Holiday in Spain

Granada

We arrived on Tuesday after a day of traveling. So far its very beautiful. The Alhambra sits on a hill above the plaza we are staying in. It looms over us and glows at night.

Wednesday

Everyone slept in, which was much needed. Around One we went walking and saw the Law School at the University of Granada and the outside of the huge Cathedral. (Our guide Jose insisted that no one could go in, which was wrong). The cathedral is so large that you can't look at it from the street and see the building in its entirety. Jose was a terrible guide. I wanted to see so many things that he couldn't find or said was too far up the hills. Anyway, the Cathedral was built on the site of a former Mosque. Work began on it in 1523 and was not finished till 180 years later. It was really beautiful (I cannot say that enough).

Later we went to random bars and ate free tapas. We walked around at Judereia (not sure on spelling).I learned that the Caves of Sacramonte were too far, plus, no one wanted to go. We saw the Botanical Gardens at the University of Granada. We went to a few art galleries and the department store of Spain, “El Corte Ingles.”

That night we walked around Calle de las Teterias, which is the heart of the old Muslim town and had many Arab shops. We ate a lot of free tapas (which had been our only source of nutrients on the trip so far. I learned that Tapas actually began in the Andalusian region, and it is customary in Granada that when you order a drink you get a free tapa. This was great, but hard getting used to since we were not taking part in the customarily large lunches. What was interesting, was that when we went to a Chinese restaurant they called their Dim Sum, Tapas. Growing up in the heart of China Town has made me really spoiled and the Spanish Chinese food was kinda funny to behold.

Thursday

We woke up around 12 and went to the air port to retrieve our lost bags. The Spanish women suck, they wouldn’t help us or call British Airways. It was time for siesta anyway. The women at our airline's window shut their blinds on us. We left very disappointed, and I was hungry.

Afterward we went to look for new clothes for Etima. We went to some of the more commercial shops we saw the day before. I bought a pair of teal leather sandals and I also bought a hookah for Amy. After the shops we had lunch at a near by restaurant. We shared the especial del casa. It included: salad and bread, seafood paella, grilled pork with vegetables, and a roasted cinnamon apple.It was the first real meal we had during the trip. After lunch we went back to the flat and rested a bit.

That night we went to an Irish pub for Karaoke. It was a strange experience because all the Spanish people were requesting old American music from the 70’s and 80’s and even more stuff we didn’t know. I guess the spaniards are 20 years behind in American music, except for regaton. The regaton was "poppin". Etima and I sang Salt n Pepa’s push it. No one knew the song.

When the pub closed we went to the Albayzin District to this after hours club. No one was there except for some crazy wired gypsy painter men who wanted to do the Passa Doble with us. They may of offered us some coke.

Friday the 21st

We woke up fairly early and went to the Alhambra. Tickets were 10 € and the Audio guide was 6 €. I think the Audio guide was a waist because the castle's history was beyond an audio recording. The architecture reflected how advanced the Moors were and kept making me think of the poor British peasants in Monty Python's Holy Grail (I can't justify the connection between the two). I took many pictures of feral cats on the grounds. Unfortunately, we only spent 2 hours there. I wish I had gone with company who wanted to bring a lunch and spend more time in the castle. The shrubberies were spectacular.

After, we were all hungry so we ate at a small place near the flat called Kabab King. This place ended up being our lifeline through out our stay in Granada. A shwarma was only 2.50 € and most of the places were open 24hours. After the late lunch we went back to the flat for a nap. After the nap we went back to the pub, Hannigan’s, for a few drinks. The dj was playing a surprising amount of modern music. He ended up being from California and was in Granada after studying in Spain over the summer. He came back to live there for a while.

Saturday 22nd

I woke up much earlier than Etima to the sound of marching music outside the flat. I went to go look and there were people playing drums and wearing Christmas decorations and Santa hats. When the marching band passed, I went to the pastry shop and bought a flaky ham pastry. It was delicious. I walked around the neighborhood a bit. Everything is endearing when it’s on a cobble stone street, but the novelty of it wears off quickly. You have to watch out for dog poo everywhere. There is also tons of terrible graffiti. It wasn’t art but random words sloppily sprayed on old buildings.

After my walk I went back to the flat. Etima was awake and ready to head out. We walked to a large garden plaza called Jardin Del Triumfo. Then we went to the Plaza Del Torros. We ate tapas and a traditional dish called rabo del toro (bull’s tale) at a restaurant around the corner from the plaza. The dish was served in a gravy with parsley over thin French fries.

Sunday 23rd

Etima and I made reservations for the Arabic Bath House. It seemed to be reasonably priced and included a 30 minute massage. We made reservations then went back home to wash clothes. It was so cold they took forever to try. After, we went to search for a hostel to stay in for our last two nights in Granada. I was happy that we had to stay elsewhere. I was looking forward to a warm bed of my own and shower.

Monday Christmas Eve

Etima and I wok up early to head over to Hostel Sonia for a two night stay. The hostel owner was a liar. The phone in the room didn't work and the shower in our room wasn't a full sized bathtub. After we checked in we went to the Arabic bath house. The masseuse had half a big toe and saw my boobs. For lunch Etima and I sat and drank a few glasses of wine then walked around in search of an open grocery store. None were open. We got kind of lost, which was ok. We ran into central Granada, which we had not previously seen. There were tons of fountains. We found a café called “Café Boheme.” It’s major design influence was American jazz.

The center of Granada was very festive with tons of lights. El Corte Ingles had a huge nativity scene set up in a truck. Everything in the scene looked hand crafted. After that we saw a few large tents set up. Inside were a bunch of venders. Lots of Moroccans and a few Spanish people that looked like they were from the Americas. It is depressing that any time you see someone with darker skin, they are selling something. We walked through, Etima bough a jacket. It was very much like a flea market.


We found our way back to the hostel and bought a chicken dish for our Christmas Eve dinner from the Chinese restaurant downstairs. It was the only place open. La Noche Buena is very popular for families to get together and everything was closed.

Flamenco is everywhere(it originated in this region). You hear people start clapping out of no where. During our dinner Etima and I watched music videos and Christmas specials. Flamenco was fully integrated in all of the specials. The dance is really amazing. Etima and I would try to replicated it, along with the vocals. I’m sure the hostel owners could hear us.

Later…

It was difficult starting the night because everything was closed for the holiday. We found a group of students from the US walking down Gran Via. I had torn off a poster for a bar that was having a reggae night but we couldn’t find the bar. We ended up walking past it several times because it wasn’t open yet. When we got in, there were mostly Moroccans at the bar. After, we went to see if Granada 10 (a regaton club) was open but they wouldn’t let all of us in so we left. The group that we met wanted to go home so Etima and I found this other club called Aphrodisia. They played 70’s funk.

As a whole, the Spaniards sucked out on the dance floor. For some reason the men can break out in spontaneous clapping, but when it came to the club, I didn’t get to experience anything special.

More To come...