Granada

My intensive session ended this week, so a few friends and I took advantage of a weekend free of homework and journeyed the 3 hours on a bus to Granda, Spain. This is a very southern part of Spain, and was recognizable once we set foot in Granada and saw the huge Arab influence, many of the shop and restaurant owners were also Arab or of Arabic descent. Anyway, the sight to see in Granada is The Alhambra...an amazing fortress/palace built in the 14th century by the moors who, were at the time, ruling Spain. The whole property is actually kind of confusing to tour, because there isn't any logical layout between the buildings and the fortress, and the gardens.
To get to the Alhambra, you have to climb a good mile of hills, or take a taxi, but we walked. It was neat to be walking along and hear all different languages being spoken, it was almost as if someone from every part of the world was there...it is a very popular tourist attraction. We bought tickets, and are all assigned time slots so that there aren't too many people in the palace at the same time. The gardens are intricately carved and shaped into obscure shapes, and the cobblestone roads, all throughout Granda, but especially in the Alhambra prove uncomfortable to navigate...but it all seems worth it once you are in the palace, full of arches, mosaic tiles, and plastered walls that have designs carved out in every inch. Literally everywhere you look, you saw more detail, even on the ceiling.
Where it's at with the Alhambra is the sights! It is so high on a hill, that the views of the City of Granada are unbelievable. All homes with terracota shingles, and earth tones. In the middle of it all, is the mostrocity of a Cathedral. (Side Note: every Spanish city has a huge Cathedral, their pride and joy. The Spanish don't navigate using N,S,E,W, but rather the cathedrals are thier main landmark, everything is oriented about that.) Back to the views...they were so beautiful that it was hard for me to take pictures. They will never do it justice, and I almost just wanted to bask in the glory of what was built so many years ago and that is still standing for the world's population to consume its glory.
It gets better....across the valley from the Alhambra is a park where you can see the entire span of the Alhambra property and in the backgroud...the Sierra Nevadas snow-capped. In all honesty, this is the sight that made Granada for me. Standing in this park, surrounded by tourists, and locals. The locals there have a lot of flavor, some typical Spanish, but a lot of bohemian. In the park were peole sitting in cirlces, playing drums or dancing, or praying to whatever God. To get to this vantage point, or to get anywhere in Granada, that isn't in the downtown center, you have to climb cobblestone hills. They all have a small gutter running down the middle for drainage. The shops are aplenty full of souveniers, and Arch-shaped gifts. The people are very friendly, always willing to help with directions (We are definetly getting good at understanding directions in Spanish!).
Granada's night life also has a lot to offer. With every drink purchased, you get a free Tapa. THis is like a small appetizer....and a bargain! For example, I paid 1.70 for a beer and got half a grilled ham and cheese and potato chips with it! You can't beat this method of dining. We went to the well-known disco in town (All the Spanish people told me it was called "My West" I thought this was an odd name, but once we got there I saw the name is "Mae West" which made perfect sense with the country western theme) and had a great time, chatting with locals. Made it back to the hostel around 3am, and today, on Sunday just explored the town. We met a shop owner that chatted us up for a while. He gave us free incense and said that he knows SPanish men are very forward with their cat-calling, but to ignore it. He said the reason Americans don't do it is because they have better manners! He gave us all a stick of incense and said that when we do meet a man we like to wave the incense under their nose three times, and they will fall in love withs us. I threw the incense away, but it was fun talking with him :) Later on, we had a mediterranean lunch complete with hummus and toboule!

The sights on the bus ride home, weren't anything to sniff at either. All mountain pueblos, or small cities, beautiful! Most of them had homes that all matched, white on the outside with tile shingles. I was riding the bus, and found myself in awe of this experience. I had a British couple to the side of me, and two Spanish children in front of me. The bus driver was playing the radio, a station with all American tunes...Red Red Wine, Shania Twain, Ace of Base...real classics. The moment that really struck me was when I realized I could understand every conversation that was within an ear's distance. The kids in front of me were playing eye-spy in Spanish, and I understood it! The British couple to my side were discussing their personal lives, and obviously I understood it. It was ver surreal for me to realize that my grasp on Spanish has already improved so much.

Photos are to come!