Granada:
Granada
I’m not really sure what happened when we arrived in Granada. To start, I had a sudden and strong desire, nay, a need to eat Burger King, and…we stayed in a 4-star hotel. We had yet another long walk from the train station, and when we arrived at our hotel, we felt really out of place. The hotel didn’t charge 4-star prices, but we still felt pretty sloppy every time we entered in our dirty hiking boots and puffy jackets while well-dressed men and women filled the lobby. After a walk through the Cathedral and downtown area, we decided to look for dinner. We found a yummy Japanese place, and liked it so much I ate sushi for the next three days…probably not the best idea.
View from Albayzin: Alhambra
We only had a couple days in Granada, so the next morning, we met for a free walking tour! It was raining that day, so our tour was cut short. We saw the oldest building in Granada, which was a hammam when the peninsula was under Arab rule, but now lies in ruins. We walked around the Albayzín, which is an old Moorish neighborhood, a Unesco world heritage site, and directly across from the Alhambra. There was a great lookout point, and a little mosque at the top. There is a hill on the outskirts of the city where the gypsies live. The residents basically build shelters into the hill and live there for free. They pay no taxes, and therefore receive no government support. Many of the “homes” have been inhabited for so long that facades have been built to make it look like more of a home and less of a cave. Granada also has a university, and we were able to walk around parts of it. There is this gorgeous veranda that the students can use to sit and relax among the trees and garden- complete with a view of the Alhambra.
The ceiling is amazing.
Speaking of Alhambra, we decided to walk up the hill the following day for a visit. Having come from the Alcázar in Seville, we had pretty high expectations of the Alhambra. After all, our sole purpose for visiting Granada was for the Alhambra. We both really enjoyed the ceilings in some of the rooms, it kind of felt like a snow and ice version of Cappadocia. The art on the walls was lovely, and the fountains very peaceful. We decided that while you can’t beat the weather and the lack of people in the winter, the gardens are sure to be absolutely gorgeous in the summer compared to the winter.
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Alhambra
Our last day in Granada was a errand day. We knew we would need passport photos for our upcoming visas, so we decided to go ahead and get them done in Granada. We also needed to scan some items for these visas, and thought Spain was probably safer than some of the other countries we would be traveling through.
On our way out of Granada, Javier was racially profiled. HAHAHA. We had noticed a very strong police presence at the stations since the Charlie Hebdo attack, but hadn’t been stopped yet.
Alhambra
Javier was walking ahead of me and arrived at the station a few minutes before. When he entered, he made eye contact with a guard and quickly looked away. I guess he must have looked suspicious, because by the time I walked up, he was already asking for passports. The guy seemed nice enough, I smiled, he smiled back, and I looked to see what he was writing on his little pad of paper. He wrote only our names, not passport numbers, so I’m thinking he had a change of heart. Either way, he pointed us in the direction of our train, and quickly moved on to another obvious foreigner.
Alhambra
All and all, we can’t say we loved Granada. We were happy to have stopped by, but in the end, we both decided we liked the Alcázar in Seville much more. But this could also be because we just really loved Seville. 🙂
To see more pictures of Alhambra, click HERE.