Granada

Friday morning, bright and early (a little too early if you asked me, but nobody did, so it remained too early), a nice hike over to Avenida de Portugal carrying our weekend bags. There was a point at which I was ready to hail a taxi or swear off all forms of non-wheelable luggage and drag my bag the rest of the way. The drive to Granada was about three hours of fairly decent nap time. Free time upon arrival basically consisted of me crashing in the hotel because, as previously implied, I was a little tired. The afternoon was spent in the Alhambra, which is kind of a royal city situated on a hill above Granada. The palace and the gardens are just beautiful. I really enjoyed the architecture (mudejar style, I think... either way, not European). Although it was all very pretty, it was at least 40C out there, which means my brain checked out for the day and I barely processed or retained anything the guide said. Nota bene for the future: If you want to visit the Alhambra, go in the morning or just avoid it in July and August.

I don't know why you would say you're going to Granada and end up on the beach for most of the time. (For those wondering, Granada is not a coastal city...) My roommate and I decided to spend the day in the city. First, we wandered through the Alcaicería. A cute market with narrow streets, rugs, clothes, bags, jewelry, etc. Jeanie pants are so popular here and they come in all sorts of really cool patterns. Then, I just had to go to the Capilla Real, where Isabella and Ferdinand are buried. There are two mausoleums: one for Ferdinand and Isabella, the other for Felipe and Juana. Directly below the mausoleums, there is crypt with their actual coffins (Ferdinand, Isabella, Felipe, Juana, and Miguel- the oldest grandchild). Adjacent to the chapel is a small museum with Isabella´s crown and scepter. The Catholic monarchs requested to be buried in Granada due to its significance in the Reconquista.

In Granada, there is a really neat tapas custom. If you order a drink, you get a small tapa for free. It´s a variation on tapas culture of Spain. And that´s how we went about getting our lunch for the day. A drink and a tapa. :)

After lunch, we walked down Calle Reyes Católicos, which turns into Carrera del Darro along the river and passes through Plaza Nueva and past St. Anne´s Church. Then we wandered into the Albaicin, the Arab neighborhood. It is situated on a hill and has narrow streets. Took Calle de San Juan de los Reyes- many souvenir shops worked by Moroccans. I think my favorite thing about Granda was their teterias. They are the coolest things ever. It´s basically a tea shop, Arab style. The decoration inside is sweet, and the music was themed. You lay down on these sort of benches with cushions with tea on the tables with tile tabletops. Soo relaxing. The tea is really good, and there´s a huge selection. I tried a mint and lemon iced tea with sugar. We also split a crepe. I think I could´ve stayed there all day. But we had to leave eventually. Later that evening, I wanted to go see the Puerta de Elvira and Calle Elvira, passing through the Jardines del Triunfo. All very pretty in the evening.



Yup, that'd be Picasso and he was born in the building to the right.



We went to Málaga on Sunday and visited the Museo Picasso. Personally, I think the guy was certifiably nuts, but obviously some people appreciate his work very much. The colors in some of the paintings were nice and I don´t mind the still life, but the "portraits" ..... So that was interesting. We passed the church where he was baptized and saw the windows of the building where he was born. After that, we got back on the bus and headed to the beach in Torremolinos. Chinese for lunch was delicious! I techinically set foot on the beach, but it was so hot and humid that I preferred to spend the afternoon in a cafe.

And that is more or less my weekend for you. :)

Btw, Granada= pomegranate.