Granada is incredible

I half wish I had found a feasible study abroad program for me in Granada. It's just a little more my speed. Even the Spaniards refer to it as a college town, sort of. I don't know any college towns in America with palaces and churches and gardens over a thousand years old but that's beside the point. We toured the Alhambra first on Friday afternoon and honestly we were rushed through in about two hours which is sad. There was so much hype from our professors and even other Spaniards about the Alhambra in all it's splendor and we had no time to linger or to sit and contemplate. The palace and the gardens sit on about fifty square acres and we covered every inch of it in our two hours. Mira.

War has been a constant and intricate part of Granada's history. The topography makes the city a natural fortress, sitting above the plains with a reliable water supply. It was the last Muslim kingdom and stronghold; when the last Muslim ruler capitulated to the Catholic King and Queen, Ferdinand and Isabella, in January 1492 it signaled the end of the Christian "reconquest" of Spain.

This kid was just too cute and backlit by the sun and all.

When you look at the tile work in these pictures take note of the colors. The faded blue and green like this are original, in some cases almost a thousand years old. The newer pieces, or as the tour guide explained everything within reach, the lower levels, were done by the Christians after they took over the city.

This is the waiting area, a sort of open antechamber to the official reception rooms. Foreign dignitaries, ambassadors etc. would be kept waiting here for their audience with the Muslim sultan. It was a calculated political move--the longer one was kept, the longer he had to contemplate the beauty and grace of the tiles, and the novelty of a working fountain this high in the mountains. And there was nowhere to sit.

Eddie is a little dark.......

The reflections off the pool were particularly impressive.

Still dark.

 Central garden and fountain in the royal family's section of the palace.

This picture looks weird and I should ahve zoomed in a little more. This is just a big dome with the odd little crenelations you see in the other pictures.

Mad this picture didn't come out focused. The kid was precious once again.

That's better.

Do you know how to say pomegranate in Spanish? Granada. Now you know.

Even though it's mid-November the garden were immaculate, roses everywhere, among other flowers and massive trees.

I want to live here.

We stayed on the 5th floor of a decent Hostel. 5 people in a room made for not so much sleep--more on sleep in a minute. I've always heard it's overrated and couldn't understand how those people operated. Hooray for Europe opening my eyes.

Ellie was being a party pooper Saturday morning but this spot looks out over the city from one of the oldest neighborhoods.

Ohhhhhohohoho now this was the second best part of Granada. Like I said before it's much more of a college town and stuff was so much cheaper. Pictured above is a huge stack of chicken being slow-roasted in an Arab-Mediterranean kebab shop, which are all over the city. Eddie and I discovered this place about dinnertime Friday night. For 3.50E we could get a shawarma, which is basically a decent sized pita stuffed with this chicken, vegetables, cheese and a cooked egg. I can say without a shadow of a doubt it was the first time in my entire experience here I felt i got my money's worth where food was concerned. The only other time was maybe in Portugal when they had a bargain of a massive container of Nutella. So Eddie and I had 6 of these deals between us in a day and a half. They were delicious.

This is on the side of Granada's cathedral. I don't know why it's done like this, but I love it. I don't think I'm going to look up the story. I like not knowing.

Now the best part of the weekend was going out Friday night. The world is such a small place: my second week here in Sevilla I met a girl in a bar who is really good friends with one of my buddies back in Ohio. She said when we came to Granada to hit her up and we could go out. First of all she was awesome to hang out with. Secondly, Granada's bars have one of the sweetest deals ever. For any drink you purchase you get a free tapa. Tapas can range from some olives and crackers to basic sandwiches to a few pieces of cooked meat. A big group of us ordered ten beers at a bar and five minutes later two platters full of little sandwiches and french fries came out. Total cost: 22E. Do the math. It's a steal. Every bar follows this tradition to some degree or other. Awesome.

Now for the sleep bit. Dani, the mutual friend who studies in Granada, took us to an Irish/British bar that had SPORTSCENTER! on the tv. Eddie and I had had quite a bit to drink by the time we got there and we hugged each other when we saw it. People looked at us a little funny. It was so cool though. Anyways, Eddie has been complaining this afternoon about how tired he is. We both got 8 straight last night so I told him there's no reason for it. Then we sat down and thought about how much sleep we each actually had last week and this weekend. It's a little frightening:

Eddie Lipsey:

• Monday--8 hours (incredible)
• Tuesday--4 hours (normal)
• Wednesday--5 hours
• Thursday night/Friday morning--0 hours. Seriously. He was out with friends hanging at their apartment and made it home by 7:45 to be on the bus by 8:15
• Friday day--2 hours on the bus to Granada
• Friday night/Saturday morning--3 hours. He came back to the hostel from a club about 7 am.

My schedule is a little better but not much. The only reason we can function like this (if you had told me to get three hours of sleep and show up to class in Ashland I'd have just laughed at you) is because of the magical siesta. I'm no less lucid or productive in class here although the classes require less. I can sustain the energy knowing I can pass out for an hour or two after lunch then get up and go exercise and start it all over again.

All in all, a stellar weekend in every possible way. I have none of the complaints I had with Madrid. Thursday at 7:05 Eddie, Ellie, Melanie and I get on a Ryanair flight to Rome. The hotel is booked. Museum reservations made. I'm ready. I won't have two seconds to think about missing Thanksgiving at home for the second year in a row. Not that I don't love my family..........but, you know. Rome.