Me gusta Granada, pero Alicante es mi hogar
Trip Start
Sep 04, 2009
1
5
Trip End
Jan 05, 2010
Granada, Andalusia, Spain
Friday, October 23, 2009
So this trip started off great since we didn't have class on Friday because of it and then we went out the night before and just stumbled awake to get on the bus to sleep the next day. Though I didn't sleep. It was also scary because I think it was this night that Elizabeth and I were coming back and there was some old man who hissed at us which is how men try to get women's attention, but we were the only ones on the street, so we were freaked and it made us feel like although we are in a relatively safe city, it's still a city, and we're still Americans, even if we're not blonde so we have to be careful and not think that we have a bubble of protection, which is easy to feel like since we come from a small school.
Anyway, reality check aside, the drive was alright, we stopped at this place halfway there and ate the bocadillos our madres packed us and then headed back on the bus. The bus rides are interesting because they are really cliquey and are stressful cuz you can't sleep well, people are talking and it's loud from the movie or whatever and usually it's only fun on those things to talk shit about other people and you can't do that on a bus where they can hear you.
But anyway once we arrived I we got into the room and I wanted to rest a bit and then go walk around and explore but it was kind of weird since the beds were being made so we just had to walk. And we stayed with the group for a little though no one knew where they were going really and so we wandered down some beautiful little streets and down neat shopping areas. Everywhere in Granada is filled with history. Everything looks good, looks like old buildings and so the architecture has a certain symmetry that translates everywhere. Later that night we got ready to go see a Flamenco performance!~! We had some issues with the bus so we all went to go get dinner. That was when Elizabeth, Cristina and me all ate with Meredith and Nikki which was nice cuz we got to know them a lot better and that was when we bonded ^.^ Meredith is hilarious. She is blunt and observant. She has a certain way of speaking and I love her little mannerisms with her hands and when she poses for pictures.
After that we went back for the show and I was really sleepy at this point. Too much sangria. And then at the performance we got a drink included so I was really really sleepy at one point. That aside it was amazing to see the Flamenco after having taken those classes and it was amazing to see smushed up against a wall with pots and pictures hanging everywhere and listening to the guitar, the singing, the dancing and the facial expressions. Elizabeth got picked to dance! I was soooooo glad they didn't choose me at the end I probably would have literally just said no. I'm so glad that we got to see it in a cuerva, cave.
Before that we were taken on a little tour with a guide who showed us the Alhambra at night and said that the Romans had owned and conquered this part of the land at one point and that's an interesting fact because everyone has their roots from the Romans. I was standing pretty close to him at the front and I just said to Elizabeth, Cristina, Meredith and I think Steve, "Well I don't."
That night we didn't go out because by the time we got back it was so late because of the bus fiasco and because Meredith's friend who she ran into randomly in the discoteca in Madrid that is seven floors, El Capital, in the bathroom, who remembered her brother, we didn't want to make her wait for us. So we decided to try to get some sleep and hit it in the morning.
Too bad Cristina and I talked for so long that we only got up the next morning because Nikki came to knock on our door. So groggy eyed we made our way down for breakfast that was subpar unfortunately. Then started our excursion for the Alhambra!~!
The Alhambra was not what I expected. I didn't really expect anything to be honest. But it was magnificent. Honestly there are no words or pictures that can really describe it, it just has to be seen. It is so impressive and it does feel like there's still a bit of magic around it. Supposedly there's a legend that a magician put a spell on the Alhambra that if a certain key thing on one of the buildings makes it into another or aligns somehow then the whole palace will disappear. Obviously I didn't understand the Spanish tour guide very well but it seems like that could happen. It's so strange. And the gardens! I didn't know there were gardens or fountains and it was just so beautiful. More later...I have to study for busear, scuba diving!~! And talk with Cristina!~!
