Granada: the Alhambra and more

I have NEVER seen so many olive trees in one place. Ever.

Annalisa reporting back. Well, this summer is, as you can tell by the lack of posting and by the condensed nature of my rare posts, packed with work and trips.

Together with my family and a family that we know from here, we all traveled to Granada, at the south of Spain. We flew to the Granada airport, then rented a big 9-passenger van and headed down a couple hours southeast, to visit the dad's family down there. We were welcomed by lots of, "oh, my, how much you've grown!"s to the J brothers (one is Joseph's friend, and one is in elementary school, and they hadn't seen this part of their family for years now) and lots of food. Got to love Spain. : As expected, olive oil flowed like water, and was everywhere, in everything. That was due to the vast extensions of hills, valleys, crevices, plains, and rocky mountains atop which olive trees grow. I say again, "I have NEVER seen so many olive trees in one place. Ever." Although it may be hard for you to fully comprehend, there were literally olive trees everywhere (except for the little stretches of dirt or asphalt cut out as roads): including on extremely steep cliffs of a rocky mountain. I kid you not.

After a day of feasting and napping (the siesta is a MUST down there, not because they are lazy, but because it is too hot to do anything for the midday hours), we hoped back into the van and drove up to Granada city. The main focus there was to see the Alhambra, and meander through the famous Arab souk (market) (It was funny to realize how much knowledge I had stored up from reading all of those Amelia Peabody books.
Amelia mentions the souk in Cairo many times, and now I finally got to see a miniature version of it!). I honed my bargaining skills--although the elder J brother would disagree. He basically just sat back and laughed at me as I eagerly tried to bargain down the store owners--needless to say, I got much better deals than he did. They have gorgeous earring for cheap down there. I am a sucker for shiny things... always have been. And, if the price is right, there is no throwing me off the trail.

The Alhambra (the moorish palace. Granada was, after all, the last Muslim stronghold on the Peninsula, and the sultans sure made themselves comfortable) was... awesome. Not awesome in the typical teenager way, no! Awesome as in awe-inspiring. The delicacy of its wall carvings, and the overall beauty of it washed over you from the start. Then it was a whole day of it, yet I never grew tired of it. There were no people or animals portrayed, due to their customs, but, the intricate geometric patterns, and the white marble everywhere made up for it. Swirls and curls and gleaming white stone stalactites hang from the walls and ceilings. Certain rooms actually have an 8-star ceiling, towering up toward the vault of the heavens. It was truly magnificent. [Pictures to come, soon, I hope]

We spent two lovely days in Granada, miraculously avoided the infamous heat that Granada is known for in mid-July, took hundred of pictures, bought boxes (OK, Only I bought a box... but I wanted to add to my box collection :D), and teased about the belly-dancer outfits displayed everywhere (I would have tried one on for the fun of it, but they don't really consider the need for changing rooms... whereas, I do. Punto finito). Ah! And we had tea at a very comfortable, very dark and cozy tea house, complete with all sorts of delicious tea (Persian tea--black tea, orange blossom, rose, vanilla. That was for all of you tea-connoisseurs out there). My brother and his friend were slightly disappointed not to get to smoke the water pipes there, though (They all decided against it when the owner of the store told us that it was "fruit tabacco" instead of tea. I didn't know you could smoke tea... Anyone?)

All in all, it was a wonderful experience, and I loved getting to travel with the G family. They are a blast, even if they consider my taking pictures of architecture a boring and odd hobby. But hey, it kind of is. Few people actually appreciate my "artistic shots" ;) Take care!