Granada!

(Katie, me, and Kathleen)



(My new friend Katie and me at the Alhambra)

Wow. I just have to say right away that I had so much fun in Granada. It was an excellent weekend and I met some really fun people from ISA that go to the other university.

On Friday we left Madrid at 8:30 and then had a six hour bus ride to Granada (it's in Andalucía--in the south of Spain). I slept most of the way there. When we got there we settled into our hotel and then had some free time to explore the city. We all met together later that night and went on this crazy, twisty walk through the Albayzín which is a very old neighborhood in Granada. We saw this beautiful view of the Alhambra all lit up at night. But the best part was when we finally (after getting lost or something--I don't know, the directors did not seem very sure about where they were going) got to the espactáculo de flamenco. The flamenco show was amazing. It involved dancing, singing, clapping, guitar playing...It was just incredible to see how the whole body was used as an instrument and how each element of the show added something to the overall energy of the performance. The show was probably one of my favorite "cultural experiences" that I've had on my trip so far. After the show we went out for tapas and I had the yummiest pork and garlic sauce sandwich. Mmmmm. (If you haven't noticed I love eating and then talking about the deliciousness of the food later.)

The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel (and they had real bacon! not Canadian bacon like they serve everywhere else--alas they did not have pancakes.) Then we saw the Alhambra. I've seen pictures of it before and I read about it before, but those could not compare to actually seeing it in person. The Alhambra is this fortress/palace/town that was built near the end of the Muslim rule in Spain. It is the perfect example of Islamic architecture. Granada was the last city to be re-conquered by the Christians, so when that happened the Reyes Católicos moved in. We were in the room in which Columbus asked for money to fund his trip to find his voyage to the Indies. (Usually I'm rather indifferent to the whole Columbus tale, but the history of the room felt pretty overwhelming--until my friends started cracking jokes about what Columbus would have said to the queen: "Yooooooo quierooooooo dineeeeeeerrrrrooo." Hahahaha--it was funny at the time.) Overall, the gardens and palace were gorgeous. If you only look at one set of pictures look at the set for the Alhambra.

In the afternoon Katie, Kathleen and I walked through the city until we found the Parque de Ciencias. Because I sometimes have the maturity level of a five year old I had so much fun. It was a hands-on museum and we saw this huge exhibit about the human body (I found out how much water weight I have--a lot). We saw an exhibit on Antarctica. We went though some butterfly gardens. I hyperventilated though the exhibit about venomous animals and saw like 20 (live) poisonous snakes, like cobras, vipers, mambas, etc., in tanks (I'm terrified of snakes; they are my biggest fear--I guess I watched Indiana Jones too many times when I was little). We did a lot of other things there too; it was well worth the five euro admission. If you're ever in Granada, whether you have kids or not, go there--it will bring out the small child inside of you.

Sunday morning we went on a walking tour around the city center and such. We went inside the gorgeous cathedral. We also went to the Royal Chapel and saw the tomb of the Reyes Católicos. After that we had a bit of free time before having to get on the bus, so we got some diet cokes and sat out in the sun in the plaza and watched the musicians and Pooh Bear, Pikachu, and the red Teletubby entertain people. It was the perfect lazy Sunday afternoon. Later we hopped on the bus and I did not sleep (well maybe for a half hour). Instead I took in the scenery and read. It was a very relaxing bus ride. Yet, after everything, when we got back to Madrid I was happy. I liked Granada a lot, but it was very small compared to Madrid and it just felt good to be back in the big-city vibe that Madrid gives off.

Photos:
Friday
La Alhambra (Saturday morning)
Saturday Afternoon
Sunday