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Published: February 19th 2008
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Ugly rest stop...
but you can finally see mountains! I went to Granada this weekend and it was such an incredible trip! The program planned it for students who wanted to sign up and it included two nights in a hotel, a few meals at the hotel, a trip to see authentic Flamenco (seeing as it originated from this area), a tour through the city, and a trip to the Alhambra.
First of all, it was so amazing to take 3 deliciously hot showers that didn't require me to turn off the water every time I was doing anything other than rinsing off -- I've been missing those so much. And I really liked being able to eat something other than what my hostmadre cooks, not that she's a horrible cook or anything. However, it was so neat to see a different part of Spain and to compare it to the part I've been seeing every day for the past month. Valencia is huge and incredibly flat. So, although you'll never have to walk uphill, you could spend forever walking from one side of the city to another. Granada, however, is situated right near the Sierra-Nevada mountains and so is very hilly even though it's not that big. Plus Granada
has such an interesting history!! For hundreds of years it was controlled by Muslim rulers which, in turn, is still reflected in the art, architecture, and even the layout of the city. I think the way my tourist map described it is "a mixture of East and West," which definitely seemed true.
We left Valencia around 10:30 am, and it took about 7 or 8 hours to get there by bus. The first night we arrived there we were taken by bus up into the hills of the city to an area where the Gitanos (the Spanish version of Gypsies) live. To give some history, the Gitanos immigrated to Spain from Northern India hundreds of years ago. They weren't allowed to become full citizens though, so their children could not be educated, and their families could only earn a living through odd jobs. At one point in time they were completely banned from the city, but with nowhere to go, the instead fled to the hills of Granada and began living in the caves that were there. And, that's where their descendents still are today. The caves are much more home-like, though, with the facades, floors, and furniature of houses.
Pretty much all of them have plumbing and electricity now too. But the walls and the ceilings look exactly like caves, only white-washed. So, the flamenco show I saw was in one of these, and it was so beautiful and out of the ordinary. If I had the option of living in a cave like that, I definitely would. The show included three female dancers, a male dancer, a guitarrist, and a singer. It was so nice to finally see a flamenco skirts with ruffles and bright colors! The whole thing was definitely better than the show I saw here in Valencia. At the end of the show the dancers all got up and took turns doing some sort of small dance. One of the female dancers pulled me up on stage and made me dance too. It was absolutely terrifying, but such an adrenaline rush! My friends took pictures, which I'll put up here when they give them to me. People were really nice and came up to me afterwards and told me what a good job I'd done. So, if I don't come back after the semester ends, it's probably because I'm living the life of a flamenco
dancer in the hills of Granada. You all are more than welcome to come to one of my shows some time. I'll be sure you get a free glass of sangría.
The next day we were taken on a tour through "El Albaicín," the Muslim area of the city, which has cobblestone streets, many small and beautiful mosques (mezquitas), and which is packed with tangled streets lined with white-washed houses, like in Greece. It's interesting though, because typical Islamic decor includes simple exteriors (because the Qur'an says not to incite jealousy in others) but intricate, beautiful interiors. So, houses would all look the same from the outside, but peeking through gates here and there I could glimpse lush gardends, with mosaic walkways, and the most perfect-looking lemon and orange trees I've ever seen. Since we were up in the hills at this point too, we got the most amazing view of the city below and the Alhambra (a huge palace and fortress left over from the days of Muslim-rule) across the way. We made our way back down into the center of the city, passing through very narrow streets that smelled like inscence and that were full of vendors selling
jewelry, lanterns, mosaics, tea, brightly-colored scarves and tapestries, and everything else that resembled Islamic art. As we got closer and closer to the city center, the architecture became more and more Romanesque, and the cobble-stone streets disappeared. Our tour ended in one of the city's many plazas. This one was completely commercial, though, so it was dominated by large, modern-looking building that had fancy restaurants and countless clothing stores. My friends and I opted to go back to a different plaza nearby but in an older part of the city and ate at a restaurant with tables outside so we could enjoy the day and people-watch. Being in the thick of things I kept hearing so many different languages as people passed -- German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, and a few others that were beyond me. I ate these small red peppers stuffed with meat and spices, which was amazing, but took forever to wait for. After that we went over to the Cathedral, which was freezing but incredibly huge. Being a a huge chorus-nerd I got really excited to hear the voices of a perfectly-pitched choir echoing softly through the huge, cavernous space. I kept searching for the source
and was disappointed to find speakers all over the Cathedral columns, playing a recording. Finally, we ended the day by meandering towards a small cafe that served Churros con chocolate (hot chocolate, which is really thick, and churros, which are like long, thin donuts). We passed by some really bizarre street performers, and women who kept trying to shove sprigs of rosemary into our hands and read our palms, then demand money. I saw it happen to some random person, so I didn't let them give me anything. When we got to the churro and hot chocolate place, my feet hurt and I was so thankful to sit down for a bit. Plus, churros and chocolate are stellar. If you're ever in Spain, you have to try this combination. You dip the churros in the thick hot chocolate. Mmmmm
The last day in Granada I went to the Alhambra for a couple of hours, but much more time would be necessary in order to thoroughly cover the whole place. As it was, though, we got to see a lot of the huge complex. Like any other Islamic architecture, the outside of every building was plain, while the inside had flowing
fountains, well-planned gardens, and walls and ceilings decorated with intricate carvings. The most famous part of this place, which I studied in art history,"El Patio de los Leones" (The Court of the Lions), was sadly being renovated. So, the fountain which normally has lion statues surrounding it was covered in thick glass and missing the lions. And there was no water. I was telling my friend how I was sad I didn't get to see the lions, and she said, "I saw a bowl of water on the ground, so I guess they must be around here somewhere." She thought there were supposed to be actual lions walking around which, if true would make the Alhambra 100 million times more awesome.
Getting on the bus later that day I was kind of sad to leave because I felt like there was still so much more I wanted to see in the city. Plus the sidewalks in Granada have hardly any dog poop.
But, on to the next adventure!
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Edith Ragland
non-member comment
Granada
Molly your trip to Granada must have been absolutely fantanic. This is certainly an experience you will never forget and I am so glad that you had this chance, Nanny