Granada: the Colorado of Spain

Last day in Granada was a doozey. Woke up groggy as hell at 8:45am to hit up the free hotel breakfast, pack, and be ready to go to the Alhambra (the most famous part of Granada) at 10. I was not a happy camper, nuh-uh. Whatever, we had good stories to tell. I think that we told our story from the night a dozen times. Melissa was laughing about it in the end, she's a good sport. We took a bus to the Alhambra (thank god, we were not in any mood to walk). Again, it was supposed to rain, but the sun was breaking. Not bad. However, throughout the tour there were spurts of clouds, rain, wind, then sun, and allll over again. Schizofrenic Spanish weather. Maruja told me one day that in Spain "Febrero es loco"...so they're February is like the Midwest's April, I guess. Anyway, the tour of the Alhambra was actually really nice. Our tour guide was really intelligent, energetic, and easy to follow. The Alhambra is also really awesome, it's the oldest standing Muslim kingdom. All of the architecture is authentic and shows Muslim, Jewish, and Christian influence. It's awesome to see such artistic-religioius unity. The kingdom is huge and situated on a mountain overlooking the hills and streets of Granada. Gorgeous. The kingdom is so huge that our tour was over 2 hours long! Despite how tired I was, I did enjoy myself. After the tour the girls and I walked down to get coffee and food (cuz boy did we need it). We got to this plaza by our hotel (the sun came out, yay!) surrounded by restaurants with ample outdoor seating. Despite how upset my stomach was the day before from the falafel, I wanted more...it's just too damn good in Granada. So I went to a little falafel place (it looks just like what Oasis in Ann Arbor looked like before it expanded) and ordered this huge falafel pita which I like to call the pita o happiness. We sat outside, tired as hell still, not really saying much, just eating and staring at dogs. Oh man, the dogs are so cute. Here's the thing: Granada is like the Colorado of Spain (hence why I love it). It's got mountains and skiing, hippies, and the people are just so much more laid back. In Sevilla, walking down the streets is like going to a fashion show. So much Burberry, skirts, leather, fancy boots, etc. Nobody ever wears tennis shoes. I don't understand this lack of dressing for comfort in Sevilla at times. Also, the dogs in Sevilla are mostly little "accessory" dogs, you know, little things. Well, in Granada, it's very different. First of all, people wear fleeces! We actually fit in for once. It was a very big deal to see people wearing fleeces...and jeans! In Sevilla they wear jeans, but they're more like designer jeans. In Granada, it was all about the comfort. Granada is very much a mountain town. Also, people have real dogs. When I say real I mean like Border Collies, Greyhounds, Labs, Retrievers, Huskies, etc. So refreshing. I'm definitely in love with Granada and HAVE to return. After lunch my stomach was even angrier at me for putting more falafel in it. Oh well, it's a "recuerdo de Granada". Then Stacey and Jessica decided to sit around: Stacey had hw and Jessica wasn't feeling well. So they went back to the hotel to sit as Courtney, Melissa, and I went to the Arab district to do some shopping. We stopped in many stores, and there was so much to look at! I wanted to buy everything. In the end I walked away with an amazing table runner which I plan on using as a wall hanging next year (it's hanging in my room in Sevilla right now, actually). It has blue and purple tie-dyed pactches arranged in this cool geometric pattern with intricate gold and silver beading and patterns threaded throughout. It's hard to describe. Perhaps I shall take a picture. After shopping we met back up in the hotel lobby around 3:45 to get ready to leave. I then ran into Theresa Burridge (housemate from last summer on the Granada program) at the hotel! She had run into Elena, who is also in the RC, who had brought her to the hotel. It was so good to see her! At around 4 we took the long walk to the bus, got on, and I attempted to sleep, which was pretty unsuccessful since the people sitting behind me were talking a lot. Whatever, I tried. Also my stomach was hurting still, so it was just a bad combo...plus I have enough trouble sleeping on public transportation as it is. We got back to Sevilla around 7:15. Melissa, Stacey, and I walked back to los Remedios, on the way we saw the funniest little chihuahua wearing a sherpa jacket which put our tired selves back in good spirits, and got home around 7:45. When we arrived Maria del Mar and Marta were mixing a bowl of chocolates to make truffles for a wedding that Maruja is going to attend this week. We told them about our crazy weekend and the robbery. Oh man. Then we retreated to our room and I proceeded to take an hour nap before dinner. My stomach was still bothering me when I awoke, so I was praying that dinner was anything but fried food. Well, we had croquetas. Of course, that's my luck. And I had to eat some because they were homemade. Oh man. They were actually pretty good, at least, she made them with shrimp this time. We also had a delicious broth soup with boiled potatoes and grilled artichokes. Then oranges/manderinas for dessert. As we were cleaning up after dinner Maruja asked me when my birthday is since she remembered that it was in February. I told her that it was Thursday and she got allll excited and asked if I'd be home for dinner. I said yes, so she asked me what I wanted to eat. It didn't take me long to decide: the Portuguese bacalao (cod) dish that we had our second day here. She has recycled a lot of meals, but not that one, and it was one of Stacey's and my favorites, and everyday we have hoped and prayed for that dish...to no avail. So she's making it! Stacey's b-day is in March, and she said that she's going to ask for it, too, haha. Then Maruja asked what I wanted for dessert...she gave me choices. She mentioned a tarta (cake), to which I immediately said "Si". Then she asked what kind; she said chocolate, which sparked my interest, and Maria del Mar and Marta, who were standing behind her, were giving me signals to choose chocolate. So I went for it. I'm so excited! Maruja cooking like whoa! Maruja bday dinner is going to be a-ma-zing. Maria del Mar told me that Maruja's chocolate cake is to die for. YAYYY! After cleaning, Maria del Mar and Marta started to roll up and coat the truffles. They invited us to help...well, I just couldn't resist. It was really fun and messy! Our hands were literally coated in chocolate (which ain't such a bad thing). There's also something about baking that brings family closer...I feel like we bonded a little bit! After we finished we licked alllllll of the chocolate off of our hands. Then, we got to sample a few. They were unbelieeeeeevable. Best truffle that I've ever tasted, no joke. We asked Maruja for the recipe right away, which she gladly gave to us. So family, prepare to get fat this summer cuz I'm making chocolate truffles every week, mwa ha ha! After the fun I did some internetting for a couple hours, and my stomach began to feel a lot better. I finally passed out around midnight. And man, it felt gooooooood.