Granada

My final destination was Granada, Spain.  When I first decided I was going to Barcelona I knew I needed to see the very famous Alhambra palace.  I find it interesting that it was the last touristy thing that I did in Europe.  But it was amazing. 

I got to Granada mid day on Sunday and checked into my hostel.  Online it said it was a hippies paradise which was an atmosphere I knew I would enjoy, especially because I partied a little in Sevilla.  My hostel was not the easiest to find but I eventually got there with the help of some locals.  On the bus I moved over one seat and asked the young woman standing if she wanted to sit down.  I said "quieres sentirse?"  She knew english and said "you mean sentarse...you just asked me if I wanted to feel myself."  I felt like a complete idiot, especially since I have said that many times to older people on the metro and the bus.  She ended up knowing exactly where my hostel was and helped me get there, which was very nice.  When I checked in I was hungry so I walked towards the nearest plaza to get some food.  When I got to the top of the stairs I could see the entire Alhambra right across the steep cliff.  It was an amazing site

I really wanted to come back to see this view at night too.  I got a quick bit to eat and decided to take a little walk up the hills to a place called Sacramonte.  This is where all of the gypsies live in cliffs and tiny shacks.  It was a very nice walk up there but I didn't explore the caves too much because I didn't have any water and it was a bit creepy.  The streets up on the hill reminded me a lot of the windy sidewalks in San Torini.  The old cobblestone roads that slither up the hillside and the simple architecture.  Granada is a very beautiful city but I think it is too touristy to live there. 

I returned to the hostel and wrote my name down for eating dinner there, and then went down the hill to grab a drink.  In Granada when you order a drink at a tapas bar you get food with it.  I just ordered a beer, watched Nadal win the French Open, and ate some french fries with a ham and cheese sandwich.  I was very content.  Then I returned to my hostel to eat dinner.  There were 5 of us, two australians, a spanish girl that worked there and made dinner, and an older woman from the US.  I was most interested in the Australians.  The next day they planned to go to this place called Bonoficio in the Sierra Nevadas, which is the mountain range you can see in the distance.  Next time I come to Europe this place will be on my list because it is extremely off the beaten path.  This is a small community of people and the concept is similar to a Kibutz in Israel.  When you arrive you are not allowed to bring alcohol or drugs and you need to bring water.  Then you chip in for food and help them make crafts or teach people a trade if you have one.  They said that the whole idea is to be accepting of anyone and to learn and share ideas.  It sounded really cool and if I had some more time I might have gone to see it for myself.  After dinner I just relaxed and then went to sleep. 

I got woken up around 8 in the morning by a song.  "Good Morning, good morning, (REST OF SONG) (ADD LINK).  I thought it was hilarious and it was a great way to start the day.  Others didn't like it too much but I could see if you were there for more than a few days it would get annoying.  As one Englishman put it "It's fuckin' awesome, wake the fuck up and eat some free toast and coffee."  I got a nice chuckle from that line, and the way he said it with the British accent. 

I had a reservation for the main palace of the Alhambra at 6:00 PM but could enter at 2:00 in the afternoon.  The first half of the day I went and checked out some Graffiti a few blocks from the city center.  The Graffiti was very artistic and nice but nothing special.  Then I took the bus up to the Alhambra and started walking around.  I walked to the first palace through some elaborate gardens only to realize that I had lost my ticket, which you need to enter any palace.  I panicked a little but went back to the ticket office where to guy selling the audio guides asked me what was wrong.  I told him of my problem and my ticket was at the front gate because I had forgotten to take it back when they scanned it.  Disaster diverted.  I went back and looked at the entire palace with about an hour to spare.  My favorite spot was the largest tower closest to the city where you had an entire view of everything for miles.  I have a video but it is not comparable to the actual site.  There is also a hill above the palace with stairs and railings that act as aqueducts.  The strong current had carved into the railings for over 500 years and showed the power of water and the elaborate design of the water system of the Alhambra.  While waiting I decided to do some stretching and a girl from Montreal who was on a run started chatting with me.  Since I had a t-shirt and gym shorts, she thought I was running too.  We talked until I went into the main palace and planned to meet up later.  The main palace was everything you would expect.  I slowly walked around from room to room, admiring the unique architecture, writing on the walls, and intricate stalactite arches forming large doorways.  In the center of most forums there was a still pool of water that reflected the view of the opposite facade but had a slight ripple.  This gave an illusion that gave life to the architecture.  The only disappointment was in fact a major disappointment.  There is a main forum area, I think called the fountain of 12 lions.  This forum is the gem of the main palace as my audio guide said and it was completely under construction.  My audio guide also said that the fountain is stronger and the reflective illusion is the most powerful and beautiful.  Great!  I was slightly let down but there was nothing I could do about it so I just let it go. 

I went back to the hostel to get my phone and change to something warmer and then I went to go meet up with my new friend.  She was couch surfing and studied in Madrid.  We got some tapas and talked for a while.  She was very interesting and taught me something.  Her spanish was excellent, and she just started that year.  She did know french fluently which is much harder than spanish but she completely immersed herself in the language and talked to everyone in Spanish.  In my 5 months I learned a lot of spanish and I can get bye, but she was close to fluent and I was very impressed.  We also talked about how I didn't really see that much of Spain.  I should have traveled through the entire country but I only stayed on the coast.  Although she was only 20, she had been to Australia 2 times, Europe, South Africa, and South America.  So she had dome a lot of traveling and this was my first time doing anything like this so I wanted to get see all of Europe, which I did, but maybe not enough of Spain.  Anyway, after the tapas we went to the plaza where the view of the Alhambra was...and it was breathtaking.  I could only hear the wind blowing over the hills, the faintest sound of water, and the occasional sound of the city and people.  There were even some stars out, which I have not seen in a long time.

I woke up the next morning at 5 to catch a bus and a flight back to Barcelona where I was staying one last night with my host family and then heading home.  It was great to see them again.  Before I went back I ate lunch at a place called Ciutat Comtal which was my dad's favorite place and Kris's favorite place.  I got one of the mini hamburgers and some other food and it was delicious.  Then I went back to my home stay where they had prepared a ciesta lunch with the family so I ate another lunch.  That night I just relaxed and caught up on sleep and prepared to leave in the morning.  Now I am on the plane to Boston.