Well after a late night of turtle slow updating of pictures
(sucking in all the FREE wifi I can get!!!), my alarm went off bright and early
this morning…830am came quicker than I hoped.
I got dressed and finished packing my bags before heading downstairs for
breakfast…I couldn’t resist having the chocolate puffed cereal and pineapple
this morning since I don’t get it any other time J I might have to bring
some home in my suitcase hahahah J…After breakfast, I chatted with Madre for a bit and
scheduled a time to talk to Padre for Father’s day later my time and early
theirs…9 hour time difference can really complicate talking times hahah J…Then,
it was time to say goodbye to air-conditioned rooms and the hotel we called home
for 3 days and pack into our large bus.
Getting on the bus was interesting because a tour bus was in front of
ours, then you had our bus, and then you had another bus trying to fit between
the busses and cars parked along the side (I give brownie points to European
drivers on these narrow small streets I know if I was driving I would have
killed about 20 or more people already and have nicked a few cars and other
items).
Once on the bus, we buckled up and headed to see the La
Alhambra. It is the citadel of the last
Moorish kingdom in Spain . It includes the Alcazaba (fort and military
barracks), the Generalife (summer gardens for afternoon outings), the Palacio
Nazari (the private residence of the Nazari dynasty), and the Palacio Carlos IV
(a Renaissance structure built by the grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella as a
homage to the reconquest). Let’s say I
have had ever seen a more elegant, ornate, gorgeous, mind blowing castle than
La Alhambra I wouldn’t be impressed….but I was IMPRESSED!!!...Oh my, every turn
into another room left my jaw open even wider.
Right when you thought that you had seen the best room, the next room
was a billion times better. Each room
was sculpted floor to ceiling with intricate designs. Even the ceilings were built with wood that
was either embedded with gold or had been carved out. My finger was trigger happy for the camera
and my eyes were wider than saucers. I
cannot not say that any other place has left me more speechless than Granada
(if you ever come to Spain it’s a huge must see)…we went to the military
barracks at which was at the very top of all Granada giving you a 360 view of
the city and mountains everywhere…like the actual palace wasn’t enough…the
stairs to get to the military barracks reminded me of the ones going up the
Notre Dame (steep, curved, very large, and no head room, not like that mattered
to me). From the top of the military
barracks you had the 360 degree view of the whole city and we could even spot
where Ivy and I had eaten dinner at last night J (I am still craving
another 15 servings of that cheese and drink!)
From the military barracks we took a tour throughout the castle which
the pictures cannot even explain the glory of it all and the magnificent time
that went into decorating it, although you could tell that the Arab culture had
a huge influence on the construction as well as the name.
We were awaken only by a sudden heat wave as the bus stopped
and opened the doors. We had officially
arrived at the Gaudix. They are a small
community where many of the residents still live in caves that have been
adapted to modern living with electricity, running water, gas, and electric. It was interesting to see that the carbon
monoxide poisoning detection were birds in cages. I guess because they have smaller lungs that
when they stop chirping you know to get out (which is cruel, but I guess I
wouldn’t want to die either). Stepping off
the bus was like stepping into a boiling pot.
It was literally 115 degrees and that was a “cool” day for them. The fan did little help but move warm air
onto your face and the whiteness of the houses just made it even brighter and
warmer. We walked up the steps to get a
360 degree view of the community which was tucked into little nooks of caves
and one would not notice that they were houses except for the wooden doors that
give them away. After taking a view, we
stepped into the cave which was NOT, I repeat, NOT air conditioned, yet it felt
like a comfortable 60 degrees. It was
fascinating to see the difference between the outside and inside and the house
looked just like any apartment in Spain
just inside of a hill and more eco friendly.
I guess we should start building in hillsides. We then ended our tour and hopped back onto
the bus heading for Alicante —home
away from home.
Fourish hours later, we got off the bus and headed for the
tram to go home. We had to pass through
a massive crowd of people dressed in various costumes and walking around the
plaza. The festival that will be week
long and you will be provided pictures of has officially started…its time to
party, have no sleep, set of fireworks, and dress in costumes J
The festival will last until the end of this coming weekend with breaks only
during the day and going all night long.
Throughout the festival there will be sculptures around Alicante
that will be on display and the last night as a political demonstration they
set them on fire (how they don’t catch the whole city on fire I have no
clue)…but it’ll be an interesting week by far.
After making our way through the crowd, we hopped on the
tram, got home, took a shower, unpacked (realizing that I had left my converter
in the hotel L…no
bueno), and talked to Padre to wish him a happy Father’s day J….so
happy Father’s day to all the dads or soon to be dads reading this J…yeah
puppy dads work too…
The wind is sticky with the humidity that Granada was
missing and trust me it hits you hard when you come back hahah…I’ll be heading
to bed soon, hoping to get as much sleep as possible before the festival
deprives me of it. It’ll be a day full
of homework tomorrow since our teacher’s canceled classes (YAY! J)
and I’ll be heading to the central market in town to check it out…Alicante
might be glad to have me back, but I sure do miss Granada already…
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