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Published: January 12th 2011
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Granada . The pomegranate. The jewel of western Andalucia. The home of the
Alhambra and Generalife and a history dating back to the Greeks in 500BC (and likely earlier).
Upon arrival we were wondering where the jewels were hidden as we drove through alley after alley of thick, sometimes quite professional grafitti that covered everything from the ground to the tops of the security doors on every building. The trusty GPS steered us straight through the tangle of these decorated streets to the front door of our hotel. We wondered how a decent hotel could be hidden amongst the rough looking neighborhood we were passing through.
Turns out that´s just Granada. No worries. The hotel was very nice and after a few days you get used to the grafitti all over everything. Invariably we started comparing Granada to Sevilla. We had caught Sevilla unapologetically at its winter finest, decked out for the holidays, teeming with life and glimmering under a bright sunshine. We entered Granada through the backdoor on a rainy day after the Christmas lights had been taken down. That´s why you spend a few days in a place, to give it a fair shake.
The weather, as has
been the spectacular norm on this trip, cleared up just in time for us to go see the Alhambra, the Moorish palace, castle and gardens that were being built at about the same time that Angkor was rockin´in Cambodia. What a time in human history, so much industrious building. The Alhambra is lovely, of course, covered in the best artisan handiwork that money could buy. This is just a wonderful time to be in southern Spain, too - the crowds are thin, the temperatures are tolerable (though it was COLD for the first half of our day) and we were able to see some of the palace under what, in the summer, must be unimaginably quiet circumstances.
I´ll let the pictures paint the picture of the Alhambra, the Alcazar and Generalife. That way I can focus on the oddities of the day. First of all Todd´s tiny little (very American Osprey) backpack caused quite a stir. They made him wear it on his front, like a baby Bjorn which wouldn´t have been worth mentioning except that everyone else in the place was allowed to carry their (very European larger, more stylish?) backpacks the proper way - ON THEIR BACKS.
So he started getting belligerant about it and swung it around to his back like a normal person whereby he was immediately set upon by security personnel asking him to cut the shit and put it back on his front. Or something like that - it was a barage of Andalucian Spanish. The funny part is that he could have, at that moment, swung his arms and hit 3 other people with larger backpacks on their backs. Personally I think they were just messing with him.
Secondly if you find yourself needing to thaw out on a cold January morning in the Alhambra, don´t choose to do it in Carlos V´s palace. Ít is an amazing space, the circular atrium, the center of which has mind-blowing acoustics if you brave the stares of the security people to make noises. You could sit there in the sun all day while your husband takes his turn at the Matisse exhibit. We had to take turns of course because that little evil backpack of his (smaller than the bag I was carrying) was not allowed. They put you on the clock the moment your hindquarters hit the pavement and you have exactly
20 minutes to enjoy the aura of the place and watch tourists. After that, you get booted, even if it's deserted. Don´t even think about sneaking a couple of crackers out of your backpack either.
Next: Matisse. Start blasting me with your learned ways in the world of art but this was my introduction to Matisse and my official reaction is....yeahhh...hm. He was pretty good with the pencil, loved drawing boobies, that much is for sure, but the paintings? Well, art is subjective I suppose. We Gardiners don't get it. What I really found interesting in the exhibit were some of the original beautiful ceramic tiles that used to cover places like the Gate of Justice. It is really mystical to try and imagine what this place must have looked like in its heyday. Just like imagining Angkor. We were wishing that there was a small part of the tour that took you through what the palace must have looked like when kings were using it, lush with tapestries and pillows, ornate furniture and people dressed lavishly - the mind needs something to help it turn the cold, echoey place it currently is toward the comfortable and splendid living
quarters and administrative center it once was.
We next passed through an exhibit of the restoration of the Fountain of Lions. At the heart of the Nasrid palace there was a beautiful fountain that for hundreds of years had a ring of lions around the base of the fountain squirting water. Children played in the water, sat on the lions, and everyone enjoyed them as the epicenter of the palace´s feng shui. They´ve been restored to their original grandeur and now they´re locked in this strange room where you´re allowed to look at them but not take a picture of them. We wondered what new fragility the lions have acquired that a picture is now forbidden. Hopefully they´ll see the light of day again, as was their intended purpose but we kind of wonder...
Finally I must mention the tapas culture in Granada. While the drinks are a little more expensive here in Granada, the tapas are free (as was the original tradition). You order a drink, you get a surprise plate of something. Maybe it´s olives. Maybe it´s ham slices and bread. Maybe it´s a plate of picante-style diced tomatoes and onions with olive oil and bread.
The total surprise of every delivery is a hoot and we got mystery plates of just about everything over the course of a couple days. One place brought us a huge plate of tasty sausage on top of french fries. They followed it with an equally satisfying plate of russian salad. And when they wanted us to hit the road they brought a lovely plate of spinach and what we´re afraid might have been brains of some sort. This isn´t really a left-field guess since all over their menu, we discovered, they pride themselves on brains as a specialty of the house. YUMMY.
We found a great traditional bodega pouring sherrys and vermouth to cleanse that experience away in a swirl of flavor poured straight from casks. A lovely way to end a lovely day. We´re very lucky to have been able to experience it all as we did; it´s the joie´d vivre.
Video of the Nasrid palace from the inside leaving the Generalife, looking back on the Alhambra
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lucette
non-member comment
awsome
your head must be spinning at all you've seen in a day . the tapa thing is intriging and fun to read your experiences with them.