Blogs from Granada, Andalusia, Spain, Europe - page 11

The English art of the queue was much in evidence the following morning, as we waited at Malaga Bus Station for the 10.30 ALSA departure to Granada. The bus arrived from it's starting point in Algeciras and in true European style, the order disintegrated. The lack of assigned seating clearly played a part, as the aim of the exercise was to avoid sitting on the sunny side of the bus as it travel northward. The investment in the tickets the previous day had been a good plan. The bus was not far from capacity. Despite the scramble, we achieved the non-sunny side of the bus. The bus climbed out of Malaga on the motorway, before reaching olive country. The next 1 1/2 hours was a view largely of olive trees.............. and so to Granada. Unlike in ... read more

Friday, September 14 We spent Tuesday night, the 10th, at the Radisson at PDX. Our alarm was set for 3:30 am, but neither of us really slept that night. Up at 3:30 and on the 4:30 shuttle to the airport. By 4:45 we were checked in for our 7:15 flight to Newark. The flight was uneventful and once in Newark we had a five hour lay over. We had passes to the United Club so we went there, found comfortable chairs, enjoyed several glasses of complimentary wine, and various snacks. We visited with an older woman who was on her way from Phoenix to Edinburgh Scotland to visit her daughter's family and then with a couple from Florida who were returning from a trip to England. We talked on the phone to all the kids and ... read more

I love walking home from Spanish class. My teachers’ building is old, like everything in the Albayzin and the stairwell has the rich earthy smell of centuries of damp. The front door is heavy. There is dog shit dotted among the cobbles but I’m getting better at dodging it all. I wind onto Calle Teterias and the incense-seller with the big smile says hello like I am an old friend. I pass the woman who will draw henna on your hands, the man who will write your name in Arabic on pretty paper, past rows and rows of shops selling baggy pants, leather bags and trinkets. I pass the many teterias with their hookahs and silver pots of fragrant tea. I pass the Arabic supermarket that sells cheap tahini and fresh Moroccan bread. Just after this ... read more

En las últimas 10 días aquí, me siento como he hecho más en Granada que hice durante las primeras 2.5 semanas aquí. Empezó con lecciones profesionales de Flamenco enseñado por gitanos. Como una clases, tomábamos dos días de lecciones de Flamenco en el Templo de Flamenco, cuyo interior es parecido a una cueva hermosa. Visité La Alhambra esa semana. Por cierto, es mi lugar favorito de todos los lugares históricos que visitamos. La Alhambra era un maravilla; la arquitectura, los diseños, el colorido, la historia, todo me fascinó. Me encantó que había escrito poesía Árabe por las paredes de todos los cuartos. Estoy enamorado de azulejos y mosaicos ahora. Y la vista de la ciudad de Granada de las murallas de la Alhambra era asombrosa. Como el Palacio de Alcázar, los jardines había decorado con fuentes ... read more

After the visit to the Alhambra on Wednesday morning, Grace (from North Carolina) and I walked down into the city through the gardens and forest. We ate lunch in the Plaza Bib - Rambl...a and did some shopping for Grace's daughters. Once we had parted I realised that I really needed to decide about where I was going to move onto. I got my laptop from my hotel room and sat in the bar, 'surfing the net' for ideas on how i was going to get to the eastern (Mediterranean) coast from Granada by train. There only seemed to be 2 options - a 12 hour journey via Madrid or a night train (sleeper) that left Granada at 9:30pm and arrived in Valencia at 4:00am! Neither of these filled me with excitement. When i was paying ... read more