Yesterday we drove from Toledo to Granada which was about a 4 hour drive. During the drive we saw miles and miles and miles of olive trees over incredibly steep hills. I had been to Granada in 1999 to visit my friend Kir while she was studying here but I had pretty much forgotten everything. My previous trip here didn't help me navigate the city by car and I am still so glad we had a GPS to get us through- makes life so much easier. This is especially true when you are on roads so narrow that you can touch the walls if you stick your arms out of the car!
We arrived in mid-afternoon and met the host of our airbnb place which is a 16th Century Moorish villa located in the Albaicyn, the old part of the city. Most of the streets in this area are too narrow for cars and so we had to park our car in a garage and then walk to our villa through the tiny, winding streets. Wheely suitcases were definitely not designed for 16th century stone/cobblestone streets and so we had to carry the bag as not to break off the wheels.
We went out for a late Sunday lunch where we were surrounded by Spanish families enjoying the sunshine. My dad, JoAnn, and Joanie had a huge plate of fried sardines, calimari, and other swimmy animals. I stuck with pork with roasted garlic. It was excellent. Then, we headed into town to check it out and find out way to the Alhambra for our early morning trip there this morning. We took a bus, a short bus, because that is all that can fit through the streets of the Albaicyn. The drivers hurdle the buses through the streets at such a breakneck pace that occasionally people have to slam their bodies into the walls and suck in as not to be smashed to pieces by the bus!
Today we woke up at 6:15 and got ready in the dark to go the Alhambra, a Moorish palace that has changed hands a whole lot of times from Christians to Muslims to Christians and so the architecture is varied and incredibly interesting. We had to leave extra early because we are idiot tourists who take like 3 times longer to get anywhere as we are constantly lost. Thanks to my friend Melissa, who used to live in Granada, we were told to get our tickets online and in advance. We arrived there at 8:45 for our visit. and the line was already so long that they were only selling tickets for tomorrow! We were really thankful to get there early since as the day progressed, it got hotter and hotter (not Taj Mahal hot, but quite warm!). I'll put a slideshow below of our pictures from the last two days.
On the way back from the Alhambra, we got on the bus that had a stop near our house (at least the sign said it did). However, it never seemed to go near our house and so we rode the bus a full circle like some kind of carnival ride! We rode back to the starting spot and got on a different bus where every single stop we wondered if it was right and would giggle. I'd say we are doing okay in our broken Spanish and English. Everyone keeps looking to me to understand the Spanish- I've never taken Spanish so this is always a fun adventure. Fortunately, the word ok is the same in every single language as I end up saying that one a lot! I keep reminding my dad that he is the one who took Spanish. I am just guessing the meaning from one or two words I understand. And then today, the guy at the audio tour return kept speaking to me in German and that confused me even more!
So tomorrow we are going on an olive oil tour of the region which includes lunch and sherry tasting from local makers. JoAnn is excited for that olive because she's really into gardening and everyone has lots of questions for the oil makers- they don't really know what they are getting themselves into with us.
We arrived in mid-afternoon and met the host of our airbnb place which is a 16th Century Moorish villa located in the Albaicyn, the old part of the city. Most of the streets in this area are too narrow for cars and so we had to park our car in a garage and then walk to our villa through the tiny, winding streets. Wheely suitcases were definitely not designed for 16th century stone/cobblestone streets and so we had to carry the bag as not to break off the wheels.
We went out for a late Sunday lunch where we were surrounded by Spanish families enjoying the sunshine. My dad, JoAnn, and Joanie had a huge plate of fried sardines, calimari, and other swimmy animals. I stuck with pork with roasted garlic. It was excellent. Then, we headed into town to check it out and find out way to the Alhambra for our early morning trip there this morning. We took a bus, a short bus, because that is all that can fit through the streets of the Albaicyn. The drivers hurdle the buses through the streets at such a breakneck pace that occasionally people have to slam their bodies into the walls and suck in as not to be smashed to pieces by the bus!
Today we woke up at 6:15 and got ready in the dark to go the Alhambra, a Moorish palace that has changed hands a whole lot of times from Christians to Muslims to Christians and so the architecture is varied and incredibly interesting. We had to leave extra early because we are idiot tourists who take like 3 times longer to get anywhere as we are constantly lost. Thanks to my friend Melissa, who used to live in Granada, we were told to get our tickets online and in advance. We arrived there at 8:45 for our visit. and the line was already so long that they were only selling tickets for tomorrow! We were really thankful to get there early since as the day progressed, it got hotter and hotter (not Taj Mahal hot, but quite warm!). I'll put a slideshow below of our pictures from the last two days.
On the way back from the Alhambra, we got on the bus that had a stop near our house (at least the sign said it did). However, it never seemed to go near our house and so we rode the bus a full circle like some kind of carnival ride! We rode back to the starting spot and got on a different bus where every single stop we wondered if it was right and would giggle. I'd say we are doing okay in our broken Spanish and English. Everyone keeps looking to me to understand the Spanish- I've never taken Spanish so this is always a fun adventure. Fortunately, the word ok is the same in every single language as I end up saying that one a lot! I keep reminding my dad that he is the one who took Spanish. I am just guessing the meaning from one or two words I understand. And then today, the guy at the audio tour return kept speaking to me in German and that confused me even more!
So tomorrow we are going on an olive oil tour of the region which includes lunch and sherry tasting from local makers. JoAnn is excited for that olive because she's really into gardening and everyone has lots of questions for the oil makers- they don't really know what they are getting themselves into with us.