Vacation 2: Granada, Day 1

Granada, day 1, was really day 2. Day one was a 10 hour bus ride to get there. Inaki wanted to head into town on the night we arrived, but I fell asleep in the hotel bed before he had the chance to say anything. But, we got up early the next morning, as you can see above, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready for adventure. We stayed a little south of the University area and had maybe a 10 minute walk into the old town. This was nice because we got to see some different neighborhoods.

One of the first things I noticed about Granada was the sidewalk. It's made of big, flat black and white stones that have been laid on their sides in simple designs. Inaki made a comment early on in our trip that I think was true throughout, the Moors really designed Granada as a city to enjoy life in and paid attention to small, delightful details. Here is a shot of your typical sidewalk in Granada.

We knew it would be a nice day when we saw this little friend caught in a tree in the first square we came to.

Although we had a map, we cruised over to the tourist info office to be sure we weren't missing anything fabulous. There, we learned that Granada has 2 old towns, rather than one. The Realejo, which is the newer, Christian old town and the Albaicin, which is the older, Muslim old town. We decided to walk around the Realejo a little and just get lost a bit. We ran into the cathedral and also some stadium seating for the processions that would happen that day for Easter week. Inaki told me what was written on the side of the cathedral was in blood, so I thought I should probably take a picture.

Next, we got lost up a hill and into a neighborhood that lead us to Carmen de los Martires (house of the Martyrs). For some reason, all the big houses in Granada are called carmens. Hmm. This particular Carmen had a huge garden attached to it and we walked all through it snapping pics and getting a taste of what the Ahlambra would be like on our visit Thursday.

Here's a view from the top of the park.

After the park, we strolled down into the Realejo and stopped in the Plaza del Principe. It was full of people dressed in their Sunday best and just waiting around. We weren't sure what was up, so we asked a policeman and he said that the procession of the 3 favors would end there at around 3 that afternoon. They carry the virgin in on a big float and the people in the square can go kiss her cloak and ask for 3 wishes, more or less. We thought, "hey, we could use some wishes, let's stay!" So we started to bar hop, just like everyone else in their suits and dresses, boozin' it up before the religious ceremony, what!?

These were our first tapas in Granada, which is famous for giving you a bit of food with every drink you buy. The first place had a yummy tuna and tomato sandwich on a little roll with some chips. The brand name of the chips down there was "Kiki", which made me think of Kins! Anyhow, it was delicious. At the next place, we got something similar, but it was good too. You don't really get a choice.

What impressed me most about the bars in this plaza was all the Virgin stuff on the walls. Apparently there are lots of virgins, not just Mary, and I'm not sure which one this was, but she sure was sad. She was crying her eyes out in every photo we saw of the float. There were a few display cases of the 3 favors throughout time stuff in each bar. One of them even had this shot of the virgin float holding a baby! Yes, a big, 100-year-old, lifesize virgin holding a baby on her right arm, sobbing of course, and no one else to be seen in the picture! Mom and dad just rested little Juan right there and stepped away. Our camera started to die at this point and now I wish I would have snapped a pic!

Anyhow, I guess religious gear goes about as well in a bar as sports pictures or whatever else. I was pretty mesmerized by the flat screen in the corner broadcasting all the processions from all over Spain as well. It can take, what looked like, up to 100 people to carry these floats through town. There was one clip of a Jesus going under an archway and all the men carrying him crouched down, rested their section of the float on their backs and crawled through, so not to knock his block off. Pretty amazing. I could see the soles of their feet from under the tapestry below moving inch by inch to get through.

At 2:30 or so, we walked out into the square and settled in for the procession. We thought they'd bring her in and people would start asking favors and that would be it. Oh no. They did a stations of the cross mass first. Did I mention we were standing? The stations of the cross mass is one I actually remember from Catholic school. It was so long and so sad and no thanks. At the very least, my memorization of the Our Father in Spanish came in handy. That was our first big project in Spanish class freshman year, memorize the Padre Nuestro and the Santa Maria. Thanks to Senora Nassib, I looked like I knew what I was doing.

