Granada

July 11, 2010

The morning of our anniversary, Joshua and I woke up on the rooftop terrace of our hostel in Cordoba. I had slept the night in a hammock, and Joshua had slept next to me on a suspect outdoor sofa. Finally cool and rested, we went downstairs to wake up Ashlee and head for the bus station. Once we were packed, we searched for Kevin the hostel keeper, but he was no where to be found. Late the night before, we realized that we had yet to pay, and in a rush to catch our next bus, we wrote a quick note to Kevin explaining our abrupt departure.

Running late, we caught the city bus right outside our hostel. At the bus station, we purchased our tickets for Granada and boarded with less than five minutes to spare. The ride took us a little less than three hours (I slept all the way through), and at about 1 PM, we disembarked at the bus station in Granada. To get to the center of Granada, we caught another city bus and found ourselves in the main shopping district in the dead of siesta. Every building was closed, and the temperature had already increased to 39 degrees Celsius.

After two days in a sauna, 39 degrees felt practically balmy, and right away, we decided that we liked Granada. Just beyond the cathedral, we crossed a plaza and found Hotel Nevada. The inn keepers, Irina and Francisco, spoke very little English, but between Irina and I, we were able to stumble along in Spanglish. After a short conversation and some insider tips from Irina, it became clear that this was one cool lady. We were even able to joke through our language barrier, and before long we were teasing one another with Ashlee's favorite Spanish word: Mentirosa! (liar).

After we had dumped our packs in our room for three, Ashlee and I went back downstairs to investigate ticket reservations for the Alhambra. Once again, Irina proved to be indispensable, and she not only helped us figure out how to print off our tickets, but also she hooked us up with a two-for-one deal to the Banos Aljibe (the Arab Baths). Thoroughly smitten with our new friend, Ashlee and I went to collect Joshua and wander through Granada in the hot heat of the afternoon.

Using the Lonely Planet walking tour as our guide, we headed uphill to see the older part of the city. Below the Alhambra, we entered the ancient gate into the city, and we followed the cobblestone lane up towards stairs. To our left, touristy shops hung their wares in the windows, and Ashlee finally found a dress. Although these shops and even some of their merchandise are pretty much the same whether you're in Spain or Greece or even South America, their cheap prices and worldly appeal still hold our interest. I love browsing through the knick knacks, and of course, earrings always draw my interest. I bought my first (and only pair so far!) pair in the same shop while Ashlee tried on her dress.

After countless stairs, we were sweating profusely. Joshua was getting cranky from the heat, but I was teaching Ashlee basic Spanish vocabulary, and the two of us were well enough distracted from the discomfort, reciting the present tense conjugations of tener, querer, and necessitar. At the top of the hill, we rounded a number of old, whitewashed domiciles and found ourselves in a courtyard just beyond a church. In front of us, the Alhambra rose impressively over a backdrop of the snow-capped Sierra Nevadas. Below us, Granada stretched out into the desert where our vision fizzed and waved in the heat. Sitting in the shade of a sparsely leafed tree, we listened as street musicians played flamenco and people clapped their hands. It was a spectacular sight.

When the music stopped, we walked back down the hill to find our Hotel. On our way down, we walked through the Arab-infusion district and wandered through shops selling tea, incense, and beautiful weavings. Ashlee resolved right then and there to go smoke hookah before we left Granada.

Back at the Hotel, the three of us took turns showering and then dressed in our best travel outfits. As daylight fell, we walked back towards the cathedral and found a tapas bar called Pasie Gas. There, we found seats in full view of the television and ordered lightly fried eggplant drizzled in molasses (Crujientes Aubergines), fried shrimp pancakes, and our new favorite, gazpacho. The head waiter ruled his roost with an iron fist (mixing metaphors?), and he grimly served us our delicious feast and kept the alcohol coming. I had two or three large glasses of white wine, and Joshua and Ashlee drank more than a few Alhambras.

The game was intense. After dallying with futbol in Laragh, Ashlee and I were now avid fans, and we watched the final game with nervous excitement. With more than 20 minutes of overtime, a couple of red cards, and some dirty plays, we were not disappointed. When Iniesto finally scored, we cheered with the rest of the restaurant, and everyone began chanting, "Espana! Espana! Espana!"

