Gallivanting through Granada

About 10 o’clock Saturday night, my friends and I decided for sure that we wanted to head to Granada Sunday for a quick visit. We're a little last minute, but hey, we have fun. We left Baeza on the 8:15 bus and spent the day walking around the city and visiting all the sights.

We arrived at the bus station around 10 and made our way to the Parque de Ciencias or the Science Park, which is a museum complex. It is one of the top tourist attractions in Granada with a planetarium, an animal exhibit, and a whole bunch of hands on exhibits about energy and motion. It reminded me a lot of the Children’s Museum in Indianapolis, one of my favorite places, so I had a lot of fun. This picture is of the tower at the Museum. After checking out everything at the Museum we hopped on the tourist bus, you know, those double-decker buses that take you around cities with a guided commentary. Of course we sat on top, getting a much better view of our surroundings and being periodically attacked by renegade tree branches if we didn’t move out of the way fast enough. They’re brutal. I know. I got hit in the face twice. Apparently I just don’t pay close enough attention to my surroundings and/or my reflexes suck.

We got off the bus around the Cathedral and discovered that there was a Renaissance fair going on. The streets were lined with booths selling pottery, jewelry, and knickknacks galore. There were also performers on the streets, making the whole place feel like a big festival. The gypsies were also out in force, trying to sell fortunes and asking for money insistently. You quickly learn to say no loudly and firmly and then ignore them even when they keep harassing you. Lucia got cussed out using this method, but it worked. We got doner kabobs for lunch (meat wrapped in a tortilla with whatever other ingredients you want with it) and sat on the steps of the Cathedral (in the picture) waiting for it to open at 4.

Spent some time wandering around the Cathedral, and then stopped by the Capilla Real, or Royal Chapel, right next door. Now the Capilla was pretty cool. It houses the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabel, the King and Queen of Spain around the time of Christopher Columbus. They ruled the country when the Christians recaptured the majority of Spain from the Moors. Ok, history lesson is finished for the day. Just needed to explain why it’s an important place.

Next stop on our route was the Alhambra, the Moorish palace and fort that Granada is famous for, located up the mountain right on the edge of town. We spent about 2 and a half hours walking around the gardens that surround the Alhambra and then trekking through the different parts of the Alhambra. It was gorgeous to see. The architecture was incredibly intricate and I can’t imagine how long it took to create these buildings with their fountains, walkways, and detailed stone carvings.

When we made it down the mountain we discovered that there had been a parade through town celebrating the national holiday. The buses weren’t running and Dan and I needed to make it all the way across town to the bus station to catch the last bus back to Baeza. We parted ways with Ellen and Lucia with only a bus route map in hand, hoping that the buses would start running soon so we could make it in time. We walked for quite a long time, around an hour, steadily making our way toward our destination. After a bit, it looked like the buses were running again so we decided to wait for the bus that would take us straight to the station; however, the bus never came. With twenty five minutes left before we would be stuck in Granada for the night, we took off speed walking through town. Our map didn’t have street names, and I don’t know how we did it, but we didn’t get lost at all. All I know is that I was following Dan through the streets of Granada in the dark at a run, hoping beyond all hope that we wouldn’t miss the bus. Now, you all know how much I exercise, so I hope you appreciate the sheer hilariousness of this picture. We raced into the bus station, bought our tickets, and dropped into our seats exhausted and out of breath.

I start back to school tomorrow, and it’s my first day teaching in the afternoons at another school. Wish me luck!

This is inside the Cathedral