Granada!

This past weekend our program from UNC took an overnight trip to Granada, a town about 3 hours away near the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Now a hippie mountain town that I like to refer to as the Asheville of Spain, it once was one of the most powerful cities in Europe (home to los Reyes Catolicos, Fernando e Isabel, and yes I do have pictures of their caskets even though we weren't allowed to take photos inside). Our weekend consisted of a tour of la Capilla Real and la catedral de Granada on Saturday, a tour of most of La Alhambra on Sunday, time to explore the city, a walking tour up the mountain to view the city from above, and a night away in Hotel Los Angeles. I loved seeing some sights I've only seen in textbooks before, don't get me wrong, but the hotel experience is what I truly treasured (sad but true), so that's where I'll begin.

#1 favorite thing about the trip: a buffet breakfast with different flavors of yogurt, other cereals besides corn flakes, orange juice, and scrambled eggs. I had a 3 course breakfast. First, yogurt parfait with banana and peach yogurt and cereal, topped with fresh pineapple. Second, scrambled eggs and roasted tomatoes with oregano. Third, sliced orange, apple, pineapple, mango, honeydew melon, and dark hot chocolate. I'm sorry that I only have a picture of my cleaned plate...

Balcony right outside our room where we sat on Saturday to eat the bocadillos our senoras packed for us. Beautiful weather, and even though there was a mountain chill it felt so good to sit in the sun.

A comfortable bed to sleep in with self-controlled heating. I cranked it up and slept in a tank top and it was glorious. We had a wake-up call for 9am but I naturally woke up at 7:50. I think it was because my body wanted to experience being warm and lying in soft sheets in a comfy bed for a while in a conscious state. It was actually amazing.

We did leave the hotel, believe it or not (I had a few thoughts of just wanting to lie in the bed the whole afternoon while everyone else explored the town). But when you're in Granada and you order a drink, they bring you a plate of some kind of free tapa for free. That being said, we had to experience it for ourselves. The first place we tried gave us two plates of paella for the price of 6 Alhambra cervezas- not too shabby.

The hilly streets of Granada (this mile-long one in particular I ended up walking back and forth on 8 times in less than 8 hours, explanation later)

View of the mountains on the bus ride up

Shops with Moroccan influence

Live music, and just to the left people danced right in the street

An entire street devoted to selling different kinds of tea and dried fruits

A man from Venezuela made jewelry in the downtown area; we stopped to look at his things and as we learned where he was from, that he spoke 5 languages, and where all his jewelry came from, he made me this little ring as a gift. 

I hate to say that I'm already getting a little bored with cathedrals because these massive structures are breathtaking, but I couldn't help getting that "been there done that" feeling when we toured la Capilla Real and the cathedral of los Reyes Catolicos. This one, at least, was primarily white- a nice change to the traditionally dark, more ominous architecture we've seen so far. I loved the gold on white, and being inside gave you a much more welcoming feeling than previous cathedrals we've toured. 

After our buffet-style dinner at the hotel (all you can eat--well if you insist...) there was an optional hike up the mountain to view La Alhambra and the city at night. I felt a little obligated to go since I had seconds and thirds of a lot of things...anyway this view doesn't capture what we saw at all. I kind of like that it was just an image to have in my head, though. It was peaceful and quiet at the top of the hike, and the lights from the city below were so calming. I enjoyed just standing at the edge and looking at the stars. Sort of a weird thought, maybe, but I let my mind wander to all the nights at the beach in North Carolina that I've looked at the stars; while I was up there at the top of the city of Granada, a place I'll probably never return to again, I noted that these are the exact same stars I see at home. Duh, I know, but really, it was cool to feel connected to home for a little when I was somewhere so very far away.

Sunday, after the magnificent breakfast buffet, we checked out of the hotel (goodbye warm, soft sheets- hope to see you again soon) and drove to La Alhambra for a tour that lasted about 4 hours. It was definitely cool, but I had heard it was something like the second most visited place in Europe after Hagia Sofia in Turkey (could have totally made that up), and it didn't quite live up to my expectations. It was a pleasant day, and I didn't have anything better to be doing, so it was fine to take the tour through all the fortresses, gardens, amphitheaters, and Arabic bath houses, but I wasn't awestruck by it all. Except the view at the top of the military fortress. But then again, I always love a good panoramic view of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 

Bath house, designed to calm the mind and body before worship

a ceiling that did actually blow my mind, totally didn't expect it when I walked in the room and happened to look up

Catapult ammunition left in the side of the fortress... I won't lie I did feel like Xena as I meandered through this part of the walled city; all I could think was "Catapults, I hate catapults!" Parents, you might get that joke.

Seriously though, if only I could have been here during my days of playing Xena outside in the backyard...

Last stop of the tour: this famous fountain bordered by lion sculptures; I remember seeing it in my art history textbook from high school so it was fun to take a picture in front of it!

All in all, this weekend was full of lots of things: good time spent with friends (you realize how nice it is to sit somewhere besides a restaurant with everyone after you're not allowed to bring friends over to your senora's house ever, under any circumstance), lots and lots of walking for the tours, and not to mention the fact that our hotel was at least two miles from the city center so we ended up making the trek back and forth between tours and free time way more than I (or my pinky toes that now have a total of 5 water blisters) would have liked, and the opportunity to catch up on much needed sleep. 

Next weekend- MoRoCcO, Africa!