Interlude...

Getting a cup of tea has been one of my biggest problems. As anyone who knows me knows, I NEED my tea. Not just a nice to have but a HAVE to have - an addiction. I did cut down a bit in the weeks before I came away, not because I was to be travelling but because it just seemed like a good idea post-colonscopy. Cut down means from 6-7 mugs/day to maybe 3-4, incuding at least two by 6.00am. I came away well prepared with my slimline Katmandu thermos and a stash of tea bags - BUT I haven't been able to access hot water anywhere to fill it! If I don't get the early tea the migrane symptoms start to kick in and if I let them develop I am a cot case and probably vomiting. So some days I have downed four nurofen in a short space of time to deal to the head.

This isn't a sob story - just a reality of travel. Years ago I had a little immersion heating thing that would have done the job.

The tea I have managed to get has come in an interesting variety of forms. Once I got a chocolate drink. Another time I got green tea with hot milk ( I had asked for black tea). If I ask for black tea with milk the milk always comes hot. The best tea comes in a tall mug with loose-leaf tea in a little strainer that sits inside the mug and which you can remove when you wish. I can make it extra-strong :-) I've given up on the milk.

The morning I left Granada I needed to eat something - and have tea - before catching the bus. I found a little place enroute and got this really cute teapot - just enough for a cup.

Talking of sustenance, I was surprised, as I got on the bus, to be told to take a paper bag. It contained a bottle of water, earphones (neither of which I needed especially but I might have), a small packet of peanuts and a small pastry. Better than the airlines I thought! It felt like my birthday. In fact the bus was great. Comfortable window seat, air conditioned, plus the bag. A nice way to leave Granada which, to be honest, I wasn't sorry to farewell.

Bus lunch bag and my trusty water bottle which has been a constant companion in Spain

Granada #5

Apart from the Ahlambra the other area of significant historic interest in Granada is El Albayzin - the city's old Muslim quarter which sits on a hill across the valley from the Ahlambra. It is a maze of narrow, winding lanes and whitewashed houses. The Albayzin and the Alhambra were both declared World Heritage Sites (UNESCO) in 1984.

I climbed up through El Albayzin my first afternoon in Granada. Later I went on a walking tour. I usually avoid tours of any sort but this one was led by a young man called Juan who was both charming and informative. I can find Spaniards quite abrupt (this could be partly the language issue) and certainly loud (especially the women!). Juan was softly spoken (but clearly audible) and gentle.

One of the things I learnt about in Granada was the process of blending the Moorish or Muslim and the Christian styles of building. Christian conquerors appropriated Muslim buildings - sometimes destroying, sometimes rebuilding or adapting. But many buildings reflected a hybrid heritage. 

The photo of the dog reminds me - I have seen lots of dogs in the Spanish cities. Especially in the evening, the locals walk their dogs - often very small breeds, some of them not much bigger than a large rat! These small dogs look like mechanical mutts, their little legs going flat out in their excitement to get around all the city street smells.

Ceiling in the old baths. Great skylight

Juan

Granada #4

Some totally random shots...

Early morning sun 

Plumbago

I liked the design of the seat back.
This was also a square where a bunch of young locals hung out to drink in a very sad way

This instrument sounded wonderful - very soothing

Don't yet know what this signifies...

Waiting for something to fall from my lunch plate

After quite a bit had fallen...

Granada #3

Well, I’m on the bus waiting to depart from Granada. The final chapter in the accommodation saga played out this morning when I left my room key and was asked, in Spanish, to pay. I had already paid my accommodation at the university residence by credit card, from New Zealand. The university residence guy had assured me that he had paid Hostal Jardines and made up the difference. So I wasn’t going to budge and the woman-in-charge was very insistent – all in Spanish. Finally she found a young man who could translate. Apparently she hadn’t been paid. Whatever the full story, I left without paying and for the other players to sort out the problem. Actually I was really angry. I had experienced no friendliness or help in the hostal. My request to be able to make myself a cup of tea (my #1 need) with my own tea bags declined – ‘no comprende’ – as was my need to print off my bus ticket for Cordoba.

The evening of the day I visited the Alhambra I ate at a little place just below the Cathedral. I ate there each night, drawn by the singing canaries and friendliness of the staff. The tapas dishes below were very tasty...

Red peppers with a slightly smoky flavour

Spinach with sultanas and almond slivers

This was a Saturday evening and I watched lots of couples and families, dressed up, passing by to the Cathedral. I guessed a service so followed and joined them. This was a BIG nave but it soon filled to overflowing and I gave up my seat to an elderly lady. Standing at the back was good because I could watch all the young people – teenagers, the boys in particular looking very smart – who were clearly seeing it as a good opportunity to meet.  Little girls were dressed in a way that I might have recognized from my childhood – a big contrast with what I was seeing on the streets. So there was the service going on (including an interminable sermon) and all the while this totally other agenda playing out.

More to come on Granada...

Granada #1

Granada has proved more challenging than Barcelona. There is little English spoken and getting my bearings has been tricky. A few hairy moments when I felt as though I was going in circles. The economic downturn is more apparent here with quite a lot of active begging and signs of protest - which may be economic or something else.

The begging I can mostly cope with but last night one man came to my cafe table and wordlessly left a Bic lighter and a little note in English saying that he was unemployed, his wife had cancer and he had two children. He did similarly with a number of tables and then returned, presumably hoping that we would 'buy' the lighter. He took away the lighter and note with no reproach, and some dignity, and I felt very sad. 

On the move: farewell Barcelona...

I was sad to leave Barcelona. It was a great introduction to Spain - although as someone said to me yesterday, Barcelona isn't Spain, it's Catalonia!! And I certainly did get the Catalan vibes.

I said goodbye to...

My regular

The lovely, super hard-working waitress 

My breakfast companion from El Salvador

Sister Nuria (centre) who watched over me - literally!

I bought the Sisters chocolate and a box of almond biscuits at Montserrat. 

Then it was an early departure to catch the Aerobus to the airport for the flight to Granada. I had a window seat for the first time and a superb view of the country around Granada. So much of the country was planted in what looked like fruit trees - olives maybe? Citrus maybe? Anyway the effect from the air was a bit like a pointillist painting! Tiny little airport at Granada, even although it is an approximately Christchurch-sized city. Bus into the town to find - no it wasn't a scam, my accommodation was completely closed down with plumbing problems. The lovely young man, who had little English, had rebooked me and took me in his car Hostal Jardines - one of the two hostals who had said they had no room for me. I suspect there was a language problem. Nobody at Hostal Jardines speaks any English and my Spanish is non-existent apart from 'hola'.