Lorca hails from Granada, another city in Andalusia. Known for the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Alhambra, a palace built for the Moors, Granada is similar to Sevilla, though the Arab influences on this city are much more apparent.
Last weekend I took a 36 hour trip to Granada, of course visiting the Alhambra and soaking in what Granada has to offer: teterías (tea shops), El Mercado de Artesanía (artisan market), tapas gratis (free tapas with any drink purchase) and the opportunity to see another Andalusian city. Granada is situated on mountains, thus it was a large change from the flat terrain of Sevilla.
What amazed me the most about the Alhambra was the close attention to detail. Like the Alcázar in Sevilla, its etchings and wall decor were all done by hand. Hence, these palaces took over 500 years to build. Landscape shots were great fun (and a challenge with how bright it is outside) in Granada, however I went up close and personal during our visit to the palace:
I knew this about myself before I left, but the visit to the Alhambra just reaffirmed my affinity for castles over churches. I can now identify more concrete reasons:
People who are now dead lived in these palaces. Dead people live in cathedrals this current day. Granada has a famous cathedral and a capilla (chapel) where Ferdinand and Isabella are buried. Buried is the wrong word - where their mausoleum is and where their caskets are on display. Being in the Alhambra, however, you can walk the same halls that the Nasrid dynasty did and know their bodies aren't creepily hid somewhere.
Flowers grow in palace gardens. Mildew grows in cathedrals. Echoes in cathedrals are pretty cool, I do admit that. Echoes do not make up for the musty smell that always lingers in cathedrals - am I the only one who notices this?
Jesus doesn't stare at you from the walls of a palace, golden stucco detail does! Dead royalty and a variety of paintings depicting Jesus being removed from the cross didn't fascinate me. It didn't help to look around and see Christian art stalking the walls.
These are by no means complaints, my visit to Granada was phenomenal and the city is just plain linda. We also visited the neighborhood of Albaicín, which is mostly white because the Moors didn't want to be sweating more than they normally would in the dead summer heat of Andalusia. Here is where you will also find the Mirador de San Nicolas, the most beautiful view of the city.
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| A trip to the tetería wouldn't be complete without a cup of chocolate. |
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| Post-tapas I ran into my friend Laura who is studying in Madrid. Later we found a bar that had candy out along with bar nuts. Best night ever? |
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| Token symbol of Granada - una granada, or, pomegranate. |
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