Stories from the Alhambra

So I just got back from my trip to Granada, Spain. It was so beautiful, I really had fun.
It was a school planned trip, so we left Friday morning at 7am. That was very early. We rode the bus for about 2 and half hours, with one stop at a gas station (which had really great café con leche). When we got to Granada, we went straight to the Alhambra. This is an Arabic palace where the Moorish sultan would live and rule in the 14th century for many years after they took it over from the Christians. Granada is located on a hill, next to the tallest peak in Spain. There was a lot of snow on the tall peak, so some people went skiing (I didn’t). The Alhambra was so beautiful on the inside, with patios decorated with beautiful pillars, gardens, and so much detail on the walls. The main colors that they decorated with are yellow (air), red (fire), blue (earth), and green (but I can’t remember what that stood for). Many ceilings were decorated in intricately sculpted wood. We got to see the throne room where the sultan would work from, which also happened to be the same room that Ferdinand and Isabel gave Christopher Columbus the money to go discover America. Also inside the palace were the rooms that Washington Irving stayed in and inspired him to write many of his works. Charles V also used the Alhambra for his honeymoon.
After looking inside the Alhambra, we walked through the gorgeous gardens that are near it. Following the guide through the maze of a garden, we went to the summer house for the sultan. Located on a neighboring hill that was cooler in the summer, we had a great view of both the Alhambra and Granada. It was such a cool sight to see.
After the Alhambra, we went to the Capilla Real, where the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabel are. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let us take pictures, but it was a really beautiful church with big tombs sculpted from white marble. Following the Capilla, we went right next door to the Granada Cathedral, which was of course amazing. This cathedral is more light and open than the Cathedral in Seville because it is all painted white. There are more beautiful doorways and chapels, as well as a gorgeous altar. They also had some giant choir books that they would put on a stand and turn so those in the choir could read them. That way, the church would only need to buy two of each book, not having to buy one for every member of the choir.
Outside of the Cathedral, we went to a little spice market, where I was able to get 2 grams of saphron for 7,5 euros. The leader of our group told us that buying an amount of Saphron that costs about 30 euros in Granada would cost about $400 in the States. What a difference!! So I bought a little of that, in addition to a bag of ground white vanilla and some Andalusian tea. The smells from that market were so delicious and appealing. I wish I could take a picture of the smell so that I could share it, but I’ll just have to remember it and try to bring some of the tea home with me.
After that bit of shopping, we went to get some Kabobs for dinner. We found a nice little whole-in-the-wall place and had an amazing kabob for 3 euro. Then of course we went and got some ice cream. That night, we went with a big group of us went up to the gypsy cave (an area of gypsy descendants about a 15 minute bus ride from Granada). For 16 euros, we got a bus ride from the hotel, a sangria, and a show of authentic flamenco dancing. In addition, during the performance, the dancers chose a few of us to get on the little stage in the middle of the floor and do a little flamenco dancing with them. One of the older ladies dancing actually chose me!!!!! So I got to dance for a few minutes with a REAL flamenco dancer making a fool of myself in front of everyone. It was AWESOME! I can’t believe I had that chance, since only about 5 other people did. How often and I going to get a chance to do that again? Never! So that was a great little addition to my night. Following the show, which was really interesting and worth the money, one of the guys gave us a little tour around that part of Granada. It was beautiful at night, and I could even see the stars.
When we got back to the hotel, me and my roommates for the night, Kristen and Loki, went to go find a drink. We went to a bar that was close to the hotel and ordered a glass of wine. We started talking to the bar tender (in Spanish of course) and he was impressed by us Americans speaking Spanish. He ended up treating us to free tapas, tortilla on bread and croquettas*. It was a lot of fun talking with him and having wine and tapas.
*Croquettas are fried deliciousness that looks like a cheese stick. It’s shredded chicken mixed with flour and egg and a few other things I think. Then it’s cooled, then rolled and cut. Then they bread it and fry it and they are the most delicious thing ever! Our house mom makes really great croquettas, but she says they are a lot of work to make.

Today (Saturday), we got up and had a delicious breakfast at the hotel. Then my English class walked to the house of the famous Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. It was his summer home and still holds the original furniture and stuff. It was pretty cool to see, especially since we’re about to start studying some of his poems. After his house, we were free to go, and me and some girls went shopping in the center part of time.
We went to a beautiful jewelry store where I couldn’t help but buy an Italian-made hair clip. If I had a million dollars, I think I would be happy buying all of the contents of that store. After that, we just walked around that area looking at things in the shops, then eating roast chicken for lunch. It really was a great trip, and I had a lot of fun. Check out the pictures for more details!!!!