Day #27 - The beginning of the end... in Granada

Buenos dias, everyone! Katie and I are starting to freak out a bit with the fact that we moved on today to our LAST city of the trip…it’s so surreal to us that this whole thing has all been the same trip – Pisa and Italy just seem like ages ago to us. It seriously feels like a time warp or something. At the beginning, we never thought we’d reach the end, and now here we are, looking back at all we’ve done. It’s been quite the adventure. ☺

This morning we had a train for Granada at 11:50, so it wasn’t too stressful to catch the bus to the station and get there on time. Again, an easy train ride, we’re pros by now so it’s old hat. I usually just sleep the whole time anyway (err, unless you’re reading, Dad, in which case I mean I watch the scenery). ☺

We found our hostel in Granada, tucked away in some curvy backstreet right by the Alhambra. It’s called “Funky’s”, and so far it lives up to its name…our “private” room is actually attached to a 6-bed dorm that we have to walk through to get to it, and the bathroom door has windowpanes on it, that are only semi-tinted. Hmmm. But, the rooftop terrace is amazing, with great views of the city and lots of friendly people to talk to. This is definitely a true “backpacker” hostel.

We did a little sightseeing this afternoon – have to meet the daily touristy quota! – by going to the Royal Chapel. There we saw the tombs of King Ferdinand and Isabella, and said “thank you” to Isabella for sponsoring Columbus. Otherwise, we decided, things in America probably wouldn’t be the same. ☺ Outside the chapel, there was a really interesting old Moorish neighborhood, the Alcaiceria, that used to be a silk and jewelry market, but apparently now is all touristy shops. Lots of fun, dark, narrow alleyways to explore though. Good thing it was daytime. ☺

Back at the hostel, we had some cheap appetizers for “happy hour” – these amazing spring rolls that came with lots of greasy chips. We met a bunch of people too – a couple Austrailians (they’re everywhere), two people from Seattle, and a guy named Christian from Toronto. Most of them have been traveling by themselves, for a lot longer than we have – 7 months for one guy.

Katie and I decided to go for dinner tonight in the area of town called the Albayzin, which is a twisty hilltop old Moorish neighborhood, which instead of streets has mostly rocky footpaths that wind their way uphill. We wandered the backstreets until we found a good sidewalk restaurant with fish, which is what we wanted to try. We ordered a menu, and for my first course I tried gazpacho soup, another Andalusian specialty I had wanted to try. It was basically chilled tomato soup with herbs…which was not bad, but so hard to eat because I’m not used to cold soup! Then, our fish plates arrived…and they were whole fish. Yep, heads, tails, and all. It looked like they had been caught, just dipped in batter, and fried. We tried a little bit at first, unsure. There were 2 big fish, with all the bones to pick out, and a bunch of little fish, which we’re pretty sure were sardines. Then, there were some onion-ring-type things that I think were squid rings. Well, we sucked it up and ate all of our fish, trying not to think about it. I’ll admit that they were actually pretty tasty (minus the sardines though…which had this “weird” flavor). Again, a dining experience not to forget. ☺

On our way back after dinner, we stopped to admire the view from San Nicolas’s viewpoint. Right across the valley from us was the giant Alhambra, towering on the hill, all lit up at dusk. It was just gorgeous.

Back at the hostel, we had a low-key night, just hanging out with the people we’d met this afternoon on the rooftop terrace. One of the Australians played some Australian music on a guitar, and we all shared travel stories and ideas, and discussed such deep topics as why Australians also drive on the “wrong” side of the road. Well, that’s what I call it. ☺ To them, driving on the left is the “right” side of the road. Those crazy Australians.