A HIATUS IN SPAIN 1

A couple of weeks ago, Bill took his monthly trip back to the States. This time I decided to take a side trip of my own. Cheap flights within the European Union made this possible, and a childhood dream of seeing the Alhambra in Granada gave me the push to abandon Rome for a week.





Granada's symbol is the pomegranate and pomegranates were everywhere except in the fruitbowl!












Online I found a lovely small hotel, El Ladron de Agua, right on the River Darro that flows below the citadel of the Alhambra. Here I found myself within easy walk of the most interesting neighborhoods of Granada - or so I think.











Behind the hotel is the Albaycin, an area that still shows much of the character of its Moorish origins with winding narrow streets, many of which no car can abuse, tea houses, lots of white washed walls, blooming wisteria and redbuds, and dramatic views. (The wild and rainy weather of my first couple of days there added to the drama!)









Above the Albaycin is the Sacramonti neighborhood where gypsies have lived in caves for many centuries and where Flamenco is a strong tradition.

A very colorful part of the Albaycin neighborhood is the Moorish market streets where lots of souvenirs, clothes, leather shoes, ceramics and water pipes(bongs?) are sold in tiny shops that spill out into the streets.
I have never been to Morocco but apparently this area is very much like markets there. If I was still 20, I probably would have spent some money here and bought myself some of the leather slippers, a skirt or two and maybe a bedspread just like in the 60's. There were rugs that tempted me, but with the dollar forcing me to add 60% to any price, it was easy for me to wander on. (What is the word for the opposite of discount?)


All of this is now very tourism oriented especially since UNESCO declared the Alhambra a World Heritage Site. The good thing is that much is being done to restore the older character of the neighborhoods and to protect and display buildings, artifacts and information about the history of the lives and cultures of the area.



Along the river is a narrow street, mostly used by pedestrians, artists, dogs, taxis and tiny electric buses much like my favorite #117 in Rome. This street, the Carrera de Darro, connects two popular plazas and has several bridges along it that cross the river. Many of the houses in the area are being restored with some being used for hotels like mine.

On the Sunday I was there, I wandered up through the Albaycin for the third time - there is no way and no reason to take the same walk thrice in this neighborhood. Later, I returned to the river to find at least a dozen artists set up on the bridges painting. Lots of people were outside eating paella, "leafsheet of grapevine refill with rice and spices," or Spanish "tortilla" (a kind of omelette). And, of course, lots and lots of kids were wandering around, playing music, watching street performers or just hanging out. This is a town especially popular with students, clearly and understandably!