Granada (finally)

Sorry for how late I've been... two weeks, so sorry!

Anyways, Anna and I went to Granada for two days. Our hostel was sort of odd, more like a hotel, so no real friends made there. However, we did meet up with one of Anna's friends the second night we were there. But, back to the first day...

... we got there mid-afternoon and immediately looked for food (did I mention I gained weight in Spain, haha). There I had the BEST tortilla española, sooo good. Then we tried to find a laundry place for Anna. We got another lesson about the Spanish siesta and almost got caught in the clutches of a small store vendor's never ending conversation, but Anna maneuvered us out of there within 10 minutes, but not before hearing the same advice at least 20 times. Yes, the lady was 'worse' than Pepo in that sense (I love my Pepo and he at least doesn't repeat the same info in a single convo). Once free we went exploring and wound up heading up to the Alhambra to see if we could get in that day, we couldn't, but at least we got one DRY and SUNNY walk up there. We then explored the Albaicin, a labyrinth of a white-washed part of the old city. Anna found a tea shop where she ordered some rose tea and generously shared a cup with me; for not liking tea much I did enjoy that. Later while Anna siesad (yeah, I made an English past tense verb out of a Spanish word) I went exploring a bit and mailed off a postcard or two.

Next morning we woke before the sun (I haven't done that in a while) to get to the Alhambra to wait in line early. Joining at least a hundred other people a half hour before the tickets even went on sale, we waited as the sun rose. I got to see the sky as the sun rose behind the walls, and then see it quickly replaced by unending rain and cold. That's right, the visit I was terribly excited for was dampened, literally, by a cold and rainy day. Sans internet/weather channel, we were caught unawares and got soaked. We went in and all and the Nasrid Palaces, the Alcazaba and the little of the gardens that we did see was beautiful, but it wasn't as lovely as a visit as I was hoping for. We spent only 2 hrs there, thanks Anna for staying even that long. I LOVED the architecture and the views but it was admittedly difficult to fully enjoy it while I was trying hard to stop shivering long enough to take a photo.

Returned quickly to hostel to dry off, sleep (sieta from 11-3) to wake to see a slightly sunny sky (screw you bad weather). That night we went out with Anna's friend. First stop, ironically enough, was an Irish pub. We stopped at a couple of others and finished off the night with delicious ice cream. Despite the rain and cold I did have fun in Granada, although I may have to return some sunny day to get a real feel for the Alhambra, or at least for more sangria and free tapas.