Don't judge my spelling or grammar. Spain Day 4

We woke up on the train in time to eat our pastries we purchased the day before for breakfast and brush our teeth. Once off the train in Granada Danny and I attempted to find the bus stop. This turned into quite the scene. Tired, anxious (we arrived at 10 am and our time for touring the Alhambra was 12 and we know how good we are at finding our way around when we first get to a city...see previous Spain Day 0), and probably smelly, we soon entered into a very heated debate as to where the bus stop was located. We asked a couple of people (most seemed to be drunk...quite odd for the time of day) and no one seemed to know. We walked downhill, we crossed streets, we tried following other people, we screamed at each other, and even tried to go our separate ways. Finally I saw a red mini bus that said "Alhambra" on the side of it and ran to get on (a feeling of pride that I found the bus and Danny did not...a bit mean I know but he was a jerk). I got on and finally Danny did too. We rode the bus up and up and up to the Alhambra where I was praying they would have lockers for our packs since we didn't have time to check into the hotel and the train station didn't have lockers like Rick Steve's had said. They did have lockers thank goodness as we were in for a long day of walking in the sun. We got our audio guides and walked to the entrance of the Generalife gardens.

History: If you are like me and didn't know that the Moors (North African Muslims) ruled Spain for 700 years...well they did. Granada was their grandest city and the amazing Alhambra fortress was the last strong hold of the Moorish kingdom in Spain. In 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella (the Catholic Monarchs) defeated Sultan Boadbdil and marched their troops through the fortress gates. It was in the Palacios Nazaries (insides the Alhambra) that Christopher Columbus is said to have received the "go for it" from Queen Isabel for his expedition to the new world. After years and years and years the Alhambra was forgotten and fell into disrepair. Gypsies eventually moved into the Alhambra. In 1829 Washington Irving moved into the Alhambra to live with gypsies and write their tales. His book Tales of the Alhambra sparked public interest and restoration began.

First impression, “This place rocks."

View of Granada from the Alhambra

Generalife Garden

Sultan’s summer palace in Generalife Gardens

Second impression…”Aladdin’s Palace in real life.”

Summer Palace gardens

(The tree trunk in the very left of the picture is ORGINIAL. It is said that a certain sultan used to speak lovey dovey to his concubines under this tree. Or something like that.)

Danny on the top balcony at the Summer Palace

After visiting the Generalife Gardens and summer Palace we still had a few minutes before our schedule tour of the Palacios Nazaries so we walked around Charles V’s Palace (there wasn’t much to see) and the town area inside the walled fortress.

Fortress/ town gate

(I think it’s pretty awesome.)

Finally our time came to tour the Palacios Nazaries which is THE JEWEL of the Alhambra…the Moorish Royal Palace. The moors didn’t believe in decorating with pictures of things (consider it ideal worship) so the whole inside is hand carved with verses from the Quran.

Can you see all the carvings on the wall? Amazing!

It’s rumored the wooden screens on the windows were to allow the women of the house to look out but not be seen.

Granada in background

The “Throne Room” for lack of a better term

It is here that Christopher Columbus made his pitch to Isabel and Ferdinand.

Looking out to the courtyard from the Throne Room

Courtyard of Lions

Courtyard of Lions (without the Lions)

This courtyard is supposed have an amazing fountain of lions that spurt out water to tell the time but it is being restored…bummer.

The pool and pool house

Moorish Quarter of Granada from the Alhambra

After the palace we went to the old Alcazar, aka fortress. By now it’s really hot and there is no shade and I’m ready to go. We got our packs and contemplated taking the Alhambra mini bus back to the main square and trying to find our hotel from there (horrible memories of never-ending walking in Barcelona filled my head), but we decided to pay the extra 2 euros for a taxi to drop us at the door. Best money ever spent. This set a new precedent for the trip. We arrived at the Hotel Monte Carlo and to our dismay there is no AC again, but at least it’s clean. We cleaned up and headed to the Cathedral. The Royal Chapel is where Isabel and Ferdinand are buried.

Cathedral from the Alhambra

Me and the cool painting

(This painting shows Boabdil giving the key of Granada to the conquering King Ferdinand. Legend (and this painting) claim Boabdil wanted to fall to his knees, but the Spanish king, who had a great respect for his Moorish foe, embraced him instead.)

Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures in the Royal Chapel. Very sad as the Chapel was a highlight of our trip. Usually I don’t care much for Cathedrals but this one was worth the $$$. The treasury contained all things Isabel and Ferdinand including, their clothes, bible, hymn book, sword, and crowns. Also on display were two Spanish flags flown at the Alhambra the day the Catholic Monarchs marched through the gates of the Alhambra and the gold cross Cardinal Mendoza carried through the gates of the Alhambra on the same historic day. The rooms also containeds the first great art collection ever established by a woman, Queen Isabel. The remains of her art collection were on display and included works by Botticelli, Perugino, and Hans Memling - quite impressive. Unfortunately, none of the items in the treasury were labeled but lucky for us we had Rick Steves’ whose self-guided tour we read aloud for our own benefit and what later developed into quite a following of fellow English speaking tourists. I think I have a future as a tour guide (more proof to come in later posts).

We also visited the Chapel where Ferdinand, Isabel, their daughter Juana (the Mad), Juana’s husband Philip (the Fair), and Juana’s brother Michael are buried. Philip was so “Fair” that it drove Juana “Mad” when he died young. For two years Juana kept his casket at her bedside, kissing his embalmed body goodnight. She was later locked up for being crazy. Poor girl.

Once again Rick Steves’ came in handy. On the train we read Rick’s warning about Gypsies (yes they are real) and their scheme with the sprig. Their plan…to hurry and give you a sprig (free) and then a “gypsy blessing” (not free), and then refuse to take coins (because they are bad luck) and of course the smallest bill in euros is a 5. Nice try! On our way out of the Cathedral there were Gypsies everywhere, but lucky for us I have a very firm “NO” which they seemed pretty annoyed with but they left us alone.

Next we decided to take the Alhambra mini bus up thru the Albayzin (Moorish Quarter) to San Nicolas viewpoint which boasts a fabulous view of the Alhambra and a hippie colony.

San Nicolas viewpoint, Danny, and the Alhambra

President Clinton visited here in his youth and the view made such an impression on him that in 1997 on a trip to Spain he made the point of bring his family to Granada to see his favorite spot.

After San Nicolas view point we decided it was time to eat (lunch consisted of a coke zero at the Alhambra and a granola bar brought from home). We chose a café on Plaza Nueva were we had some decent food and encounter an interesting dilemma….”Are you supposed to tip in Spain?” We never really figured it out.

Rick Steves’ recommends eating at a Carmen (a typical Albayzin house with a garden and a memorable but expensive experience) but we decided we didn’t want to pay the money. I later regretted it. Do it.

After dinner we walked the narrow back streets looking for a silk market but all we ever found were normal stores and to my dismay…no Christmas ornaments (I collect Christmas ornaments from places I visit). We also walked around forever trying to find a grocery store to get Danny some large bottles of water. After passing about 20 missionaries and Danny refusing to ask them, we walked backed to the hotel and asked. We finally got some water for Danny and he was a happy camper.

We went to bed early because we had to get up super early to catch a train to Rhonda. I was a bit sad to leave Granada because it was so cool. I mean…it had real gypsies who lived in caves, hippies (who also lived in caves), and Aladdin’s Palace (the Alhambra). How could anything top that? (I now regret not taking pictures of the gypsies, hippies and caves. I do not regret my decision to nix Morocco from our itinerary. Granada was everything I thought Morocco would be but probably 1000 times cleaner.) Granada is magical.

Every single time it comes out the same...

You Are Cinderella!

Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.
Which Disney Princess Are You?

VOTE TONIGHT 4 CHELSIE!!!

Danny's cute cousin is one amazing dancer!!! Vote for Chelsie!

A break from the Spain Posts

I saw this on the news and thought it was amazing. And yes...I cried.

The funniest Spain Day 3 *** Danny has made edits to my original text. See if you can tell where***

So on Day 2 (Wednesday) we decided that we would do a day trip on Thursday to Montserrat. Montserrat is a really old (900 AD) monastery build on the cliff on top of a mountain. It also happens to be a really big pilgrimage site (will explain later). We purchased our package tickets the day before and we had a choice between train then railway or train then cable car. We didn't really understand the options so we choice railway which we later discovered was the less fun way to get up the mountain.

I got up early on Thursday so we could get a good start on our day. There were multiple trains per day we could take (about 2 hours to get there) and of course we wanted to get our money's worth out of the trip. Danny, I later learned, had a different agenda (you can ask him about it in person). So after waiting 2.5 hours for him to get ready (when I say Danny, I really mean myself), we leave to go to the train station (where our train that night was leaving) to put our packs in lockers and then go via metro (good thing we had that t10 ticket and by now knew how to use the metro) to the other train station where our Montserrat train was leaving. After lots of confusion and little signage we found our train. We arrived at Montserrat at noon.

Cable Car
(the funner way to get to Montserrat)

Montserrat
(Um, Danny, its Catholic. Not buddhist)

View

It is crowded. We decide to do Rick Steves' self-guided tour from his book which takes us around the main sites of the monastery's main square and basilica. Then we decided to see the main attraction La Moreneta (aka the Black Virgin).

