Granada

Our walk from the bus to White Nest hostel took us through the tiny, crooked streets of the Albacin (Moorish) neighborhood. The hostel is actually close to the bottom of the ravine that runs below the Alhambra. The stream at the bottom was a natural air conditioner- a welcome change after Sevilla. We wandered the streets on Saturday and shared a tortilla with ali-oli sauce and mojitos (hey, it was still hot out and we had had sangria the past 3 days!) at a great little cafe on a pedestrian street filled with bars.

Sunday we were up early and had hiked to the Alhambra by 8. We were with the first group in to the palaces at 830. I don't think that either of us were really ready for what we saw. The level of artistry and intricacy in the tile, stone, wood, and plaster work was stunning. We took a full three hours to wander the multiple palaces, the lush gardens, museum, and fortress. 
The sun was hot as we came back into town, and we were glad that we had done our major sightseeing so early. After a break at the hostel and lunch we wandered town again, stopping in shops, drinking espresso, and winding down to the river. Granada is at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, which still had streaks of snow in July. The river itself was low but glacier blue. 

We spent an hour or two resting and then got dinner before the flamenco show. I stopped in a kebap stand and got pita falafel, while emily opted for shrimp at a cafe that we had stopped at earlier in the day. The only problem was that our waiter had thought she'd ordered razor clams. You should have seen the look on her face. Absolute horror. i think it was made up for when the shrimp finally came. 

The flamenco was at a place called El Chien Andalou, the Andalusian Dog. We were in a long, low, barrel vaulted basement packed with low stools and tables. We ended up sharing our table with an Italian lady (who also spoke Spanish and French), a French lady, and her two sons. The show began with a solo guitarist, added a singer, and then added a dancer. Linda warned me that flamenco was "soooo intense," and was she ever right! I wish i could have seen the lady's feet, because the rhythms coming from the floor and the guitar and the singer and the dancer's hands were captivating. Everything about it was captivating.