the rest of granada

Well, I am back at school, ready for the 2 day work week ahead of me. The rest of Granada was incredible, a success to say the least, but before I say anything on the topic I would like to first say THANK YOU to my Aunt Carol and Uncle Kent. The most kind and generous people in the world, they sent me a digital camera that, after over a month of confusion with the mail as well as two attempts to send it, arrived this wknd while I was away. A gift that every one will benefit from! My blog was just upgraded big time. I guess all I need now is a title..

So anyway--back to Granada. The last update, I had been sitting in the hostel waiting for my slow ass friends to finish getting dressed. That night ended up being one of the longest I´ve had in Spain. The three of us met a couple guys from Louisiana, who had also conincidentally met studying abroad in Buenos Aires. As it turned out, we all had a lot in common and we ended up running around together for the next 24 hours.

Because it was a holiday weekend, the Alhambra had been sold out for months, but they reserve about 800 tickets to sell at the door every day at 8 am. Thus, we were told to get there at 7:30 at the latest. So, we stayed out all night, and headed to the Alhambra at 7 am to wait in line. Even though we got there so early, there was still a handful of people already waiting. We sat on the floor in line, all verging on insanity from the cold, while David from Louisiana played the blues on his harmonica. For two hours. It was hell on Earth, but at least we were in it together.

There are two time slots for visiting the Alhambra--during the morning and during the afternoon. I´m not quite sure why they arrange it this way, but we definitely opted for the latter. At 10 am, we went to bed, and arose again at 2 to head back.

Though I was more or less a zombie all day, the Alhambra was incredible. I could not believe how well preserved it was, considering it was completed in the 14th century. It was originally white washed, which is hard to believe because it is now a darker reddish color. We spent the majority of the 3 hours we had at the Nasrid Palace, which is the most notable of the fort. Each room was done with such detail, each arabesque displayed a different pattern. If you looked closely, you could see small mistakes, but then had to wonder if they were intentional...a theory that the artists did this as a display of respect and humility to Allah. At one point, we found a set a three arches looking out over the city, only one finished with the arabesque detail. It was a peculiar feeling, to think of all the possible explanations as to why the other two had never been completed. Before leaving, we headed up to the torres (towers) to watch the sunset--the Sierra Nevada to the left, the white washed Albaicin to the right. Magical!

That night we decided to continue the moorish theme of the day and head to the Arabic baths. Our appointment was at 10 pm, a perfect way to relax after such exhaustion. For 28 Euros, you can spend an hour and a half roaming around a luxurious, dimly lit "spa"--more or less eight large pools of varying heat. There was one cold pool, which we were advised to use on 10 minute intervals between each of the warmer ones. There was also a small area that resembled an open sauna to sit and have spiced tea. During the hour and a half of relaxation, you wait until you are called for your 15 minute massage, and you head to one of the beds alongside the pools and lie down for the perfect massage. I have had a few in my life, but often times they aren´t that enjoyable, the massuese kneading away at painful knots causing me to writhe in pain. This wasn´t about fixing my dinosaur back though. It was simply about deepest relaxation. It was HEAVEN.

And needless to say, the rest of the night passed with out much consequence. We arrived back to the hostel ready for bed, which is exactly what we did.