05-07 February 2010 was our school trip to Granada in the South of Spain. Although I could write volumes on the place, awesome pretty much sums it up.
Befort the sunrise I walked to the FGC, where I took the L7 to the Provença station where we transferred to the Metro, taking us to the RENFE station at Ptg. de Gracia. We took the train to the airport, BCN, and took the bus to the terminal. We met up with the group and went though security, boarded our 9am Vueling flight and flew to Granada’s regional airport. We transfered to a charter bus which brought us to our hotel in the city center. For those of you keeping track, that is 6 modes of transportation all in the morning – oh yea!.
The city was under a cloudy sky but the weather turned for the better as we hit the streets for a walking tour with our local guide, Alfonso.
We hit the streets with our guardian angel (spanish student from Bacrelona who hangs out with us) and found a traditional tapas place which you order a beer and it includes tapas. Great way to eat lunch for 3€. We had fun eating, drinking, and learning Marc’s dice/BS game and then headed out for our organized tour of the Capilla Real, the royal chapel where Spain’s royalty Ferdinand and Isabella are now.
The place was my first true exposure to moorish and islamic architecture which kept me amazed until the next best thing (continue reading). The church is a typical roman catholic church and is very romanesque or traditional in the sense that the use of imagery and sculpture was exuberant (where moorish/islamic architecture features ornamentation instead, more below).
At this point, I would like to point out that the pictures here in the post are only a fraction of those from the trip. You can see them here or check them out from the link at the end of the post (as always). Of the 3 full cards, I filtered out 300 of the best (out of over a thousand). Gotta love digital cameras.
After seeing columbus’ sword and the king’s crown, we left the church for the streets and a walking tour of Granada with our guide. He took us around and we just went on a walk, with lots of photo stops.
We toured the gypsy part of the city (part of Granada’s UNESCO World heritage site) and saw the roots of Flamenco dancing and came across a great photo op. Meet Granada’s La Alhambra.
We saw a preview of what saturday held in store and then hit the road again touring the streets of the city. We explored the curvy streets on the edge of town and then headed back for the festivities of the night.
The night included a quick stop at the hotel and a rendezvous at a series of bars. We enjoyed lots of beer, tapas, and good company. It was a fun night and we all were tired by the end of the night. The next morning was energetic, beginning with a early lunch at the hotel of bocadillos, mimosas, and some cereal. We boarded the bus for the mysterious monument we had heard so much about then headed up the hill. The sun was out and shining over the humid and foggy city of Granada. As we approached the hill top, we saw La Alhambra’s walls grow until we entered the tropical resembling area.
The place was sweet. From the towers and walls surrounding the complex to the ruins from the barracks of years ago to the roman theater which was unfinished all stood out as the day’s greatest highlight, until we hit the palace. La Alhambra is a beer in the region, but is better known as Spain’s most visited monument (according to my fav source, wikipedia). The monument stood as the moorish kings home for many of the years between 711 and 1492. Lots of history lies within the walls of this sweet place, which words and pictures could never substitute the experience of visiting it in person.
Our tour continued thought the site into the summer palace and then we headed back into the town where we found some graffiti walls which crossed the line from vandalism to art. We spent the rest of the day playing around in the area, then heading home for some wine tasting, games, flamenco, and sleep. Saturday included a visit to Granada’s hillside and a famous poet’s Granadan house. We flew home to BCN and made it back just in time for our regular 9pm dinner Sunday night.
The story of the trip really needs to be experienced thought the pictures I took. You will find 2 sets:
» The Best of the Best (on Flickr)
» The Whole Set (all Granada pics, around 300)
Enjoy!
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