I spent three days in Granada, which coincidentally means "pomegranate," which is also where the word "grenade" comes from. Just a couple fun facts I learned from the walking tour.
Speaking of which, most hostels offer free walking tours; they ask for tips at the end and generally it's more than worth it. I got to Granada in the afternoon and made it in time to hop on board the walking tour at 4:45. It turned out to be a very good idea, as the English guide was entertaining and I wound up meeting a few people. It was a tour of the local street art, which is both a big thing and, now, highly illegal. There's something like an 8,000 euro fine if you're caught tagging something, but it doesn't seem to stop anyone. The police also commonly paint over artwork, which is such a bummer, because a lot of it is actually quite good.
The above artist has work all over the city and has been commissioned to do several pieces. Since no unmarked surface is safe, a lot of business owners now bring in artists to put up murals, so they can look at something nice instead of terrible shit.
We got a lot of local historical tidbits as well as some fantastic views, like this.
Here are a couple more shots from the tour.
I think this was the first church commissioned by Ferdinand and Isabelle, but in any case a lot of people were killed here - mostly because of religious persecution - (as our guide so succinctly put it, "you had three choices, leave, convert, or die"). Many people feel this place has bad energy.
I did not get shots of the "magic fountain" - apparently if you drink the water you live a long, healthy life, or something to that effect - nor did I get any shots of the Placeta Joe Strummer - a small square dedicated to the frontman of The Clash. But I did see them both. And I drank the water at the magic fountain. I'm not particularly superstitious but why not.
After the tour one of the girls from the hostel and I went in search of a vegan restaurant we had passed on the tour. Jahnavi is vegetarian - and from California, funnily enough - and I was frankly sick of eating Spanish food, which is heavy on pork products. It was so good, I had salmorejo (this one had sesame seeds and avocado instead of ham and hard boiled egg, and it was really, really yummy), and a tofu and rice dish with veggies. Finished it off with fresh carrot/apple/ginger juice, which is something dad and I make back home and it was comforting.
Back to the hostel, then up the next morning for another free walking tour with the same guide. He was definitely entertaining. I particularly liked the bit where he gave us a brief history lesson and for the sake of keeping our attention assigned us different characters in the historical storyline. I got to be Isabelle, complete with imaginary crown. "Clever girl." This time on our tour we saw an ancient bathhouse (the oldest building in Granada), got to go inside an old house which has been restored to its former glory, walked through some of the old neighborhoods and gardens, and finished up with tapas. Then the waiter made fun of us because we asked if he had any hot sauce, to which he replied, "we only keep it for the turistas."
Here are my shots for the day.
Skylights in the bath house.
Old notes on the walls from the builders working on the old house we visited.
It's hard to see but there's a pirate ship there.
Later that evening I went out for Indian food with Jahnavi and a girl she had met early on in her trip months ago and randomly ran into at the hostel. Such is hostel life, this kind of thing actually happens rather often. But I can't tell you how excited I was to eat something spicy! These guys are absolute wimps; for the record, if something is described as spicy, it's not. But Indian food will always deliver on the spice. Not going to lie, we ate there again the next night as well.
So, final day in Granada I went to The Alhambra, which I'm pretty sure is the main reason people go to Granada in the first place. I had made an 8:30am booking, so as to see the sunrise, so I got up early and started on what should have been about a 25 minute walk. 45 minutes later, hopelessly lost, I took a cab. Yes, even in a city the size of Granada I am capable of getting myself really fucking lost.
Luckily I made it barely on time and spent about three hours exploring the various gardens and buildings. It is absolutely beautiful!
Wall decor.
Elaborate wall decor complete with poetry. An unbelievable amount of work went into this place.
The kings of the Nasrid dynasty had their thrones right in the middle here. It's where they would receive visitors and the elaborate decor was meant to thoroughly impress them right off the bat. I'm guessing this strategy probably worked.
So, there are dozens of Korean tour groups everywhere. It's seriously the Asian explosion. They all have ear buds and follow a guide with a microphone. And on more than one occasion I wound up directly in the middle of these groups trying to politely extract myself from the crowd.
Art installation of a bull made out of chicken wire. Someone has a lot of imagination and a lot of time.
There are stray cats everywhere in Spain. Definitely got my cat petting fix in.
Walking through the gardens.
Swan in Granada.
Walking up the fortress.
This was a well, conveniently repurposed later as a dungeon. In the old days it didn't even have stairs; they would lower the prisoners down with ropes. I find this fascinating in it's fucked-uppedness.
Where the housing for the armies once stood. Right inside the fortress positioned exactly to face the only direction a marauding army could come from. Granada and Malaga have some seriously impressive military history.
View down into the army's city.
I made it all the way to the top of the tower, so get ready for some panoramic views of Granada.
Try as I might, there is nothing that can capture the feeling of being there in person.
On the walk back down to the city.
I wandered around town that afternoon, then went out with a couple hostel mates for Indian food, again. I know, I should be eating the local cuisine, but you really do get sick of potatoes and ham after a few weeks.
So much ham and potatoes.
And that about wraps up Granada. The next morning I took the train to Malaga, which we will get to next time. I will try to be more dutiful! "Try" being the operative word.
~Swan
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