Granada impressions

As we begin our second week in Granada, there are some images that come to mind and that I hope will give you a sense of our experience here. We live in the Albaycin, the old, old Moorish area of Granada. It is on, and down, the hill facing the Alhambra. We live about half way down. The streets are like a maze, none going in a straight line, all widening and then narrowing. Sometimes I can almost touch both sides at once, so they are occasionally only 6 feet wide. There are steps, none very great but seemingly infinite in number, that take you up and down the streets. Sometimes the alleys open into small squares, like the one near us with a fountain and huge bougainvillea in partial bloom that maybe 2 dozen people a day see and enjoy. The streets curve and change names frequently. All are made of rocks; some are like river rocks that have been set 2/3 of the way in cement. Others are narrow rectangles that make a pattern or design. Sometimes the two are mixed in the same street.

If we go down toward Plaza Nueva, the Moroccan shops start about half way down, with their open displays of clothing, jewelry, odds and ends and the scent of incense. Mixed with them are the food places, serving tea, coffee, Moroccan meals or maybe crepes, or they are places to buy food, like pastry shops with baklava etc. This is beginning to feel like home now and we sometimes smile and greet the shop keepers. There is one place where twice now we have stopped and had lasagne for lunch, sitting at a table outside, enjoying the sun with the other, much younger folks who populate that area. Rick Steves claims that the area is populates with hippies who have come from well-to-do families in the north and are rebelling in groups here. They have what I think of as "rasta" hair, lots of piercing and tatoos, and lots of dogs. Dog poop is everywhere and we are used now to watching where we step. It's just part of this place.

Where we are is not particularly dangerous and it is well lit at night. We make it a point not to be out late (after midnight) because we do look very much like tourists. Violent crime is very rare here.

The house we live in is 400 years old and is itself a kind of twisted structure. When you come in the entry door, there is a rented apartment on each side. As you walk toward the back, you realize that the space above you is open to the sky. When you reach the opposite wall, you are facing a third apartment. To get to ours, you need to go left and up a spiral staircase that has big, solid steps and is painted a bright blue. About 3/4 of the way up is our door. If you continue up, you reach Rafa and Maya's apartment. They are the landlords. Their door is off a small patio. You can continue up wrought iron stairs to a deck with a table and chairs and a beautiful view of the Alhambra and a partial view of greater Granada. The houses are joined together at the outside walls on each side and it looks like a jumble when you look out over the rooftops from the deck. For living so close together, it is very quiet here. There is an occasional motorcycle that goes by or voices that seep in, but those are the exception.

Living here is being in a different world. It is old, exotic, curious and beautiful. I would like to return when it is summer; I think it would be even more wonderful when everything is in full bloom!

Photos: starting from the top: the view from our terrace of the Alhambra, the narrow streets and bougainvillea, walking down to the Moroccan shops on the rock streets, and our little fountain near the apartment.