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Published: December 27th 2008
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Renfe train ride for 5 hours
Good bye Sevilla, Hello Granada Ahh… the city of Gypsies, dreadlocks, tea, and tranquil rationality
Hostel Mukato found the Equipo centered in the middle of the Moorish part of town called, Albaicin. We were only blocks from the best lookout spot in town for the Alhambra and a cool Moorish bazaar/teteria strip. We had a very prime location.
Although our hostel was cozy, full of outdoor hammocks, and cool hangout spots, our room could have been endowed with a tad (by a tad I mean a ton) more space. Our 6 person hostel room was about as big as my college dorm room and couldn’t have comfortably housed Tom Thumb and his family. It felt like a horrible military barracks or a miserable summer camp tent. It had two bunk beds three beds high and about 10 total feet of floor space. We ended up walking on all of our clothing and bags to get anywhere. Sleeping felt like being apart of a baboon family in some tree in the jungle; stacked atop one another in the canopy. Paper thin walls didnt help either. One night of 2am wrestling surely proved this to any other skeptical hostel residents.... ooops...
Thankfully, the city’s
charm made up for our. Its streets were even tighter than others in Spain and were composed of thick, protruding cobblestones that surely had been laid hundreds of years ago. Walking becomes almost creekwalking in effect. The Albaicin is a part of town on the hill directly across from the North side of the Alhambra, so is quite hilly. Numerous stray cats and dogs roam these small streets, making for a minefield of small doodoos for the unknowing traveler. Out of our neighborhood, comes a bit more traditional Spanish urban make-up. The slightly larger streets and plazas with memorial statues to the kings, artists, and generals.
Evident in the other towns in Spain as well, I further noticed the use of roof top terraces of Spanish architecture. The houses in Granada have many nice little roof patios and terraces, but no rooftop pools like in Sevilla. Why not take advantage of the sun and space on top of your roof? I f I was still interested in being an architect, I would put a rooftop space on everyone of my buildings.
After splurging the first night on a Moroccan feast, we almost exclusively nourished ourselves off of 3
euro kebabs at the numerous Kebab (or Kebap) shops in town. Kebabs are synonymous with Gyros and consist of chicken or lamb with vegetables in a pita bread wrap. Affordable and delectable. Also in terms of the food, it is notable the Granada offers free tapas in just about every bar with the purchase of a drink. One 2 euro cerveza gets you some Jamon, or some stew, or other interesting snack. Its usually a mystery though and to the discretion of the chef.
The many teterias near the bazaar street are great intimate spaces to enjoy a tea and puff a bit of hookah. After or first night’s feast, we chose nice little spot to grab some tea and puff some Shisha. We got a Peah and Cherry hookah and worked our way into some sweet little headrushes and tobacco euphoria. These little tea spots are very dark, elaborately decorated with color and Moorsih tapestries, and play nice accompanying music. After the tobacco and tea took effect we somehow got to arguing about the problems of Capitalism and free-markets and of Communism and Socialism. Back and forth we all went for hours, talking about safety-nets, basic human rights,
Alhambra 1
First sight of the Alhambra in the morning from the Mirador San Nicolas(a vista viewpoint). Lighting was quite poor but still showed off the magnificence. This lookout was only about 5 blocks from our hostel and human nature - Berkeley would have been proud and Karl Marx would have enjoyed joining in. Ofcourse we never really agreed on anything and Raffi went so far as to say, "No one is solving anything we keep going around in circles," this ofcourse being the exact problem to the debate; there are no answers. We continued rambling until the teteria closed and the owner kicked us out.
After not having bought a single tourist item so far in Spain, I realized after the fact, that I bought exclusively Moroccan goodies. I got some cheap orange slip-ons, some teas and a teapot. I think subconsciously I have been seduced by the Moorish side of Spain; somewhere between the good food, amazing crafts, and stunning architecture.
