Granada

Now, this is the Southern Spain we were expecting. A big diverse city with spice markets and a maze of bazzars and street merchants. It has all the Islamic characteristics we were expecting to find in the other cities. There are a lot of students which give a bit of a bohemian atmosphere, but it is also a bit edgy with the feeling that if you are not careful you could be abducted and shipped off to work in an Algerian salt mine. It is also the home of free tapas. Woohoo! Tapas date back to when caravans were crossing the countryside and people would stop in for a drink. Travellers got drunk and caused havoc when drinking on an empty stomach, so the tavern owners put a 'top' on each drink (partially to keep the bugs out) to soak up the booze a bit. Granada is one of the last cities to practice this. We thought we would be getting a little tapa, maybe some bread with tomato, but we ordered two beers for 2 Euro each and got a plate filled with fries, two pieces of bread with ham and olives and cheese. Now that is a tapa.

The major draw here is the Alhambra which is a sprawling castle and one of the top sites in all of Spain. We hiked up to a neighborhood of narrow streets opposite the Alhambra which provide spectacular views of the castle and the Sierra Nevadas in the background. We also booked a 'free' Flamenco show since we just can't get enough of it. Since we made a reservation, we got a table right in front, but of course nothing is free and we got some overpriced appetizers and wine, but it was definitely worth it. The Flamenco museum taught us that the Flamenco in Granada is a bit more passionate than it's Sevillian cousin. There was a woman singer which was a bit different and the guitar player was the spitting image of Antonio Banderas. He was beating the hell out of his guitar and broke strings twice. The whole troope was a family and a young boy of about 10 was playing percussion. He was really good and after he got over his shyness busted out a little solo. The atmosphere was not as good, but not like Seville. It was nice to see a different style and compare and contrast them. On our way back home we stopped in a little Arabic cafe and had a pastry and tea along with a very pleasant smoke from a hukkah.

It was really hot when we got to Granada and we sweated pretty good hiking up to the overlook of the Alhambra. Determined not too be hot the next day, we wore our lightest clothes. When we stepped out of the hotel it was a little overcast but we were convinced that the merciless Andalucian sun would burn this off. After about 20 minutes of waiting in several different lines which everyone working there assured us was the right line, we finally got into the Alhambra. We bitch, but in the summer people daytrip here from all over the coast and the lines can be several hours long. The complex is massive and you could spend a whole day there. A woman we met in line is seeing it for the third time in 2 days. It is full of gardens and various castles. We went to one castle which was pretty cool but for some reason had a modern art display in it's basement. Not really the place for this guys. Well, whatever bigger fish to fry now because it has started raining. It steadily gets worse and the weather gets colder and colder. We are absolutely shocked by this because we were sweating to death the day before. Of course there is no weather channel to watch and we are not in the habit of checking the Internet each morning so we didn't bring any rain gear. So there we are, waiting in another line to see the main castle, in our thin shirts in the cold pouring rain. A sweet older Spanish woman took pity on Brooke and tried to share her umbrella, but she was about 4'2" and it wasn't really working, but she was insistent. We were thinking that this place better be worth it and luckily it was. All other palaces we saw pale in comparison to the detail put into the architecture of this one. It is just exquisite and romantic, and the location overlooking the city and valley below with the mountains on the opposite side is unparalleled. Washington Irving actually came and lived in this castle when it was abandoned in the 1800s. I am not sure how something this beautiful can be abandoned but apparently it was. We went to another part which was basically a huge garden-house with indoor and outdoor elements combined. At one point the weather turned even worse and a cloudy mist poured in at an alarming speed and enveloped us, it was like out of a Stephen King novel.
We made quick work of the rest of the sites and got back to get into some dry clothes. If it was nice we could have spent days up here, but it was not to be.

Luckily we had a hammam (Arabic bath) and massage to look forward to. After 2 months of backpacking around and wearing the same clothes, we figured we deserved an extended soak. The bath was top notch and well deserved after a day of freezing our asses off. It had 10 baths of all different temperatures, mostly warm and hot, but one was ice cold. It was dark and had low ceilings and had the exotic architecture that you could imagine was similar in earlier eras. We got a massage early on, then spent the rest of the time alternating between the hot and cold baths. We had some tea and just relaxed and soaked in the peaceful ambiance and aromatherapy. This was a real treat.

We loved Granada, it just had a great flavor to it. We could definitely have spent more time here. Young, vibrant, just big enough, edgy and best of all cheap. It is always nice to leave a country wanting more.