Spain: Granada

I know it has been a while since I have posted, in fact by the time I publish this I will already be home. I have decided to write about my trip to Spain in four parts; one entry for each of the cities I visited. Hopefully I will get all of these entries published within the next week.

First of all, I had very mixed feelings about the day I left Wroxton. Everybody was geared up to go home and excited to see their friends and family. I, on the other hand, was more concerned about saying goodbye to everybody so that I could catch my flight. At the same time, I was a little upset not traveling home with the people I just spent four months with. At some instances I even found myself jealous that these people were going to be eating a homed cooked meal that night. It had been a long four months and I was being to feel that a vacation home my not have been such an idea before traveling again. But Carrie and I had to say are farewells and rush off to the coach park to hitch a ride to another airport.

We landed in Granada late the evening. The skies were dark and we really couldn’t make heads or tales of our surroundings. In fact, I remember, while riding a bus into the city, seeing lights suspended in the sky in a hauntingly familiar circular pattern that reminded me of UFOs. First night in Spain and we had already walk into a full scale alien invasion… But alas, there were no aliens. They were the streets lights of distance neighborhoods nestled in the hills and mountain sides. But the night sky was like a tarp draped over the breathtaking landscape that wouldn’t be lifted until morning—but damn was it a great surprise.

I can’t really capture the words for my initial reaction to stepping out onto Granada streets and seeing the clear blue sky hovering over the tan city that almost blended in with the golden hills and red mountains encircling it. My mouth was gaping… But the full picture wasn’t revealed until we found our way to one of the viewpoints. San Nicolas Point was one such viewpoint. To put it simply, my mouth fell into an even greater gaping expression and I may have drooled a little. I took a picture… but nothing was as memorable as overlooking the city and looking across at the red Alhambra standing majestically over the whole land only having the whole scene dwarfed by the snowcapped Sierra Nevada mountains that stood behind it.

This was definitely my favorite city in Europe. The city attracted many hippies and attractive young people. There had to be at least one human for every dog, and yes that is how I meant to say it. Dogs ran freely next to their human companions and played together between groups of barefoot hippies who were generally gathered around someone with an instrument or a soothing singing voice.

The Alhambra was another story… I could write a whole entry on this place alone, however I won’t. I will just say that I took many photos (went through two sets of batteries…), gained a completely new appreciation for Moorish architecture and Muslim art, and gained an understanding of the Muslim world—which brings me to another point. One of the greatest benefits of touring Andalucía, is that I got a great taste of multiple cultures. This part of the country was once ruled by the Moors and they certainly left behind a lingering taste of their vast empire, the Alhambra being the biggest (this fortified city used to be the capital of their empire in Spain). Carrie and spent all day exploring and appreciating the palaces and Alcazar (Moorish fort), the gardens and General Life Gardens. It was like a Disney Land of culture and history—fun for any nerd who loves this kind of stuff like me.

Before we knew it, we were on our way to Seville.