Please forgive me for the minor delay in this post, for I have been abroad while abroad. Last weekend Kate, Raelene, Jane and I traversed to Granada by way of Girona, a small town that Ryanair flies out of. So while I long ago posted all of the delicious pictures from the main events, I realize that the photos lack proper commentary. So here you have it:
Remarkably, our time in Girona Friday evening might have been my favorite part of the trip simply because the city was eerily quiet and still in contrast to the constantly noisy and bustling Barcelona that I adore, as if we had Girona to ourselves. Moreover, our bus arrived in Girona at around 4pm, so we toured the city just as dusk was setting in, which made the photos all more magical. Girona remains colored with the histories of its Moorish, Roman, Jewish, and Catholic inhabitants of long ago. Most of the most outstanding architecture remains true to the Romanesque and Gothic influences, which explains its massive size. The thing I most remember about Girona is the size of the architecture in contrast to the delicate frames of us girls.
(Photo courtesy of Kate Suhadolnik.)
Two bus rides and one 6:30am flight later, we left Catalunya behind and arrived at the doorstep of our hostel in Granada, which could not have been more optimally located.
I'd like to take this moment to point out that I picked the hostel myself, thanks to a life of living with a real estate broker who has taught me a thing or two about location, location, location. All food, nightlife, and tourist shop recommendations were literally situated right outside our door.
But the hostel didn't go off without a hitch. Even after stressing our early arrival time with the tenant, I forgot that we are in Spain and it's perfectly possible to wake up the hostel tenant at 9:00am on a Saturday, which is exactly what happened, robe, slippers, and all. After the startled tenant mumbled a few distasteful things in Spanish and worked out our room, he seemed to relax and spent the rest of our stay trying to accommodate us the best he could. I'm not sure how much English he spoke, but he always seemed to be scuttling around the hostel muttering phrases like "Silence! Yessssss."
On the first day, after a much-needed nap, we hit the city center and spent a little time eating (chocolate y churros, specifically) and shopping. To this day I can't wrap my head around how truly Moorish it is. Besides the Spanish and the free tapas with your beer, there is little that represents the stereotypes that I associate with all of Spain. The entire city smells of incense, Middle Eastern restaurants serving couscous, hummus, lamb, and pita populate the narrow streets, and every shop boasts a selection of colorful tapestries and ornate jewelry. For most of the trip, I didn't feel as though I was still in Spain, except for the language, of course.
(Photo courtesy of Kate Suhadolnik, again.)
La Alhambra is definitely the biggie tourist site of Granada, literally. Walking through the ginormous palace and gardens I was reminded of a little place near Paris called Versailles - over-the-top, unnecessarily ornate, and palatial to the max, though of a different time. To be sure, the Alhambra was of a different time and place, but it still took about 3 hours to walk through the whole thing. Thank goodness we made friends with a lovely couple from Bolton, England named Colin and Aileen. Even though they didn't offer us their holiday home on the Costa Brava, they were good company.
Finally, our last moments in Granada found us at the Mirador de San Nicolas, a look-out point in the Albaicín, the Arab neighborhood of Granada. There we were, four girls from the States, munching on a few clementines and soaking up the breath-taking landscape before we headed back home to Barcelona.
Just another day in February. NBD.
I still can't believe that this was my alternative to a semester at home. Speaking of which, classes start this week. Look forward to a doosey of a post about that.
Thanks for reading! All my love, always.
<3
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NOTE: I removed the sound clip from my blog as it started giving me grief every time I tried to open the blogger page. I'm sorry if you miss it, but I gathered that most people just found it annoying. So now you can just listen to the Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona soundtrack on your own time, instead.
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