Granada

We arrived in Granada in time for dinner (well, Spanish dinner time--we ate at 9:00 pm) since we heard that the tapas in Granada were really good. Here, you get free tapas whenever you order a drink. The free tapas are pretty good, but not as good as the ones you would order from a menu. Instead of a hostel we stayed at a really cheap hotel (though it was called Hostal Atenas), in which we got a private room for 30 euros. Just 5 minutes away was Plaza Nueva, an area with a lot of bars/tapas places. We went bar hopping for tapas. I like how sangria here is bubbly; when I get sangria in new York, it usually is just wine instead of wine mixed with champagne (at least I think champagne is what is giving these sangrias their bubbles...). I finally tried habas con jamon...it tastes exactly how it sounds like, it is just peas and ham, nothing too spectacular. I also had cod and friend calamari. All tapas were around 2 euros each, as was the sangria. There weren't a lot of people on the streets, perhaps because it is thursday? I am used to NY, where party areas are pretty full, even on Monday. We might have been in the wrong area too. Regardless, we didn't want to stay out too late since we had to get up early to visit the Alhambra.

After hearing horror stories of troubles with tickets, I took great care in planning our Alhambra visit. They only allow 8100 visitors daily, and tickets usually sell out. Luckily I booked ahead--even when booking a week in advance, there were les than 800 tickets left, and only a few time slots open for viewing Nasrid's Palace, which is the highlight of the Alhambra. The Alhambra, according to my guidebook, is one of the greatest accomplishments of Islamic architecture, and nothing can quite prepare you for seeing the real thing. I had worried that my soaring expectations of it would ultimately leave me disappointed, but as my book said, no description or hearsay could really convey how amazing the palace was. In the photo above I have a close up of one of the walls--everything, from door to ceiling is intricately hand carved in this fashion. Granada was apparently the last stronghold for the muslim rulers, until it it conquered by queen Isabel and king Fernando. Unfortunately, one of the main rooms, and the signature lion fountain was under construction, so while we could see it, it was marred by equipment and workers.

After seeing the palace, I had thought that I had gotten through any ticket issues that could arise. There are morning and afternoon time slots, and you must enter the palace within the specific 30 minutes allotted on your ticket. Somewhere in the palace I dropped my ticket, so when I tried to enter the fortress, they would not let me in. Apparently, each ticket holder is allowed to enter the fortress and the palace just once. While I had my receipt of ticket purchase, and my friends had their tickets, the guard would not let me in, and directed me to customer service, who told me that I would have to find my ticket! So, I had to talk to the personnel, who radioed each other to see if anyone had found a ticket. The entire process took at least 30 minutes, and eventually I heard a guard on the radio say, "I see it!" I guess he then retrieved it, and another guard said to give it to a Japanese girl that was looking for it. I went and picked up a ticket, but it wasn't mine; someone else had dropped their ticket too, but they had already entered the fortress, so I had to run back, and it turned out hey had found two tickets. I eventually got my ticket, and entered the fortress. The fortress and the palace of Charles V were just ok, I guess I was jaded from Nasrid's palace.

As we walked out to the bus stop, it began to rain. We took the bus to albaizin, an old neighborhood with winding, narrow paths. In it was a lookout point, the Mirador de San Nicholas, which offered a beautiful view of the alhambra and the city. Nearby, we ate expensive but very delicious tapas--Ella an Tessa said they were the best tapas we had had so far, though I disagree. I still like the place we went to in Seville, despite the terrible service.

After returning to Gran Via, the main road, we had one of the worst crepes that I have ever had while we waited for the rain to stop. We then proceeded to Capilla Real, where King Fernando and Queen Isabel are entombed. They were the first rulers of the Spanish Empire. Isabel of Castille married Fernando of Aragon, uniting those areas, and they proceeded to persecute and execute non Christians, eventually conquering Granada and some other territories, I presume. We didn't realize this until after we had already entered; Ella was not pleased about having paid an entrance fee towered maintaining the graves of these antisemetics. I suppose if international criminal law had existed then, they would be guilty of genocide. Although, they were targeting all non christians, not just Jews, so according to the reasoning of the ICTR in which victims need to be identified as what they are, not what they are not, I suppose...well I am on vacation, I shouldn't be thinking about classwork :p

Now I'm on the bus back to Madrid! It has stopped raining, but there is a forecast for snow...