Once we got to the 12th station, I was like, "finally, haul that virgin in so we can get to wishin!" But no, they have 2 extra stations in Spain, what!? I asked Inma why when we got back to Pamplona and she said, "I dunno, maybe he fell 2 more times?" Anyhow, those 2 extra stations proved to be 2 too many for Inaki. On station 11, just as the virgin and the purple hooded folks were passing us, Inaki had to squat down. He looked like he was praying, but really all the incense was getting to him. The whole country smells like it for about 3 weeks and those kids waving it around like Gogo Yubari are effective. We had to duck out of the crowd before we got to finish the ceremony so Inaki wouldn't pass out, but it was still cool to see. Here are the 2 procession shots we got before the camera died.

After we got ourselves together, we strolled over to the Albaicin and stopped in a tea shop for some hierba buena. I think I'll leave that description for another time as it's a long one and I want to get some good photos in. I'll post more soon I hope!

Vacation 1: Nerja

Inaki and I got to have a fantastic spring break this year! We went south by bus, which was a long trip, but worth it to get to spend time in Granada and Nerja. I think this post will mostly be pics and explanations, so enjoy!

Let's start with Nerja. It's a beach town on the southern coast of Spain that's so touristy the bar owners were Irish and initially greeted us in English. It's still very charming with it's windy, narrow streets and white stucco buildings. It's also home to the Balcony of Europe, which is a 3 story balcony built on the Mediterranean. We could practically see Africa. Check it out.

We were thrilled to have good weather and cruised around town all day just getting the lay of the land and enjoying wearing sandals! The beaches here weren't as long as the ones in Oregon, so long strolls on the sand were hard, but we scooted over to the longest beach first, Burriana.

We got a little thirsty and hit up one of the many English pubs just off the beach for a beer and a bit of futbol. The spot we chose was called "Olas" which means waves. The gal walked right up to us and said, "wha'll ya ave then love?" Wow.

That night, we stopped at the supermarket and got some big prawns and cooked 'em up in our kitchenette. For this part of the trip, we rented an apartment, which is just a hotel with a kitchen. It was nice not to have to eat out every night! Here is the view from outside and inside the apartment.

Delish!

The next day was a little rainy, but it was Easter Sunday, so we got to see a procession march through town. I cannot get over the KKK uniforms they wear! Crazy. This particular procession reminded me so much of the scene in Godfather 2 when Robert De Niro is going to kill Don Fanucci and he's bounding from roof to roof following him as he walks through a procession below on the street.

We weren't sure what all these herbs were in the final picture, but they smelled amazing! All the folks who lived in town were tearing them apart and scattering them for the procession to walk on on their final leg.

With the clouds in the sky, we decided to grab a coffee and watch the waves for a while.

Then we walked as far as we could down the beach and circled back to see a famous boat that's displayed in Nerja. It was a part of a cheesy show that was filmed here in the 80's called Blue Summer. Apparently, when it was released, there was an uproar because the mother was left alone in Nerja for a month to care for the kids while the father worked. People thought it was very inappropriate. I'm sure you can see why people were so pissed based on the opening credits.

Anyhow, this boat is where an old fisherman named Chanquete lived. There's a famous episode where the kids band together and protest the government wanting to move Chanquete's boat. I think that was right after Bea gets her first period.

After that, we got a red martini and a tapa. In the south, they still hold true to the culture of tapas in Spain and you get a free one with each drink you buy. This one was paelle and deilicious, but Inaki was not happy with the service or price!

That night we got a clear evening walk on the beach, beautiful!

The next day was all this all the time...

That night, we went to a little restaurant for a dinner out. We had some delicious salads and a really nice waiter. A couple at the table next to us said he was the best waiter in Nerja, imagine that! Anyhow, I ordered a Jameson shot for dessert and he asked if I was Irish. I said no, I'm American and he goes, "American from America!?" He was so shocked I'd ordered a Jameson instead of a Jack Daniels that he gave me a second one and gave Inaki a honey rum to try and didn't charge us for any of them. Thanks Sergio!

Our final full day in Nerja, we took a touristy trip to the caves of Nerja. Cool to see, but a little spendy.

You just kinda walk down some stairs and into a huge cavern. Pretty neat stuff! We headed back to Granada in the morning the next day and there will be a few blogs on that amazing city to come! Bye for now Nerja!