"Un recuerdo de Granada" take 1

="A memory of Granada"
Thaaaaat's right, I went to Granada this weekend. It was a weekend to remember. Let us begin.
Woke up at 6:30am on Saturday very unhappy about the unsatisfying 4 hours of sleep that I had just gotten. We didn't ask Maruja for a bocadillo because we hadn't given here enough warning for her to go out and buy bread. Whatev, we figured that we'd just pick up some wraps at VIPS. At 7:50 we left to meet at the Torre del oro (just across the bridge) to catch our big salmon colored bus to Granada. We walked to VIPS to discover that it was closed. I was not a happy camper, especially since I was so tired. Starbucks, its neighbor, wasn't even open...so I couldn't get coffee. Blah. We got to the bus about 15 min early so I made a quick run to OpenCor and picked up a box of All Bran and some candy for Stacey. I returned, got on our huge, nice bus, and we were off. I kind of slept for the first hour and a half of the ride...I mean, my eyes were closed and I was relaxed, but you know me--I can't sleep anywhere else but in a bed. Well at least I tried. After that hour and a half we stopped at a gas station/cafeteria where I picked up some yogurt and an apple. I ate that and my cereal at the bus which woke me up a bit. As we neared Granada we passed so many mountains and such, it was great, so perdy. After the 3ish hour bus ride we arrived in Granada which at first glance looked like Sevilla except more hilly. Our hotel was on some random side street so we had to de-bus about a half a mile from our hotel. That was not a happy walk: I was exhausted and my bag was heavy. We finally got to our hotel: el Hotel Inglaterra which is on the corner of a small side street in an amaaaazing area (adjacent to the main Arab district). The hotel was also really nice. Stacey's and my room was at the top in a lofted area so we had a huuuuuuuuuuuge room with its own balcony! We had one of the biggest rooms of anyone. Around 1ish after settling in a bit Stacey and I met up with Melissa and Jessica (Katie didn't come to Granada since her mom's in town, and Courtney decided to go skiing with a bunch of the academic year kids) to go grab some lunch and a cafe. We walked around the corner to a really cute cafe which was actually serving food (it was nearing siesta...in Sevilla you rarely can find food served during the day) and got an upstairs seat. This cafe was really nice--huge menu, and there was barely any smoke. Let me just say, one of the things that I really loved about Granada was that there is so much less smoking than in Sevilla. I never had to worry about airing out my clothes there because of smoke...in Sevilla I'm always airing my clothing out everyday. We spent a lot of time at the cafe, chilling out after our long trip. Stacey and I got some bocadillos, mine was an open-faced grilled veggie thing which was very good. Another thing about Granada, it was like I became a vegetarian again! Granada has a huuuuge Arab and Middle Eastern influence (I mean, HUGE) so it's reeeeeally easy to find quality vegetarian food (think hummus, falafel, etc.). I also got a cafe cortado (espresso w/ a bit of milk) which woke me up. Then everyone got ice cream, so I got a little flan. Mmmmm. After lunch we walked to the hotel, changed, and were out again...we decided to take a hike in the mountainous area near the Alhambra (medieval Muslim kingdom). We headed out around 3:30 and took the ten minute walk towards the mountain. The road we walked down was filled with all of these awesome Arab stores. Actually, Granada is full of Arab stores, which is a huge problem for me because I loved everything that I saw. I mean, this stuff was screaming "Buy me!". Every store was filled with incense, hookahs, tunics, beeeaaatiful tapestries, exotic scarves, jingly large earrings and necklaces, exotically painted floor lamps, candles...oh man, it was sensory overload. It was like Cost Plus World Market meets 42 degrees in Ann Arbor (minus the drug paraphernalia). We stopped in almost every store on that street. There was one really awesome street in which we spent a longer amount of time. The shopkeeper was asking if I wanted prices on things and stuff, of course I loved the stuff, but I only had 5 euro on me. Then he asked me if I wanted to take a picture in the store for what he kept insisting, "un recuerdo de Granada". I thought that he meant just a picture of me in front of some scarves or something, so I said OK. Little did I know what I was in for. First, he wraps a belly dancing skirt around my waist, which I thought was silly. I took my camera out for him to take a picture, but he had disappeared. He re-appeared with a belly dancing shirt, then a headdress, an arm cuff, a choker, arm cloths...omg, it never seemed to end! I mean, this guy decked me out. Then he tucked my shirt in so that my stomach was exposed. I was so baffled by the whole thing as it happened, I honestly don't know how it happened. I looked to my left and the other shopkeeper was doing the same to Melissa! She was laughing so hard because she was also extremely confused by the whole thing. They just kept assuring "Es un recuerdo de Granada!" ("It's a memory of Granada!"). After what seemed like forever they had finished, and we looked like belly dancers. They grabbed our cameras, and they