granadas in Granada

Granada is one of the top places most tourists want to visit in Spain. The Alhambra is one of the top sites and I was super-excited to visit it, but we almost didn't get to! Our "interest group" has a trip to Morocco planned. We originally were going to go November 19-21 but this coincides with a religious festival in Morocco where every family kills a sheep (or some sort of animal) and the streets are covered in blood and stench. Sooooo, they moved our trip...to the weekend we were supposed to go to Granada! But our lovely coordinator moved things around for us so we could still go, so that was where we went this weekend.

Our little Teaching Development group usually goes on trips with the Liberal Arts group. Its a huge group with lots of fun people. This time we went with the Language and Society group. A smaller crowd...and not so nice. They were mad that we were "allowed" to join them since that meant they didn't get all get their own seats on the bus. I know this because many of them mentioned it. Loudly. Multiple times. Needless to say, we didn't hang out with any of them. Anyway, enough about them.

When we got on the bus, we noticed that there were two Spanish people who got on with us...with a giant, professional video camera. We thought is was interesting but didn't really pay much attention. Until we got off the bus and they started filming us. They came with us (our little group of 5) on every tour and filmed us pretty much constantly, getting footage to make a "look how great CIEE is!!!!!" video. It was so funny, we felt like celebrities. Actually, more like we were in a reality TV show. Except I don't think we were nearly interesting enough to actually be in a reality TV show. But we had fun with them! And today when they also joined us in Aracena (another post to come shortly), they filmed us a lot. Although today they also filmed some other people. Which is good, because it would be pretty weird to have a commercial about a study abroad program which only consisted of the same 5 students doing different things. Aaanyway, fun times! Hopefully we'll get a copy of the video when they've got it all done :)

Back to the Alhambra/Granada...So on the drive there (about 3 and a half-4 hours), I felt like crap. Dumb cold/sinus infection. But when we got close, the Sierra Nevada mountains came into view. And I forgot about my sickness. So. beautiful. The mountain range had very recently received its first snowfall. So the snow-capped peaks were easy to see. They were surrounded by clouds, and seemed to be floating in the air, as the base of the mountains (not covered in snow) practically blended in to the surroundings. It appeared as if there were snow-capped mountains growing out of the clouds. So amazing.



Then we arrived in Granada. Its a pretty big city and the first thing we saw was a bunch of new car lots-not so endearing. But once we got past that and drove up the windy side streets, we finally arrived at our hotel, situated right next to the Alhambra (literally a 3 minute walk downhill). We checked in, then ate lunch. The hotel has a buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There was paella, soup, salad, random assortments of meat....all pretty good stuff. After filling up, we headed out to see some sights. We met up with our guide, Alicia, (who had also been our guide in Cádiz and who we had seen at her "real" job working at the tourist information center in Utrera) and of course our two film-buddies, Vicky and Adrian and then headed towards one of the most typical neighborhoods of Granada, Albaycín. It is a cute little neighborhood with white buildings, narrow windy streets, plenty of orange, persimmon and of course "granada" trees (pomegranates). We wandered around a little, found a few beautiful viewpoints of the Alhambra, and then went to the Capilla Real, where the "Reyes Católicos" are buried (King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel). Also entombed there are the daugher of the King and Queen and her husband, as well as their infant son. The church is beautiful and the mausoleum is quite impressive. The bodies are stored underneath giant sculptures of their images lying in peace. Besides the mausoleum, the front of the Capilla Real has images of scenes containing Jesus, John the Baptist, and another Saint from the Catholic faith that are quite beautiful.

The Alhambra from afar

Pretty sights of Albaycín

Persimmon, anyone? I picked it myself!

(from the 10th century!!!)

Capilla Real

After the Capilla Real, we headed to a tetería. These are my new favorite things in the world and I'm definitely going to have to find a tea shop in Portland when I get back. Granada has had a huge Muslim influence due to its history and this is still very evident today. The goods that are sold and the food that is eaten has an African/Middle Eastern flare. The same goes for the tea shops. We enjoyed some delicious tea, some amazing desserts (and some more movie-star posing for the camera!) and then wandered around in the little shops where I bought some tea to bring back home with me (now I just need to find a cool teapot like they use here!). Then we found a bus (after trying to get on one going in the wrong direction...good thing I asked before he took off!) and went back to the hotel for dinner-another yummy buffet. The girls wanted to go out, as the nightlife in Granada is supposed to be pretty great. Also, if you buy a beer at a bar in Granada (which is cheap), you get giant servings of a random assortment of tapas for FREE. This is a great deal, and pretty hard to pass up. Unfortunately I could not stop snot from coming out of my nose (sorry, oversharing), so I took some meds (that I had got from the pharmacy...not sure what it is, but he mentioned the fact that it came from Córdoba. Not sure why that was important) and went to sleep. Apparently I didn't miss much.

I woke up the next morning, feeling maybe a little tiny bit better, took a nice long hot shower (YES WATER THAT DOESN'T TURN COLD IMMEDIATELY!!!!) and we headed down for breakfast. Then, it was off to the ALHAMBRA! We had seen the building from a distance many times and had admired it every time, Its a huge building and is quite beautiful. In and of itself, the facade isn't too exciting (except for the fact that it turns red-ish when the sunlight is just right(. But the scenery that surrounds it makes it quite breathtaking; I can definitely see why royalty would want to live there. We made the quick journey to the Alhambra and walked inside.





Now first off, let me tell you that I had really high expectations of this place. I had heard about it and read about it and everyone always says how amazing it is. When you tell someone that you're going to Spain, they ask if you're going to see the Alhambra. It has quite a high reputation. So needless to say, I was really excited to see it! Sometimes having a preconceived notion of something, or having any advance knowledge of it, can be detrimental.

Don't get me wrong! The Alhambra is beautiful. It's huge. It is ornate and has so much history. The use of light and of water features is incredible (and the difference between the "Muslim" water features-low to the ground, soft bubbling water, and the "Christian" water features-giant spurts of water that create deafening splashes, is quite interesting). The intricate designs of the walls and ceilings is just mind-blowing. The legends are fascinating. The garden is peaceful and bright and colorful and aromatic.

And of course photos come nowhere near to capturing all of this. But even all of that wonder just didn't quite live up to my unreachable expectations of what it would be like (or maybe this is just the sinus infection/stuffy head/cough/overall-misery talking). It will of course still be something that I will remember forever and be in awe of. And I wouldn't have missed it for the world. But some things just will never be as great as you made them out to be. Maybe I should apply this epiphany to other areas of my life....but I think I will always keep dreaming and expecting and hoping for the absolute best of everything. Although when I look back on my memories of Granada and the Alhambra, I'm sure I will remember it as living up to my expectations and then some. Sometimes things just have to become a memory before they can truly be appreciated.

(more photos!!)