Lazy Sunday in Granada

October 5th

The morning was warm and sunny as I walked to the tourism office one block up from my apartment. I needed a new map of Granada as my other one had been shredded in the piso search of the first month.  My monitore, Monica, was working at the tourism office and she gave me a new map and a bus schedule.  

I then walked to the Arab baths and put down the deposit (the purchasing of my ticket) for our group visit on Monday.  Leaving the baths, I wandered and explored the centro area.  I found a great street with a ton of restaurants right by my apartment called "Calle Navas." I stopped for a juice and a tapa and then kept wandering, finding the "Corral de Carbon" a 13th century Arab building with a beautiful arch.  Its a block from my piso.

Back at my apartment, Nathalie, Heiko, and Antonio were getting ready to leave to find a place to sun tan.  I changed out of my jeans and put on sunscreen and sandals as the temperature had rose quite a bit.  We ended up walking back up to the Alhambra and Carmen de los Mártires.  It was really nice and I'm in love with the woods of the Alhambra.  Entering the grounds of the Alhambra is like stepping into another world.  Emerald green pine and cypress trees spread on for acres and acres.  Its amazing that its right next to my piso.  We ran into some of Antonio's friends who were playing the guitar on one of the benches in the forest.  They would be putting on a flamenco show the following week. 

Our walk in the woods ended us up at the Palacio de Carlos V, the only palace of the great Spanish king built right in the center of the Alhambra.  Its the ultimate symbol of the Reconquest and the importance of Granada in the history of Spain.  We spent some time sitting on the Palace steps reading and watching the crowds of people pass through the Alhambra.  We walked back to our apartment as the sun was setting.

Antonio and I made dinner when we returned.  His mother had sent some great homemade Spanish food and we had that along with our fresh salad and fruit.

We had a movie night with our Californian and Erasmus friends.  I wanted to watch the French film "Amelie" as I hadn't seen it, but I was outvoted by the Erasmus kids who elected to watch the American film "Almost Famous."  The movie night was fun, but it reminded me so much of the freshman dorms that I don't think I'll have another one.  I'm here in Spain to have new adventures and experiences.  I can watch all of the movies I want next year.