Hello my wonderful family and friends! How are things in the winter wonderland? I was thinking of you fondly this weekend when I saw the beautiful white snow of the Sierra Nevada, the mountain range just north of Granada. I took some lovely pictures which I think I can include here. Granada is at a much higher altitude than Sevilla, so it was quite a bit colder as well even though the sun was shining the whole weekend. I loved Granada, not only because of its geographical location, but also because of its history. It also had a really different energy; it was a little more laid back than Sevilla, and there were lots of hippies, gypsies and artisans so there was a wide variety of people. It was very good experience, and I hope I can go back again sometime during the spring when all the flowers are blooming.
We left around 9am on Saturday morning and the bus ride was about 3 hours long. Most of us were tired from the night before since everybody goes out on Friday nights so pretty much everybody slept the whole way. My Friday night was really fun: I went to a short comedy musical at a small theater with five of my closest friends here. Before the show, around 7pm we went to a cafetería for coffee and churros (a really yummy deep fried pastry thing you dip in rich hot dark chocolate). We then went to pick up our tickets at the theater and had about 45 minutes before the show so we went to a bar up the street and each had a tinto de verano which is a mixed drink of red wine and orange Fanta, very popular. We then went to the show, which was really funny-it was about four stereotypical Sevillanos stuck in the metro system. It really helped me pick up on some common jokes among Spaniards, which was great. After the show, around 10:30, we walked to an old Arab bath house that has been converted into a nice Italian restaurant. The food was delicious and the restaurant was beautiful and very unique. Overall it was a very enjoyable evening.
So anyway, we got to Granada around noon and got settled into the very nice hotel and went to have lunch in the buffet which was delicious (pasta!!). After lunch we got into tour groups and walked just down the road to La Alhambra, the most famous site in Granada, if not in all of Andalusia or even Spain. La Alhambra is a complex maze of palaces and gardens dating back to the time when Granada (and most of Andalusia) was occupied by the Arabs, so it is very Islamic. It was built in the 14th century and was considered to be a separate city above the old city of Granada previously named Ilbyr. It's perched high on cliff looking over the rest of the city. When the Spanish took over in the 15th century they kept the palace and the rest of la Alhambra intact and built a grand palace in the center for Charles V which is exemplary of Spanish Renaissance. They also continued to use the summer home, Albaicín, on a neighboring cliff face. It is absolutely gorgeous and will be even more so in the spring when all of the flowers are blooming.
After that tour we walked down the steepest hill I've ever walked down in my life. Well technically it was mountain so I guess that explains it. We were led by our tour guide to a Tea House in the middle of the city which was absolutely fantastic. It felt like I was crawling into a hobbit hole under a little hill and the interior had been decorated by a hippie from India. It was a labyrinth of hallways and cave-like rooms stuffed with tiny tables and gorgeous hanging lamps and little poufs to perch on. Other people were lounging on bright colorful blankets under "natural" overhangs in the wall with rickety tables covered in candles to light the space. Several groups were smoking from hookahs and many were calming sipping tea while boisterously chatting about the weather, politics or the latest topic on the news. It was amazing. We had some sweet tea and small sugary snacks and just sat in wonder for quite a while, taking it all in. It was probably my favorite spot in the city and I wish we had something like that at St Olaf.
After tea, Bridget and Dan and Sean and I walked to a plaza to meet Bridget's friend Mike who is studying in Granada. He kindly offered to be our tour guide for the evening. So we spent the next few hours walking around the city with him and his friend Sophie, another American studying in Granada. They had a lot of good ideas for where to take us. We walked to the top of another huge hill (felt like a mountain) just in time to see the sunset over the city. We also walked back down to see the barrio of El Sacromonte where all of the houses are literally built into the side of the mountain like caves. After going back to the hotel for another buffet dinner (more pasta!!), we met up with Mike and Sophie again and they took us to another beautiful hill overlooking the other side of the city so we could see it at night. They then took us out to experience the night life of Granada, a famous tapas bar and a discoteca. It was great night.
Sunday morning we woke up, rather reluctantly, and had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel again. We boarded a bus with our tour group and drove up a neighboring mountain to walk through the barrio of Albaicin, named for its famous view of the summer home on the other cliff. It was nice to hear a little more history on the area, and neat to see during the day. Then we walked back down the mountain (my quads hurt) to visit the Royal Chapel, the famous resting place of the Catholic Monarch, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel. It was gorgeous, and rather haunting to see the tombs of these famous and rather infamous rulers who united Spain and rather brutally enforced Catholicism. It was quite the experience. I would have like to see the Cathedral but there wasn't time and it cost extra. Maybe next time J
We spent the last hour and a half exploring the city and discovering gorgeous plazas and hidden alleyways filled with artisans' shops and hippie musicians playing didgeridoos, drums, cymbals, and nylon string guitars. It was fantastic. The Islamic influence was very evident and was amazing to see such color and geometric life everywhere mixed with the proud elaborate Spanish emblems and statues of the high Renaissance. I loved it.
Well I would say that was my favorite weekend so far here in Spain. I had a wonderful time and I am excited to continue traveling around Spain. In a couple of weeks I am going down to Cadiz for a night to celebrate the amazing festival of Carnival. It's somewhat like a Mardi Gras of Spain, so I'm told, and it should be quite an experience. Apparently I need a mask or costume of some kind. Cadiz, being the southern-most tip of Spain, is surrounded by beaches so I am equally excited to see that. I will keep you all updated and put up more pictures on Shutterfly or something so you can see them all! Take care, stay warm, keep smiling, drink lots of tea, and write to me J
Love, love, love
Maia Jo
PS: Here is a link to my photo albums! I put up pictures of Madrid and will go in order from when they were taken. So Granada pictures will be up last but I will let you know when that happens. Happy viewing!
http://picasaweb.google.com/maiajoh
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