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Published: December 2nd 2006
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Fine Food and Crazy Hippies in Granada
Dinner…The Best Meal of the Day Last night we went out and about in Granada to se what the town had to offer on a Friday night. Things were definitely crazier than they were the night before when we had first gotten into town. The cramped streets of the Cathedral area of town (where we are staying) were packed with people. Many of the restaurants in the area were brimming with people and activity. We didn’t really feel like a crowd so after walking around for a while we settled for a small nearly empty restaurant near our hotel.
The menu was only in Spanish so we had to use our dictionary to figure out what to eat. With a little help from the waitress we ordered some dishes. Kel and I were both amazed at the quality of food we had stumbled into. My sirloin came in a liquor sauce that was amazing. Kel had a pasta dish with mushrooms and a cream sauce that was divine. This particular restaurant wasn’t the best meal we’ve had thus far, but it definitely ranks up there in the
Calle de los Tristes
The beginning of the Moorish Quarter top few.
Traipsing Through Town Since we had done the Alhambra the day before, today’s experiences centered around the Moorish quarter of town and the Cathedral. Since the Cathedral closes at some strange hours we decided to start there and get it out of the way.
This Cathedral is Spain’s best renaissance cathedral. It was build by Ferdinand and Isabella using one fourth of their riches (a lot I assume). They wanted it built fast and therefore paid a premium to have the whole thing built in 15 years which is am amazing feat for these times. The Cathedral in Sevilla took 150 years to build to give you some reference on building times.
The inside of the Cathedral is all white with gold trim which makes it a much brighter and happier feeling place than most European Catholic Churches. Like all similar churches its roof is at least a couple of stories tall and it has an incredibly impressive organ. I, as a musician, seem to always focus on the closest musical instrument, big surprise. There are a pair of organs in this church that must have at least 200 individual pipes each.
They are incredibly ornate and even contain a few cherubs that appear to be blowing on certain pipes. Definitely worth a picture or two.
While in the Cathedral we ran into a couple we met in Sevilla who we had met while using the hotel’s computer. They have been traveling about as long as we have and had already hit Cordoba, our next stop, so we asked for some pointers. They also pointed us to a spice vendor outside the Cathedral that was selling Saffron really cheap. Unfortunately we don’t have much use for Saffron on the road so we didn’t buy any, but the spices made Kel and I both wish that we knew more people who were serious cooks.
The Moorish Quarter and Sacromonte As I have alluded to already, Granada is the first city we’ve been in yet that doesn’t quite feel safe. Its streets are small, cramped and, in many cases, graffiti ridden. The people in Granada also seem a little suspect, no offense to any Granadans who read this. Granada has a huge hippie (think the great unwashed patchouli smelling types) and is host to Spain’s largest population of Roma. Roma
you ask?? Roma is the politically correct term for Gypsy. Over 50,000 Roma live in the Sacromonte district just north of Granada’s historical district. Roma are constantly asking for money, begging and getting in the way. We’ve run into this in other cities, just not quite this many. Thanks to it being off season its been probably less worrisome than it could be, but I can’t imagine this town in high season. The Moorish quarter and Sacromonte are complete off limits for travelers after dark because of muggings. All of this combines to make me feel a little less comfortable here than I have elsewhere.
With that said, today, during the day, we went to the Moorish quarter and explored. The winding streets, most of which are uphill, give you a good view of what life must have been like here hundreds of years ago. Today some of the streets are beautiful and others run down and less attractive.
We walked up to the Mirador (lookout) which gives good views of the Alhambra and the city itself. We arrived prior to the tour groups which was nice because it allowed us to sit and listen to the hippies
playing music, selling jewelry and smoking pot. Everyone was really nice, as hippies usually are, and we really enjoyed the cool weather and all of the activity.
A quick sidebar: We have fallen in love with dogs. Our dog Catfish, who’s with my wonderful loving parents right now, has converted us into those people who seek out dogs wherever they go. The Mirador was full of hippies and their dogs. One dog in particular caught our attention. He was a big scruffy dog that looked a cross between an English sheepdog and some sort of terrier. (see pictures) Lindsay, this dog looks like your perfect animal, big, soft, and scruffy. Spain is full of dogs and we marvel at how good they all are. Most owners have their dogs off the leash and the dogs just follow their owners everywhere. Good training I assume.
Well, after about 40 minutes at the Mirador we moved on, which was good because at about that time a huge tour group showed up on a big, ole bus. We walked around the corner and downhill from the Mirador and discovered a street band playing. We sat and listened to them for a
song or two and then moved on to the local area market. Here we ran into an older lady from New Zealand selling hand crocheted scarves for real cheap. Kel found one she really liked and we decided it would add some flare to her winter wardrobe thus we took it with us.
Another hour or so of walking got us back to our hotel area where we went back to Doner Kebop for lunch; it makes Kel so happy that I am more than willing to eat here two days in a row. Now we are resting (and writing) in hopes of more good food this evening.
Hope everyone’s doing well! Tomorrow we’re off to Cordoba on a bus our time in Spain is running out. The 11th of December marks our move to Germany for a cold and dreary month of German site seeing!
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Bon
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Love the dog
Love that dog, yurs is a great big doll and we are really getting attached to him. There is no way Catfish would ev er follow on anyone's heels. One furry little animal would scurry by and he would be off and running. I can also see that guys in bands look the same the world over. Love ya. Bon