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El Albyzin It's 11:45 and I just stepped in the door. Tonight I ate at my favorite bar/restaurant Torcuato, where the bartender knows me and gives me free refills on my wine and free tapas. I guess it pays to laugh at his jokes! I haven't yet learned his name but the locals call him "calbo" or "baldie." I call him generous with his pours. Tonight I had three glasses of wine (the last one a freebie) and two cups of gazpacho, two fish sticks, and scrambled eggs with shrimp & avocado. The tapas are not necessarily what I'd order for myself--but who's complaining when they were all free?!
LIke I said, I just walked through the door and like clockwork, Pablo will soon be shouting "Guapa!" outside my front door. Speaking of which, I've received several requests in the last few days to post a photo of young Pablo. In due time! My mom recently commented on my blog post that she was hoping I'd meet a nice Spaniard during my trip. However she did specify that he'd be in the 35 year-old age range. Poor Pablo claiming to be 25--and I know he's not a day older than 22 or
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View of the Alhambra at sunset 23. In my fantasy, I'd also meet a nice Spaniard a la Javier Bardem in Woody Allen's Vicky Christina Barcelona. A girl could dream! Perhaps I should do a split screen of Javier Bardem & Young Pablo?
On a separate note, today couldn't have been lovelier minus me slipping on the cobblestone street. The streets of El Albayzin, my lovely neighborhood in Granada is entirely made of cobblestone and there are many steep hills throughout. On my way down to the City Center, I completely ate it on a slippery stone. Silly American girl and her treadless Tom's! Leave it to me to pack three pairs of shoes--flip flops, worn out Tom's, and a pair of leather sandals--all with minimal tread. While I'm on the subject, I also forgot sunglasses...so I was on the hunt when I ventured into the City Center this afternoon.
Just a quick description of El Albayzin since I couldn't be happier with my charming home. The Albayzin (several different spellings so I'll go with this one) is an old Arabic Quarter set in the hills overlooking the city with magnificent views of the Alhambra. It's narrow and windy cobblestone labyrinths and alleyways are
charming reminders of times long ago. The white-washed houses and Moorish style cafés make this part of town very unique. And I'm told they were all painted white to keep cool in the hot summer months
I arrived from my adventure in the city center getting lost in alleys and small medinas--and decided to check out the sunset from La Plaza de San Nicholas (Photos attached). While I was there, I sat and listened to incredible flamenco gitano (gypsy flamenco)-- the vocals and Spanish guitar were mesmerizing. But then...the most incredible thing happened. A local young man with Down Syndrome came out and begun flamenco dancing. He made my heart so happy. So much passion and so much love for the music. He was incredible! I got so wrapped up in his dancing with such reckless abandon that the one photo I took does him no justice.
Tonight my heart is happy.
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Christina
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<3!
Loving following your adventures, Courtney! Keep those free scrambled egg tapas coming! And next time you'll know to get yourself some Anhu walking shoes... :)