A little history. So in medieval times some shepherds saw lights coming from a cave in the mountain, went to check things out, and found a black statue of the Virgin Mary. (Actually, la Virgen Morena, that's Russian for "the Black Virgin", wasn't black when she was found. The blackness shows the effect of centuries of smog from pious votives lit at her base.) Thus Montserrat has been a pilgrimage site since early Spain where people come to touch the orb La Moreneta holds in her hand.

So Danny and I go (the present tense is employed here to give emphasis to the past events) stand in line to see the statue; after all, it is THE thing to see. We haven't been standing in line very long when an Italian family of about 10 people comes and stands behind us. This is where things get interesting. There's an iconographic grandmother embodying all stereotypical typecasts, who we think is her younger sisters, her daughter and son-in-law, and grandchildren; all lacking both hygiene and personal space. One of the older ladies is obviously extremely anxious to see the statue. She (one of the old Italian ladies, maybe both, they're basically one in the same, but take up twice the space) can't stand still. She even cut in line which works for a bit until her family gives her dirty looks. Finally the line starts moving and we get inside the Bascilla. Mass has just started. The old Italian lady is besides herself. The line has stopped moving. Apparently she can't wait her turn. She starts tapping my butt. Yes. Tappy-tap-tappy. Tap. Tap-tap-tap-tappy-pinch-tap-gentle pat-tap. I can't move anywhere because the line isn't moving and there is no where to go. This is not acceptable to her so she decides to put the whole front of her body up against the back of mine. I think to myself, "This is extremely uncomfortable. My personal space (and my fantastic hinee) has been completely violated." Finally the line moves and so do I. Again....she taps my butt and the cycle continues.

The world's oldest Boy's Choir (referring to the program age, not the boys) begins singing (picture below). Twenty minutes of butt tapping and body rubbing have past.

I think to myself, "I swear if this lady touches me one more time...". And then she does. I become enraged. I have lost control. I turn around fists clenched in front of me for defense (just in case). I scowl (more of a scream, really)"You have to stop touching me!!". She doesn't understand any English and neither does her family. Danny grabs my shoulders and turns me around to face him. Our conversation goes like this...

Danny: "Shh. What are you doing? Calm down!"
Liz: "That lady has been tapping my butt for 20 minutes!"

Danny puts me in front of him and stands between me and the lady.

Liz: "Has she been tapping your butt too? You know I consider that molesting and its not going to get her any blessing from the Black Virgin any quicker."
Danny: "No. She hasn't touched me. Just calm down."

Another 25 minutes later (no butt tapping) and we get to take this great picture.

Liz touching the Black Virgin's orb

Danny takes me outside to get me an ice cream for my troubles. It was the best ice cream. We go to the video and museum about the monastery. Then we decide to ride the funicular down to the cave were the Black Virgin was found. What it really ended up being was a funicular down to the trail where you could HIKE to the cave. I was not happy about this. Especially since I decided to wear the darn Tevas and they were causing serious blisters (I still have them!).

Funicular

Beginning of hike
(You can see Montserrat in the background)

Danny in front of the chapel which was built around the cave

The "Cave"

After the hike Danny wanted to take the other funicular to the top of the mountain and hike. But because I'm a big poo-poo face, I refused. We took the train back to barcelona, picked up a quick dinner at a bakery, saw the magic fountains in from of Montjuic, and picked up our packs just in time for our Hotel Train to Granada.

Magic Fountains and Montjuic

Hotel Train
(11 hour overnight trip!)

We were worried we wouldn't be able to sleep on the train since we didn't get beds but we actually slept fine! Alhambra here we come!

These are going to get long. Spain Day 2

Second day started off well. We decided to pay the insanely high price for the tourist bus and not worry about trying to walk everywhere. It was the best decision and possibly my favorite part of the trip (sitting with the breeze in my face, taking in the sites while listening to commentary, getting on and off the bus right in front of the sites we wanted to see, and NOT HAVING TO WALK). We decided to do all the Gaudi stuff in the morning then the museums in the afternoon. First stop was the Casa Mila the apartment building Guadi designed. Picture below.


Second stop was the Sagrada Familia the cathedral Gaudi designed which has been under construction for 100 years and will probably be under construction for 100 more. I didn't know if I would really like this cathedral because it looks kinda funky but it was really cool and learning more about all the symbolism made it even more interesting.

