Great Granada!

On the advice of some folks from my hostel in Saville I went to Granada. I was told that it was amazing. It is in the opposite direction of Lisbon so I asked "on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most amazing place you've ever been, where is Granada?" Their reply was 9....well how do you miss a place like that! So I found myself Wednesday night on the bus to Granada. I looked for a hostel near the centre and was going to book Hostel One which is the same one I stayed in Saville....but they had reviews listing bed bugs. So I spent a little more money and booked where my friend was staying....and all I have to say is Wow! I walked in to the Lobby and it was a large courtyard with a pebbled floor. The ceiling over this courtyard retracts so on a sunny day you can enjoy the blue skies and on a rainy day you are protected. My room had exposed wooden beams and a bathroom that at first glance would rival the bathrooms in most hotels I've stayed in. (Dad, think Edinburgh). Another awesome feature was their laundry, which isn't free but was conveniently located in a room off the courtyard! I washed my clothes (including my jeans which had a red sauce spoon mark on them) while writing my last blog and eating breakfast. AND the dryer actually dries clothes! I finished my load of laundry just in time for my walking tour.

Jack, my Granada walking tour guide from Vancouver ( go Canada go!) picked us up at the hostel and took us out to explore Albaicin (translated as the sad town due to the number of refugees who moved there after being pushed out of the many Granada towns by Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand), the old town. The water in Grenada is a 9.2/10 according to Jack and all the fountains in the city have this amazing water to drink or fill your water bottle. One of the first things we did on our tour was walk up a steep hill to see the Albaicin from afar....I hate hills! Did I mention Granada was built in a valley? Ugh......

Here are some of the things I learned on my walking tour:
-In Granada the star of David appears often, even in nunneries and churches. The reason is that in Granada it is the symbol of law and order and is the official stamp of the justice system.
-there are many green areas in the Albaicin which are private gardens, called Carmens. They are filled with fruit trees and are passed down from generation to generation so are owned by regular working class people.
-Granada was built to protect itself. There are small doorways into the city so the enemy would have to go through head or feet first and risk losing one of the mentioned body parts. Once through the city gates there is a sharp turn so that the men with the battering ram would have no where to go. Also the area above the gates and small doors was open so when the enemy had their head down they would get attacked from above. They put uneven stairs in front of the gates so that the enemy would have to pay more attention because they'd also be walking backwards since the gate would be to the left and archers would be stationed to the right. Since the men carried their sword in their right and the shield on the left they would turn backwards to protect themselves with their shield.  If you were left handed you were considered special and were paid more but you were sent to attack city gates first....so not necessarily a great position!
-the Alhambra is a complex of palaces and gardens overlooking the city of Granada. Some interesting tidbits about Alhambra is that 1) all the water in the palace is supplied by 2 aquaducts that come from further up the hills. This water also was the sole provider to the fountains and the pressure that built up as it went downhill was what caused the fountains to spray. 2) In 1492 Alhambra is where Queen Isabel originally told Christopher Columbus she would not provide him any money for his quest to find the Indies. After he left an advisor told her that if someone else provided the money and he found the land they would be rich not her and if he didn't find anything it wouldn't make that much difference so she sent a horse and rider out to catch him and agreed to provide him with three ships to sail the seas for the Indies (when America was supposedly discovered). 3) One of the towers in the complex was built using old stones which ended up being gravestones from an Arab "cemetary". The tour was interesting and mostly up hill! The views were spectacular.

Afterwards Ankush and I decided to go to Alhambra, but we took the bus up to the top instead of walking! Haha....Alhambra is a Moorish palace that was added to by succeeding kings and Queens. The detail is extraordinary and the gardens are beautiful. All the fountains lend a sense of peace to the area. We met up with some German friends who were staying at our hostel and toured the grounds with them. Sadly, my camera ran out of battery juice in the middle of Alhambra. But Ankush was so kind and lent me his camera so that we can share pictures. After the steep climb down the hill we walked through the winding city streets to find some food. I had my fist empanada, not bad!

Back at the hostel I ran into Vinicius and we decided to go on the tapas tour with Giselle, who came to Grenada after she heard I had come! Aw! I got changed and got ready to go. We ordered sangria, which they didn't have but they had something similar which turned out to be delicious! We got one tapas and then headed to the next place. It turned out to be the same place Ankush and I had gone to the night before. The 7 of us: Maria, Christoph, and Michael from Germany, Vinicius, Ankush, Giselle and I went to find our own place to go. We found a place that seemed reasonably priced and went there. The reasonable price was for a reason as I bit on a piece of bone in my sausage tapas! Yuk! The rest of the crew decided to go out for drinks after but Giselle and I were ready for bed so we went back to the hostel, stayed up chatting for a bit before I fell fast asleep!

This morning I was so excited to have a long luxurious shower in the fancy glass shower. I got up but the bathroom was in use. I really had to pee so I waited, and waited, and waited.....for 30 minutes! I was ready to explode so I put on my hoody to sneak downstairs in my PJ's to use the public washroom. I noticed a door open on my way to the stairs and stuck my head in. Wouldn't you know that it was empty! So I borrowed their bathroom and then went back to wait out the washroom hog! 20 minutes later he emerged. I went in to have my nice hot shower....only the shower head is loose and so you need to hold it in your hand while you shower....such a bummer! When I left the bathroom floor was flooded from the wayward shower head......aw well.

I decided to go see the caves in an area of the city called Sacromonte. Known as the gypsy area, people carved homes out of the rock and still live in these caves! It's not nearly as exciting as you might think. You can't see much and I didn't want to get too close as I was alone. I saw some caves and an entrance into the side of the hill with a door....but I was kind of hoping to see what they looked like up close! I went back down the hill and got lost in Granada. When I was ready to be found again I pulled out my map and an older local lady asked if she could help me. She told me many good places to visit, how to find the street I was looking for. She then spent about 15 minutes telling me how corrupt Spain, the government, and the police are. I managed to pry myself away with many thanks and went in search of some food. I found something to eat and got back to the hostel where I could relax for 30 min before leaving with Giselle for the bus back to Saville. We got on the city bus and arrived at the bus station 2 minutes late! I missed my first bus! Thankfully after a long wait in line I was able to get on the next bus 2 hours later. Works out better since now I only need to wait 2 hours in Saville for my bus to Lisbon and not 4!

It's nice to have some company on the bus and to have someone watch the bags when you need to go to the bathroom!! On ward to Saville and then in 12 short hours I will be in Lisbon!