Granada

Hola! Granada was amazing! Friday night we went to a flamenco show in this place called "La Cueva" or the cave. The dancing was so gorgeous. There were two guitars, and older man singer, 3 female dancers, and 1 male dancer. It was really pretty, with graceful arm movements and tapdance like feet tapping to the beat (very quickly, like 32nds!) It was really moving. The older man's singing voice was raspy and it sounded kind of like a husky blues singer. Everything was gorgeous. Saturday morning we went to visit the Alhombra, the palace which was the last threshold of the Muslim sultans in Espana before the reconquest by the Catholic Kings. It was the most gorgeous place I've ever seen. The gardens were so pretty, with amazing fountains and plants. And inside the actual palace was soooooooo gorgeous. There were intricate carvings and tiling on every wall, with beautiful columns and views of the hills which are covered in cobble stone streets and old white houses. It's just amazing. Words and pictures just can't describe it. Another awesome part about Granada are the tapas. It's so cheap to eat and drink! When you go to a bar and order a beer or sangria, you receive a tapa, which is basically a little snack with it. this can range from little sandwiches and french fries to potatoes with interesting sauce and meat on them. They're delicious and you can make a dinner out of them by having a couple beers. And it cost the same as beer in Valencia! Awesome! We also wandered around some of the Arab markets, which were cute and had some neat stuff. We went to the huge cathedral and saw the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabel (the ones who gave Christopher Columbus money) and Juana la Loca and her husband Felipe of Portugal. There were amazing carvings! We saw Isabel's crown and scepter as well. Pretty sweet. Then we walked up some of the hills and looked around the beautiful white houses. It's so pretty. If I'm ever rich, I would buy one of those houses, overlooking the Alhombra. Saturday night we went to a discoteca that was high up and had an amazing view of the lit up Alhombra at night. It was super cool. Overall, Granada was pretty amazing. Now let Fallas begin!