To celebrate, the three of us went out into the plaza in front of the cathedral and jumped ecstatically for a couple of photo shots. Then, because it was our anniversary, we split ways. Joshua and I wandered through the streets of Granada for another hour or so, watching people dressed in red sing and drink themselves into a happy, blissful oblivion. Cars driving down the main thoroughfare tooted their horns and blasted celebratory music with their Spanish flags flapping rapidly in the wind.

Back at the hotel, we found Ashlee and Irina about to leave for a couple of drinks and more celebration. We said our goodbyes and went to sleep. At 3:40 in the morning, we heard Ashlee come back in, and a couple of hours later, we woke up to her vomiting in the trash can. Although she and Irina had only had one more drink, the mixture of sweet mojito, foreign tapas, and three or four Alhambras had done Ashlee in. Although I'm sure it was not very reassuring, Joshua and I informed Ashlee that you haven't traveled until you've vomited your brains out, and she was now a full-fledged member of the traveling elite.

July 12, 2010

The next morning, Joshua's alarm went off to wake us up for our trip to the Banos Aljibe. Although Ashlee had been excited to go, her vomiting episode just a couple of hours earlier had weakened her interest, and Joshua and I went off alone. At 10 AM, we arrived at the baths and changed into our swimsuits. The baths were laid out in a dark, warm room, with lovely pillars, mosaics, and arches decorating the walls and passageways. We spent the next two hours lounging in warm and cool baths, and when our number was called, we had a fifteen minute massage. Joshua elected to have his back kneaded and smoothed, while I chose to treat my legs. Nearly asleep from the pleasure, we finished out our session floating in warm water near a little waterfall. Both of us decided that it was a lovely anniversary present to one another.

Once we had showered and changed, we found Ashlee and walked to a map shop to find out more information about the trails we would be taking in the Sierra Nevada. On our way, I bought a kilo of fresh cherries, and we ate our way through the bag as the day began to heat up.

With our maps purchased, the three of us walked back to the Arab infusion shops and found a restaurant with lovely arches and draped walls. Joshua ordered couscous with roasted vegetables, Ashlee ordered a serving of gazpacho for her angry tummy, and I ordered Chicken Swarma. For tea, each of us ordered our own pretty silver pots with exotic infusions from the Middle East.

To get to the Alhambra, we began walking uphill and caught a tourist bus to the top. Our tickets allowed us entry into the main palaces at 6 PM, but both the General Life and Alcazaba are open to the public. For the next hour, we wandered through the ingeniously irrigated gardens of General Life, and our tickets gave us a one-time entry into a pretty courtyard with a long reflection pool, beautiful carvings, and window overlooking the rest of Granada. Although it was hot, the trees and flowers provided us with shade, and we enjoyed 360 degree views of the gardens, the Alhambra, and the Sierra Nevadas.

To get to the palaces, we walked through more of the General Life gardens, and once we arrived at the palace gate, we waited in line for fifteen minutes in a crowd of irritated and hot people to enter. Finally admitted, we spent the next two hours staring in awe. The Alhambra is fantastically beautiful, and even though the most famous fountain (the Fountain of Lions) was under renovation and not open to the public, it was still the most beautiful historical site I had ever seen. The entire complex is so intricate and detailed that it would take a whole day to really appreciate everything. By themselves, the pools, fountains, windows, carvings, and ceilings would each hold your attention, but together, they are spell-binding. If you go to Andalucia, you must go to the Alhambra. Go.

With barely an hour left, we exited the palaces and wandered through the more formidable Alcazaba. The massive towers gave us panoramic views of the city and the mountains, and the arid, dusty wind whipped our hair around our faces. At 8:30 PM, the guards kicked us out, and we walked down the massive hill to the town below. At La Bella y La Bestia, we ordered the Menu del Dia, and while the portions were large they were not very tasty. Looking for a little something more, the three of us tried to find live flamenco, but the places we tried were full. In the end, Ashlee's dreams were fulfilled and we went in search of a hookah bar. While Joshua and I were initially skeptical, we had a lot of fun sitting in our pillowed seats, listening to Arabian music, sipping Moorish tea, and smoking cachimba.

That night, we lay in our cool hotel room and talked and laughed until we fell asleep.