Rob has been reading dire warnings about what might happen to our goods and chattels carried on our persons if we dawdle through some particular areas of Granada so today we don't go quite as far as we planned originally. Which is never a bad thing in the heat.
We do however tick off one of the things I want to do while we are here. We have breakfast at a churreria, specialising in churros and chocolate. The churros are light and fresh - and we eat them in the traditional way by dipping the end in chocolate biting into them. I have seen them served with chocolate sauce poured over them, but this is the real way to eat them our waiter tells us. The chocolate in the cup is rich, too rich to finish it in my case. As it cools off a little and I have a final spoonful just to confirm my thought that it tastes very like melted chocolate instant pudding if such a thing is possible.
Then we tick off a chore we have set ourselves. We post back to ourselves about 6Kg of books and other bits and pieces. The women in the local Correos are very helpful and I for one am greatly impressed with the first one's expertise in getting things to fit into the box size he has decided we need. I realise halfway through the exercise that she thinks the things of mine (that are not books) which I brought along to post back are not included. I didn't like to interrupt her while she was doing so well so I get to carry them home. The second woman we deal with must be good at charades, we opt to send the package by sea based on the waves she makes in front of us as there is nothing urgent in the parcel. Beats the risk of excess baggage and the fees we could be charged for that, not to mention making our bags lighter which is always a plus.
The historic area of Albaicin is a bit of a test of one's sense of direction (which I seem to
lack at the moment) as it twists and turns up and down some of the steepest hills we have come across recently. We took a bus up to what we thought would be the highest point intending to maintain a downhill direction, but it didn't quite work out that way.
Walking through ancient arches, among myriad tiny plazas and up and down narrow streets we stop to marvel at yet another view of the Alhambra, this time from the St Nicholas mirador which is in a perfect position to view the length of it from below. The constant surprise is how close to the city centre the Alhambra is. From this vantage point in Albaicin it seems that Granada has spread out in every direction except around El Alhambra. Below us is a patchwork of tiled roofs broken up by church towers and spires and a little further out taller blocks of flats.
In every direction there is something worth looking at, town, country, mountains, sky - all beautiful to see. Rob thinks the blue of the sky here is deeper than at home but I disagree. It is, as he says, a sky you feel you could just dive into - deep deep blue and cloudless, endless.
If you are given to dawdling, as we are, the opportunity that presents to drop into local shops to buy water, ice cream and/or beer always results in some interesting contact. We have had some interesting moments as we play out what we are trying to buy and have come across many interesting people - I know that we could have that experience at home but we don't really dawdle much there and the small shops have all but disappeared. We appreciate a return to "strip shopping" which prevails here alongside the markets. We may not have gone to the right place yet, but we haven't seen any gigantic supermarkets and other shops causing the demise of small local traders. In fact the reverse seems to be the norm.
We also tick off another box for ourselves fianly visiting some Arabian baths. We have made a few attempts to see some, and we did actually see them under the Real Aclazar in Cordoba but didn't feel that was the same as seeing the public baths. We didn't make it to the former public baths in Cordoba as they were never open at a time that suited us to visit them. We particularly enjoy sitting in the courtyard there soaking in the cool atmosphere. This site has done something that some others could learn from - they have their information pamphlet available in several languages (as others do) but instead of giving everyone a copy they have several copies laminated and available to read while you are there. I have thrown away so much paper that has been handed to me as I enter various sites and establishments that I fully appreciate their efforts to cut cost and wastage.
As we leave Granada by train for Madrid we climb up into the mountains and into the sunset. It is funny, but heading out on the Metro at midnight returning to the hostal we first stayed in in Spain feels a little like coming home - and then we are given the same room so it feels even more like it. As we are able to we dump our bags and head on round to good old Plaza Mayor for an ice cream, a beer, a cup of mint tea - whatever takes our fancy as we arrive there.
lack at the moment) as it twists and turns up and down some of the steepest hills we have come across recently. We took a bus up to what we thought would be the highest point intending to maintain a downhill direction, but it didn't quite work out that way.
Walking through ancient arches, among myriad tiny plazas and up and down narrow streets we stop to marvel at yet another view of the Alhambra, this time from the St Nicholas mirador which is in a perfect position to view the length of it from below. The constant surprise is how close to the city centre the Alhambra is. From this vantage point in Albaicin it seems that Granada has spread out in every direction except around El Alhambra. Below us is a patchwork of tiled roofs broken up by church towers and spires and a little further out taller blocks of flats.
In every direction there is something worth looking at, town, country, mountains, sky - all beautiful to see. Rob thinks the blue of the sky here is deeper than at home but I disagree. It is, as he says, a sky you feel you could just dive into - deep deep blue and cloudless, endless.
If you are given to dawdling, as we are, the opportunity that presents to drop into local shops to buy water, ice cream and/or beer always results in some interesting contact. We have had some interesting moments as we play out what we are trying to buy and have come across many interesting people - I know that we could have that experience at home but we don't really dawdle much there and the small shops have all but disappeared. We appreciate a return to "strip shopping" which prevails here alongside the markets. We may not have gone to the right place yet, but we haven't seen any gigantic supermarkets and other shops causing the demise of small local traders. In fact the reverse seems to be the norm.
We also tick off another box for ourselves fianly visiting some Arabian baths. We have made a few attempts to see some, and we did actually see them under the Real Aclazar in Cordoba but didn't feel that was the same as seeing the public baths. We didn't make it to the former public baths in Cordoba as they were never open at a time that suited us to visit them. We particularly enjoy sitting in the courtyard there soaking in the cool atmosphere. This site has done something that some others could learn from - they have their information pamphlet available in several languages (as others do) but instead of giving everyone a copy they have several copies laminated and available to read while you are there. I have thrown away so much paper that has been handed to me as I enter various sites and establishments that I fully appreciate their efforts to cut cost and wastage.
As we leave Granada by train for Madrid we climb up into the mountains and into the sunset. It is funny, but heading out on the Metro at midnight returning to the hostal we first stayed in in Spain feels a little like coming home - and then we are given the same room so it feels even more like it. As we are able to we dump our bags and head on round to good old Plaza Mayor for an ice cream, a beer, a cup of mint tea - whatever takes our fancy as we arrive there.
1 comment:
Yummmmm. Churros for breakfast!
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