A day in Granada

Just for something different on this particular escapade we had no reason to get up early. No tours, no travel, no traversing...and so we slept in whilst the city of Granada woke up and went to work. It was kinda nice to hear it happening as a mild hubdrub seeping in through the double plated laminated windows. Eventually emerging from our luxurious haven we hit the polished pavements in search of breakfast and miscellaneous shopping items. Landing in a centuries old square surrounded by antiquities of unknown origin and supporting historical fact we consumed a delightful breakfast of coffee, OJ and some sort of tomato concoction spread over half a bread roll. The weather is absolutely perfect. Sunny skies, cool morning's, hot afternoon's and balmy evening's. After the square breaky we were just coming to an agreement that another coffee would go down well when a sign was spotted saying "we do great coffee". And they did/do. It's all they do apparently...one of those little gems that helps locals want to stay local. After sussing out pharmacies and a "sell almost anything" shop we managed to buy almost everything on the list and went back to the room to continue R&R. With the window thrown open and sounds of the city drifting in (in full force) it was extra pleasureable to know all those people were running around being busy whilst we were lying there not giving a toss - drifting in an out on the edge of sleep for hours on end. Our tour of Alhambra was due to start at 4:00 pm. The temperature gauge in the city centre said 36 degrees as we walked past. It was not that hot but it was certainly warmish. Easily caught the local bus to the top of the hill and joined our wired up group of touring practitioners for 3 hours of wonderment.

This is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world (according to the locals who obviously have vested interest in it being so). It's easy to see why. Impressive from a civil engineering perspective - lots of running water on top of a hill which becomes the foundation of every other success in the place. A self sustaining city with gardens, houses, battlements and of course the occasional turrent. There is significant effort going into the place. The gardens are superb, the restoration fabulous and the fact that they keep 8000 visitors a day entertained is no mean feat. Let alone the money it brings in as this helps fund the whole process. And why not...it's great to see the efforts of human ingenuity over the centuries...along with the appreciation of the stupidity of vandals who think they have the right to destroy past endeavours of greatness in order to achieve a pathetic personal ambition. Yes Mr. Boneparte.. you fall into this category. The Sultan's built some spectacular buildings which have either survived or been restored scince and these were very impressive.

There was a great line expressed by our guide ..."architecture used as power".. which pretty much sums up every interesting bit of human history in Europe that all us tourists spend all this time and money to come and see. Another angle is always the cultural aspect, so whilst our digits and batteries were starting to suffer from shutter snapping fatigue we left the city on the hill by discovering a secret escape route, down through the forest and back into the old town for a serious dose of cultural exposure - albeit totally contrived to meet tourist expectations. Dinner of tapas based paella and drinks overlooking a centuries old bridge leading to happy throng of milling tourists in this balmy evening air was thoroughly enjoyable. We then wound our way up through cobblestoned streets and alleyways to get to the booked flamenco dancing show which was very gipsy based - in a cave none the less. This was great. Stupidly touristy however intimate enough to feel and understand the passion that resonates through these people as they express their culture through music and movement. Rythm and melody.. that's all you need these days. These guys and girls had it it swags. The cave had about 30 tourists lined around the edges. One guitarist. One singer (both amplified with echo synthesized effects) and 3 dancers each taking their turn on the wooden dance floor. Much tapping to match the guitar and voice and away they went... It was throroughly entertaining and we were all totally enthralled. Best part of the show was undoubtedly when the hot gypsy dancer whipped his sweat lodden dark locks in the direction of a couple of young impressionable females in the audience....they quite simply did not know how to react as his body fluids splattered onto their faces. Priceless....

Two days in town and now comfortable with the layout, we headed back to our haven through deserted cobblestoned alleyways, passing between high stone and concrete walls following the same paths that untold generations of people had done before.