took a little bit longer than expected getting ready and headed out in the correct direction. Unfortunately, once I got to the square where one catches the bus up to the Alhambra, I assumed that since all the buses said "Alhambra Bus" on the side, they all went there. This may not have been the case. I got on a bus and off we went, unfortunately not in the direction of the Alhambra, but instead up to the Arabic quarter of the city, when we returned to the square, I got off that bus and got on another, however now I believe that bus was actually now going to the Alhambra and I paid two fares for nothing. I got to the Alhambra at 11 or so, and didn't have to be in line to see the Nasrid palaces until 1. The ticket people were so impressed with my timing and told me I could relax and stroll while they chastized those who were arriving only ten minutes before they had to be in the palace, those fools! I thought I needed to arrive at the Alhambra at 10, so when I showed up an hour later than my planned time and was lauded, I was indeed happy.
In my strolling I entered a gift shop where they were hand making wooden and bone items that were quite spectactular. I wanted to buy one of these items for my father, however, it was kind of large and I still had a lot of sightseeing to go. Unfortunately, it being a Sunday, the shop was closing at 1 (my palace time) and not reopening in the afternoon, I decided to go for in, and bought the item. (My father reads the blog and I don't want to give away the surprise, however the bulkyness of the item is essential to the story).
I saw the Charles V Palace, and the art museum inside, I saw the military parts of the Alhambra and made it in time for the Nasrid Palaces. They were stunning, I took so many photographs and simply couldn't believe it all. So much hand carving and tiling and water fountains. By the end of my tour I was elated just from the beauty of it all and I had lunch in the most beautiful ivy covered patio. Gazpacho again and a salad with smoked salmon, tomatoes, avocado, pineapple, mango, lettuce and olives. It sounds sort of gross but it was unbelievably good. I called Katrina from a pay phone and couldn't believe my luck to wind up in such a place as this...
I will finish the story tomorrow....
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