I immediately walked up the hill from the Spanish Catholic part of town to the older, Moorish section. I sound like a broken record, but the streets around the Albaizin were beautiful and narrow and winding. I wanted to case out the Alhambra, where it was, how much tickets were, etc., for the next day. I asked around, and went up the cobblestone streets leading to the very big hill it was on. What a walk it was! After the heat of the Spanish sun, the path went up into beautiful deciduous trees which reminded me of Ontario woods. On either side of the path watered flowed in a sort of pebbled stone trough, which made a delicious gurgling sound. It was a long way to the top. Afterward, I wandered the streets of the Albaizin, taking in the atmosphere. It was that night that I was to have my worst ever meal in Spain. I went from place to place asking if they were open, as it was around 8:30. They thought it was ridiculous that I would want supper that early, as restaurants only begin to open for supper after 9 PM. Businesses are also usually closed during the afternoon for the siesta, even banks.
However, I found a place that was selling a salad with asparagus, cheese, and ham. This sounded good, so I ordered that, with a drink. The salad came, and it was downright nasty. Pale pieces of iceberg lettuce, with bits of processed cheese, little squares of processed ham, really terrible olives, and canned, pale aspargus, all drowning in mayonnaise that they had just squeezed on in a gridiron on top. I honestly couldn't finish it, and that's saying a lot, as I will eat a lot of stuff. When the bill came, it cost me 9 Euros, which was ridiculous. Feeling ripped off and unimpressed with Granada, I went back to the hostel, bought some fruit juice and went to my room, where I fell asleep before 10, I was so exhausted. I still had not had a really solid night since my mountain experience. I woke up to a drunken guy yelling at his dog in Spanish, made a phone call about my camera to the bus station, and found out that I would not find out decisively until the next morning for some reason. I decided to just enjoy myself in Granada for the next day.
I wandered in search of breakfast and found another sub-par meal, which seemed to be becoming a theme in Granada. It was just the smashed up pulp of a tomato on top of toast. It was cheap, and since my bank card wasn't working, I wasn't going to be prodigal about it. The cathedral was close by, and I stopped in during Mass, as this was the only time the Cathedral was free, and I was curious. It was interesting seeing Mass in a Spanish cathedral, particularly one built in the last city taken from the Moors. I believe it was built right over top of their old mosque. I didn't understand anything the priest was saying, but I'm pretty sure at one point he did the Apostle's Creed or the Lord's Prayer. I checked out the cathedral after. It was not as big as Malaga's, but still interesting. By this time I was ready for some English speaking company, as I was missing Abe. I heard these girls speaking English in an American accent as they were looking around at the Cathedral, and I got talking to them. They invited me to check out the Alhambra with them and walk around the city, and I was pleased to oblige. It was nice to have company. They were dentistry students from Texas. We exchanged travel stories; they had just come from Barcelona and Valencia. We wandered around in search of lunch and found a place where, after we bough a drink each, the owner brought out a free paella and potato salad thingy. It was glorious. Afterward, we checked out the Alhambra. It was impressive, with vast gardens, Moroccan-looking rooms, and vistas looking out over the city below. There was a theatre that the Catholics had built later on, and a separate medieval Moorish fortress inside, with really cool look-out towers. Unfortunately, when we went to see the star attraction, the inner palace, we were told that we had not come at exactly the time our tickets said we should, and we could not be let inside. "It's impossible," the gate keeper said. I suggested that it was not impossible, he could just let us walk in, but that did not change our situation appreciably.
It would have been cool... a friend who did go there said it was amazing inside. But I was enjoying the company and was not too bothered. All this walking around was tiring us out, so we were looking for a green park to just chill during the late afternoon sun. As I was walking in the city core, I thought I heard a voice yelling "Hey Steve!" I looked around, and it was Amy again with her sister! What a welcome sight. My American friends left for a park, and I switched to hanging with Amy and her sister. My debit card wasn't working, so we spent the better part of two hours finding a place to call North America to get it to work, when we finally got it to work, it was quite exciting. We walked around the city a bit, and then we went to a Bodega (winery/restaurant) where her sister had read some of the best eats in Granada were. So far, my Granada experience was underwhelming gastronomically, so I thought I had nothing to lose by going there. It blew my mind. It was busy, and just locals were there. We couldn't get a table so we stood at the bar, in front of 6 enormous casks of wine. We each got something to drink, and it came with some really good, generous tapas. Then we decided to get a cold platter, and it was tremendous. It cost only 15 Euros, and it would have been enough to stuff four of us. It had local cheese, breads, jams, smoked salmon, and loads of meat. It was there where I was introduced to the tinto de verano ("the colour of summer"), a Spanish drink mixing a bit of wine with sparkling lemon soda. It was delicious and refreshing. We had a really fun time there, then we went for some good Spanish ice cream and had a good chat. I made sure they got on the bus back to their hotel, then I went wandering one of the famous tapas streets. I went home satisfied and full of good food, and I slept.
The next morning I woke up, went to make my phone call for my camera in the lobby of the other building, and got hassled by one of the servants and made to feel generally unwelcome. It's OK. It was time to go. I got on a crowded bus for the bus station. It was long, and the longer I was on there, the more ready I was to leave Granada. I made a last ditch attempt to find my camera, but it was ultimately fruitless, so I regretfully hopped on a bus for Cordoba.
No comments:
Post a Comment