The second day I took photos of the Alhambra from the Mirador San Nicolas in the morning, the aternoon, and at sunset; three different times of the day I caught it with its different amounts of natural lighting. I think it is definitely most magnificent at night with the artificial lighting glowing from its hull. It was alot of fun to photograph - quite photogenic. Aaron and I had a blast messing
around with my camera's exposure settings. We took photos in front of the Alhambra with exposures ranging from 7 to 13 seconds. By leaving the shutter open so long, we could make series of movements that created crazy motion effects. This also allowed the illusion of us being in the photo more than once - who doesnt wish there were really three Aaron Mcrearys.... (cough cough) I attached the best pics to this blog. We made a ton more, so this only represents the abridged version.
We also acknowledged a strong beatnik dreadlock population along with numerous gypsies. The gypsies unfortunately were not as cool as Borat described them - instead of casting spells, they mostly just drink alcohol and sing these wallowing gypsy songs. We were fortunate to catch a live performance one night at the mirador. Please see attached pictures to truly understand the talent and emotion of the gypsy performers involved.
As for being inside the Alhambra, it was far too much to take in… I won't waste my time trying to describe it, as words could never do it justice, and no doubt the closest anyone has ever come to honoring it verbally cannot
be found in this blog... so i leave it to the reader to visit the place and to do their own research on its history.
I will say only that I found some intense moments of serenity in the Alhambra's gardens; moments that I will always remember. Between the fountains, gardens, et al, it was hard to find a spot in it's environment that one could not be at peace. Incredible serenity...
Unfortunately we only had about 4 hours there as it closes at 6pm in the Winter instead of the 8pm that my guidebook mentioned. I should have known the sun wouldn't last that long... silly me... I did run into a bit of luck with the sunset though: I was in the highest vantage point in the complex as the sun descended. This gave me an opportunity to snap some cool photographs of the complex superimposed over the vividly orange backdrop of an Andalucian sunset. In a way, Im glad I didnt see it all - I know have an excuse to go back!
What I would like to discuss about the Alhambra -instead of its contents- is it's influence and presence upon the city
Stray Dog
I really liked this picture. I was amazingly fortunate to have this young girl make her way into the frame in the background. The dog in the foreground somehow scavenged a huge leg bone and could not be distracted. around it. Granada would not be half the city it is today with out the Alhambra.
The Alhambra watches overhead...
In its stupendous glory, the Alhambra seems to omnipotently glare at any who stands outside of its walls. Practically anywhere in Granada, one feels the presence of this magical Moorish Palace. Its as if the Alhambra itself is a second sun on the horizon - its sheer magnificence cannot but be acknowledged at simply any point during the day or night by anyone in its environs. This is mostly to do with a combination of its location on a hill overlooking the town, its amazing size, and its great nighttime lighting. Quite the case of "The King and all that he surveys." From the downtown, the hills, anywhere, it sits on the hill as a monument to the city. All life and energy seems to be generated from this palatial beacon. Its the "Alhambracentric" model, where Granada rotates around the Alhambra and not vice versa.
As for the travelers from B-town, most of our time was spent either looking at the Alhambra, thinking about how we were going to absorb it, or exploring it from the inside.
Mirador in the Afternoon
A fiesta and Gypsy singing was going on at the mirador in the afternoon What we actually did
Sunday Dec 21st
- Arrived late evening
- Wandered the main bazaar in the Albaicin. Moroccan feast at overpriced Kasbah restaurant. Late night tea, hookah, and sociology debate.
Monday Dec 22nd
- Mirador San Nicolas in the morning
- Made sandwhiches of the usual (jamon & cheese).
- another Mirador visit and Alhambra photo-op
- Tapas & Cervaza crawl (4 different bars). A bit of wrestling and shenaniganery.
Tuesday Dec 23rd
- Early Checkout
- Final Kebab (4th or 5th?)
- Alhambra at 2pm.... amazingness until 6pm
- Hung out at the hostel before catching a 9pm Sleepy time bus to Valencia for Navidad.
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Princess Mia
non-member comment
Dear Yigs, Looks like you are having the time of your life! I'm so glad! I got my postcard... it's perfect : ) If it's not too much to ask I would like a gypsie to call my own. Can you please bring one back for me? I want to teach it how to dance like we do. Yiggity