Where it all Began

(I´m feeling better, and J is reading about baseball on the internet, so I´m going to attempt to jump back in.)

And so Granada.

The moment we drove away from the train station to our hostel in Granada, I was blown away. We were staying in the "old muslim quarter" at the base of the Alhambra. The neighborhood was absolutely picturesque (like too many Spanish cities, I´ve lost count). Seriously, I wanted to take pictures of everything. The adorable balcony fixtures, the cobblestone streets, the tall narrow buildings. Every stone is old, every piece of metal ornate. The only thing that wasn´t absolutely gorgeous was the river. Which was filthy. Covered with human trash and feral cats. (And the human trash was enough to support a mom cat and 7 kittens . . . . that´s mucho trash). I was not the only one who noticed the cats. We overheard a /lovely/ American teenager tell his friends "You should see how many cats there are at that place where Ceasar was killed." Yes, that place. But I digress.

The main attraction in Granada is The Alhambra - an old Moorish palace, amory, royal gardens et al. Firstly, it is built on a huge hunk of rock, so we had to hike up the steep back road lined with a surprising amount of tree cover. Like large pine trees. This was yet another monument that is part Moorish, part Catholic, and part Roman. Again, I was fascinated by the oldness and the history in a place like that, but Islamic architechture just doesn´t do it for me. It´s beautiful and mind-boggling and jaw-dropping, but it just doesn´t get my heart racing. (I did flutter at the dizzying tilework that inspired MC Escher, probably more for the modern connection.) Mostly, I just looked around and imagined being a Prince in the 1100s (because I imagine it would have been less fun to be a Princess) and actually living in a palace like that. But that train of thought just led me to my old roomate (whose mother actually IS Spanish royalty) and I didn't want to think about that. I´m going to let J tell you the details of the Alhambra cause he was waaaay more into it than I was, but I will share my personal highlights.

My favorite part of the royal garden was the "water staircase" (aside from all the pretty trees, flowers and playing with my new camera´s macro function). Stone steps with canals running down the side. I have no idea what the purpose of this was, but it was awesome. I want a water staircase in my garden.

The Throne Room (at least I think that what is was called). Anyway, it was the spot, the actual spot, where the Double Cs asked permission from Izzy and Fred to "find India" as it were. The first domino. Changed the old world and the new world both. The very beginning of life as we Americans know it. I walked on the tiles that Isabel walked on. I gazed at the ceiling that Ferdinand gazed at. I stood in the spot that Christopher Columbus stood. I must admit, my heart fluttered a moment there as well.