The Nativity Facade
(only part finished in Gaudi's lifetime)

The Passion Facade


Interior
(its suppose to look like your standing under trees. Gaudi's religious vision was a love of nature)

Next stop Parc Guell which we almost didn't go to (Rick Steves only gave it one star) but it was my favorite thing we saw this day! Parc Guell was a luxury gated community with a big park Gaudi designed but the idea never caught on. Today it is a public park. Gaudi's house which is a musuem can be found at the park as well. Very cool. I give it 3 stars.

Danny in front of the frog/lizard fountain and market place

Danny on the frog/lizard fountain

Liz in front of Gaudi's house

Top of the market place

The Gate Houses to Parc Guell

We had lunch at the park consisting of focaccia pizzas. Yummy! We decided to take a rest and ride the bus around for the rest of its route before deciding on our next stop.

Bus Buddies!

Olympic torch and stadium

Barcelona at its best....by bus!

We finally decided to get off at the harbor to visit a museum which had the city's roman ruins in its basement. Well it ended up being the wrong museum but we got to take these fun pictures (I think they explain themselves).



After learning lots at the Cataluyna History Museum we walked down to the beach.

So pretty!!!

The Mediterranean!

We got back on the bus, finished the route, and had dinner at Burger King because we were too tired to decide to go anywhere else. It was an excellent day!

Exhausted Danny at Burger King

Oh where to begin? Spain Days 0-1

Before I begin I should give a shout out to my new niece (no name yet..hurry up already!). You can see cute pics of her at the Maxfield Family link to the right.

So our trip started out with a panic. I'll admit Danny and I were not the most prepared people for this trip (lessoned learned believe me!). We didn't start booking hotels or looking up train schedules until a week before. We didn't finish until...well we didn't finish. The night before our departure we were up until all hours of the night trying to reserve all sorts of stuff and pack. We made about 4 trips to Walmart within 2 hours trying to get everything we needed. Finally I just went to bed.

In the morning it was a mad rush to get everything done. In the process I discovered my credit card Danny had been using to book everything with was missing. Major problem. We searched high and low, under every doll and stuff animal and to no avail could find the card. Finally 30 mins before our plane was to depart we left for the airport (good thing its only a 10 min drive away). With no card in hand, I was frantically calling the credit card company who offered very little help. I of course was so panicked about everything that the minute we got through security I had to run to the bathroom to throw up. Danny was waiting outside with 7up in hand. We walked on the plane hoping for the best.

We made it to Salt Lake and to Atlanta, where we had a 12 minute lay over to change planes and of course we had to take a bus to a different terminal (what airline does that to someone??), and finally to Barcelona. Once we got our packs we tried to find the metro station which was not as obvious as we thought it was going to be. We opened up Rick Steves to read the directions and there it was...the credit card! Thank goodness!! However, Rick Steves still didn't help us find the metro (ahem...better description please Rick Steves!). Danny's big moment came to ask the native information desk lady for directions and he spoke English to her! I couldn't believe it. I was in for an adventure.

Finally we found the metro station. We bought our T-10 sharable ticket and got on the train feeling quite good about ourselves. (Picture below).

While riding the metro I was trying to compare our google map of the hotel and the map of the metro to see what stop we should take. I finally figure that we need to change lines to the purple and get off at the University stop. I was telling Danny the instructions when a nice lady next to him asked if we needed help. He showed her the map of where our hotel was and she told us just to get off at the last stop and it would be a short walk. So I figured I wasn't reading the map right and she would know more so we followed her directions. Below are the pictures from our hours of wandering the streets trying to find our hotel because the lady was wrong (and I was right).

What we later discovered is the Block of Discord


Ramblas
(not my favorite...lots of pick pockets and street performers trying to scare tourists)

Finally after my wonderful deduction that "well our hotel is off the ramblas which is towards the harbour. And since I can't see any moutains or ocean I'm going to guess that we should walk downhill because wouldn't the land slop down towards the ocean?" We found the ramblas and I proved to be the superior navigator. A half hour later I was lying on the street cursing and admitting defeat to the city planners after having walked for a total of 2 hours with my pack in 100 degrees and been pooped on by a bird. Danny provided emotional support and got me off the sidewalk and encouraged me to look upon the map once more. We made it to the hotel, Pension Miami, dripping in sweat. For some reason after leaving our packs at the hotel we decided we would try to walk to the Picasso Museum which ended up being rather far (Danny was trying to make up for the 18 hours we spent sitting on the plane and not walking). I was really excited for the museum because I know a fair bit about Picasso and because the museum is housed in a couple of old palaces. It was alright. I still maintain the exhibit I saw 10 years ago at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in SF was better. That night we ate at Pan and Co. which was a bit of a disappointment but much welcomed normal food. I passed out at 6:30 pm.