No wonder I´m forced to take 2 and a half hour siestas here in Granada. I´m telling you, you would to. It is so, so hot here.
But lovely! I´m staying in this converted Moorish palace here in Granada, in the Aldalusian province--that´s in the South of Spain for those of you who haven´t been here. The part of the country that is what everyone associates ¨Spanish¨ with--bullfights, flamenco, etc etc. They actually have ¨bull tail¨on the menu, and I´m afraid to think about, much less ask, if that is really what it is.
So my hotel is very cute, all arched doorways, white walls, dark wood.
It´s in the Moorish barrio of Albaicín, which is all Medieval streets and up on a hill overlooking the Alhambra.
Well, I suppose actually the Alhambra overlooks IT, like the entire town, but you get the picture. There is a street in the Albaicín called Little Morocco with all of these tea houses and Moroccan wares. Cool.
I went to dinner last night at a place on the hill and ended up meeting a couple from Italy who are living in Brussels now. We all went to a Flamenco show, which turned out to be very authentic, apparently it was at a private club that is only open to the public on Thursdays. Mostly Flamenco guitar and singing, with a little dancing, but that certainly wasn´t the focus. Very cool stuff, but I don´t know how these guys get their voices to do that. It´s interesting too that a lot of the singing reminds me of some Arabic music. I assume that is from the Northern Africa influence? Anyone know? The singers ranged from 18 to (get this) 84. The 84-year-old was the cutest ever, gumming his way through the song. One woman only. So that was rad, but kept me out late.
This morning I got up early to hit the Alhambra before it got too hot. You have to do all of this reservation stuff to get into the actual Palacios Nazaries, which is what most people associate with the Alhambra. Or at least I did. But it´s this massive complex. I got there at 9:15 or so and did not leave until 1:30, and I whipped through the last bit. So it was quite the amazing place, as you would guess. I took 5,788 photos, or it feels that way, so I will upload some as soon as I get to Xander´s so you guys can check it out. I´m not sure that the big campaign to make it a Wonder of the World is so appropriate, but it is quite breathtaking.
Then, of course, a siesta. A long one today. I´m feeling very exhausted, from the traveling around and from trying to decipher where things might be all of the time. One thing I will forever appreciate is the excellent signage that we Americans employ to ensure that all people, even those not necessarily familiar with a place, know where to go.
So I fly to Xander´s tomorrow. I´m totally totally psyched, and ready to hang out with him and be in one place. The next time I travel, it will be with him. That makes me so happy...
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