Pubs, Grub and the Alhambra

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"No son Españoles!! Son hijos de puta!! No son Españoles!! Son hijos de puta!!"

So went the chants at Hannigan and Sons Irish Pub in Granada, moments after a Sol Campbell header gave Arsenal a 1-0 lead over Barcelona in the Champions League finals. The chant-ERS, ecstatic that their fellow countrymen´s squad had fallen behind, were saying "They´re not Spaniards!! They´re sons of b*tches!!", which momentarily reminded me of my pickpocketer in Las Ramblas last year (#$%!!(MISSING)).

The chant actually refers to the fact that Catalunya (which Barcelona is part of) is constantly looking to secede from Spain and become an independent state (although it could just as easily apply to the fact that less than half of the players on the team are actually of Spanish descent). But I dig that about them, not so much that they're looking to secede (bad idea guys, trust me), but that they go against the grain, dance to the beat of their own drum, kind of like yours truly. Also I've been called a son of a b*tch on occasion and can relate.

Note: Going back to the chant, this would be the equivalent of New York Jets fans (J-E-T-S, JETS JETS JETS!) taunting Buffalo Bills fans with a "You´re not from New York!! You´re all F*n dorks!!" chant. Very powerful stuff. And yes, I´m e-mailing Fireman Joe as we speak.

Joined by some American and Canadian backpackers from my hostel, we had been rooting for Ronaldinho´s Barca, but with pintas of Guiness (i.e. pints) outnumbering the cañas of cerveza, this local pub, situated in the center of a Spanish town, was clearly in favor of the English powerhouse, which was as surprising as finding a Yankees bar in Boston, or a hip-hop club in a redneck town.

But with my World Cup journey around the corner, supporting the underdog was a warm-up of sorts for me, seeing as I´ll be in the minority in Germany when I root for the likes of the U.S. and Ecuador (should be a strong Spanish fan base, this being Europe and all) in a couple of weeks. And with a little luck, it'll be a sign of things to come as well, as Barca scored two second half goals to take the championship game, inciting riots from Barcelona all the way to Granada (I was lucky enough to get to bed before the cops pelted supporters with rubber bullets in the wee hours of the night, since I was headed for the Alhambra the next morning).

As for Granada's main (only?) attraction, there's a travel guide that says "if you die without seeing the Alhambra, you haven't truly lived". Well 10kJuan says "if you went to see the Alhambra today, you haven't truly SLEPT".

I suppose there's nothing to be said that hasn't already been said. It's truly massive, it's jaw-dropping and you better wake up early (GET THERE by 7:30am and you'll be good for a 9am entrance into the Palace). Of course, you can disregard all this if you booked tickets weeks in advance, in which case you're a dork and need to start living more dangerously. Also, the audio guide, which I'm usually a big fan of, can be done without unless you have no one to go with, in which case it can keep you company.

Lastly, there's a shawarma place in a plaza nearby (on Reyes Catolicos, close to Funky Backpackers) that is open 24 hours and is phenomenal. They were really close to earning the "there-has-to-be-crack-in-this" designation, but I don't take that lightly, so let's just say you can't leave Granada without having it.

That's all for now kids, I'm off to Sevilla to stay with a distant cousin I've never met before, which is always an adventure. Long live Barca!

10kJuan

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Photos

Across from the Alhambra
'Mirando' from the 'Mirador'.

Queuing up
Is there coffee in the Palace?

Storming the Castle
Holding down the fort.

Two Thumbs Up
10k kickin' it in the Palace.