showed us how to pose like an authentic belly dancer. It was silly. Oh so silly. Wait till you see the pics. As we left Melissa and I could not stop laughing cuz we had no idea how or why that happened. Oh man. We trecked up a paved hill and got to an even steeper hill in a beautful area surrounded by woods. On either side of the paved path were downhill babbling brooks. Suddenly, the sun came out. It was supposed to rain all weekend, and the sun had come out right as we began our hike! As we made our way up the path we passed some beautiful waterfalls. We also passed many old mosques and areas of the Alhambra. Then we got to the top of the paved path and were officially at the foot of the mountain. We found another paved path and followed that for a bit, but it started to move downhill. We wanted to get to the top of the mountain, but we couldn't find a path. So, we found an area condusive for climbing and we "off-roaded" the mountain. It was pretty hard work since there was no path and the mountain just got steeper and steeper as we got higher and higher. As we neared the top we were climbing on all fours! It was amazing. The nature was amazing, and the view was breathtaking. After about 45 min we got to the top! It was so cathartic. We stood for awhile just staring out over the city in front of us. To our left were the snow-capped mountains. It was breathtaking, and we felt amazing. After about 20 min it suddenly began to rain lightly. I mean, we were literally inside a rain cloud! We stood under the rain for awhile, cooling off and such. It was like the grand finale...the climax. It just seemed so appropriate. We then decided that we should climb back down before the ground got too soft. Going down the mountain was a lot harder than going up! Stacey and I actually had the easiest time because the steepness of the mountain required agility (thank god for the gymnastics background) rather than endurance and strength. It was still a challenge, which made it just even that much more fun! We finally got down and were feeling pretty damn good. It wasn't raining down there, either. We then took a quick pit stop, a gift shop stuff (the gift shops here are weird...think rastafarian figurines having butt sex on an ash tray...yeah, strange), then walked back towards the hotel. On the way back we stopped at some more of the Arab shops. Jessica bought a huge, gorgeous tapestry that's pink and red with gold and silver thread and various beads. Gorgeous. Near the hotel we stoped at a pasteleria (bakery) and got some pastries. I got mini pastries: a mini chocolate baklava and a little coconut roll pastry thing...SO good. Then we returned to the hotel where I took the greatest shower of my life (I miss real showers!) AND I got to shave my legs. Bonus. Oh man, amazing. I was truly loving Granada. I was getting sad that we only had one day and a night there...especially due to my pimped out hotel room, hehe. After I showered, it was Stacey's turn. The hot water caused my 4 hours of sleep to catch up with me so I took an hour nap. Around 8ish Stacey, Jessica, and I walked down the street to buy some pre-game supplies...we stuck with our good ole friend, Smirnoff. We walked back and asked the concierge where the Arab district was cuz we were craving some awesome middle eastern food...I mean, hummus cravings like whoa. Turns out that the district was merely a block away from our hotel! Score! We met with Melissa around 8:30 and began exploring the quaint, patchouli and nag champa-scented, narrow streets of the Arab district on an intense hummus quest. After awhile we stumbled upon a Lebanese restaurant with a rockin' menu. We were all so hungry, we went to town. I missed my good ole Mediterranean food! I got tabbouli, stuffed grape leaves (amaaaaazing) and falafel (double amaaaaazing). Literally, best falafel that I've ever had. Oh man, but my stomach was not happy about it. It's strange, my stomach usually loves this food, but I guess now that I'm all adjusted to Spanish cuisine it's not used to that type of food. Maybe I just wasn't ready to eat vegetarian again, haha. After dinner we were on a quest for some hookah, which wasn't too hard...the street we were on is teeming with teterias (arab tea houses) which also serve hookah ("shisha"). We picked a cute little place with close-to-ground seating and lots of ambient lighting and Arabic music. Melissa and I ordered a strawberry hookah, Jessica and Stacey just got coffee, and I ordered some sort of exotic tea that the waiter recommended (the tea list was way too long for me to figure out!). Oh man, another reason why I love Granada: TEA. There is tea everywhere, and so many types. Every Arab shop sells mounds and mounds of tea. Mmmmm. The hookah was great, Melissa and I split it just the 2 of us so we took forever on it and got pretty giddy from it. The tea that I had was AMAZING. Mad props, waiter man. After our lovely hookah experience we headed back to the hotel to prepare for the night. I had such a lovely day in Granada, and was so sad that I only had one day. Granada is definitely a more chill place, so it's a "daytime" place. It's a definite mountain town, which I of course love. We all plan on returning in May or June to really get a better taste of Granada because it's brimming with culture and such. Love it. SO much.