Spain, Day Two... "Paradise on Earth"

This was easily my favorite day of our entire trip! (Which is why it took me so long to write this post. Sorry!)
We woke up super early (left the hotel by 7am!) to head to the Alhambra and Generalife. I went with no expectations (thinking I might be bored, what an idiot!) and I ended up being mesmerized. I could have spent the entire day there! I think the pictures will be "pretty" but you just can't imagine how it feels to stand there, in that place where people were standing over a thousand years ago. The architecture and detailing is amazing, and the history is fascinating. It's almost overwhelming to be there. The beauty is exquisite just to visit, and then to think that this is where people lived, and this was their "norm" is pretty crazy. It's magnificent. Splendid. Enchanting. This is the kind of thing that makes America feel so young and immature. This the the what I was hoping to see on my first trip to Europe...not just a different culture, but history that goes back further than my mind can even imagine.

I could tell you so much about the Alhambra, but I will just share a few facts:
-Alhambra in Arabic means "red castle." It was built by the Moors (Muslims)
-This building dates back to the 9th century!!
-It was a military fortress with a view over the whole city (you'll see this in my pics)
-In the 13th century, the first king of the Nasrid dynasty moved in, making it a royal residence
-Kings lived in it, and it was a small township, until the mid 1500's, when it became abandoned
-It was "discovered" by scholars in the 19th century and is now Spain's most significant and well known Islamic Architecture
-Nothing was done just to be cool, each archway has a meaning and everything has a purpose. So cool!
-Water is everywhere! "Water — so rare and precious in most of the Islamic world — was the purest symbol of life to the Moors. The Alhambra is decorated with water: standing still, cascading, masking secret conversations, and drip-dropping playfully." -Rick Steves
-The gardens (Generalife) surrounding the buildings (Alhmabra) are equally impressive.

On the bus to the Alhambra, we met the NICEST man! His name was John and he's from Australia! He had been in Sevilla (which he cutely pronounced "seh-VILL-uh" when most pronounce it "say-VEE-yuh") for five weeks doing photography stuff, and was in Granada just for a day and night, to see Alhambra. *Random trivia: He told us he was staying at the 'World's Narrowest Hotel' and Zac said "oh, it's that small?" and he said "no, it's great. But it really is the Guinness World Record holder for being the narrowest hotel." He was so kind and we talked quite a bit, but then got separated once inside the grounds.
You will have to click on the link to the album to see all the pics, but here are a few of my favorites.
Here is that view of the city...and isn't it cool? I love all the white buildings.
The ceiling in one part of the Palace.
Gorgeous! I took that pic!
Some gorgeous roses in the Generalife. You can not imagine how amazing that place smelled!
Amazing! They take so much pride in the gardens.

This is where they held important meetings and night time entertainment.
The buildings are amazing on their own, but then when you think about how they were constructed hundreds of years ago, it makes them even more wonderful!
"Up the Darro River, the royal aqueduct diverted a life-giving stream of water into the Alhambra. It was channeled through a decorative fountain to irrigate the bigger garden outside, then along an aqueduct into the Alhambra for its 2,000 thirsty residents." Water runs through the entire place, so the sound of it is so soothing and serene. If you look closely, you will see it in many of the pics that show the ground.

We spent several hours at the Alhambra/Generalife, then afterwords we went to the gift shop and I bought this nifty book. It has amazing pics and describes it in an interesting way that's easy to read. :)
After leaving the Alhambra grounds, we went back to town for lunch. We ate at a pizzeria (surprise, surprise!) and felt adventurous for trying a free tapa that was served to us. For those of you who might not know, Tapas are very popular in Spain, and they are kind of like appetizers, as they are usually just a plate full of finger food. Spaniards eat lots of jamon (ham), seafood (which still in completely in tact, head, eyes and all...eww!) and cheese. They do not like fruits and veggies, because before they were a nation with money, they ate only fruits and veggies, so now they don't like to eat it. We craved it, but that's another story. Anyways, we ended up eating lots of pizza, since that was safe. (neither Zac nor myself like ham or seafood) The tapa we were served at this meal looked potato salad. I was right that it was potatoes, but when I tried I bite I realized it also had prawns and some type of sour-curdled-tasting tartar sauce mayonaisse dressing. Ew. At least we tried it, right? Zac ordered a coke, and after doing so, we realized that a beer was only 2 Euros, but a Coke was 4. Haha, who would think you could get a beer cheaper than a coke? We also got a Caprese salad. Yum!
We walked around some more after lunch and happened to come across a protest rally. They were the happiest and kindest protesters I've ever seen. It was for the postal carriers. I'm not sure exactly what changes they wanted made, but don't they look like they are having fun, just partying in the streets?

It started out very chilly, but it was such a beautiful day! Look at that sky!After awhile, we headed back to the hotel for a short nap. When we woke up, we decided to go to the Albaicin, the cities Moorish quarter. We were told it's better not to be there after dark, but we never once felt threatened, and honestly it seemed perfectly safe to us. While on the bus, it was stopped, and I was looking out the window and saw our friend John!! He's the one walking across the street in the hat and backpack. We thought about jumping off the bus to catch up with him, but he got into a Taxi. I guess it wasn't meant to be. I wish we had at least gotten his last name so we could keep in touch online. Oh well...we'll just be stalkers. :)We climbed up to the Mirador St. Nicolas to get a view of the city and Alhambra. It was something I will never forget. The view was amazing...
This 14 year old boy was the most unbelievable classical guitarist I've ever seen! They were filming a documentary about him, so we watched for a bit while he played and as they interviewed him. He is completely self taught, and didn't start until he was 9. (I can't believe you can get that good in just five years!) I have a short video of him (but he was getting tired because they were making him play non-stop for sooo long) here.
The Alhambra!!!
We went to this cool "hillside restaurant" (that's my term for it, not theirs) and had drinks. It was very swanky and the view was gorgeous...I felt very rich in that moment, as we sipped our Sangria and Beer. This next picture was taken by some friends that we made, Keith and Sue. They sat near us, and we we heard them speaking and could tell they were American, we started chatting with them. This led to spending the afternoon together, then they invited us to dinner. I hope we will continue a friendship with them, because they are truly amazing and inspiring people. They live in Seattle and had great advice on life, parenting, and traveling, plus lots of neat stories to share as well. Spending the afternoon/evening with them was the main reason that this was my favorite day! :)

When we all left St. Nicolas, we walked around the Albaicin and wandered into the old Mosque. We wanted to go in, but you have to get permission thirty days in advance to be permitted. We took a picture in the courtyard/garden area.
We shopped in some narrow streets. The shops were so cool. Keith bought a knife from Morocco, that reminded me of the kind seen in the movie Aladdin. It looked very legit. Rusty and all! :)
After lots of walking, some ice cream, shopping, and more walking, they took us to eat. They had been to Sultan's Restaurant earlier in their trip and loved it, so we joined them for some Moroccan food. Hummus to start, and I had chicken and rice cooked in a tajine, and Zac had meatballs in a tajine. (Don't worry, I didn't know what a tajine was either, until that night!) For dessert, they ordered crepes, and the waiter-recommended "Sultan's dessert" which was yogurt with honey and almonds, and some other spices. It was "incredible!" as Keith exclaimed! :)
After dinner with our new friends, we hugged and parted ways. Zac and I stopped at an internet store and then headed home. Just writing this post makes me want to go back and relive that day again. It was our first full day in Spain, but it was my favorite. What neat experiences, sights, and conversations. So unforgettable!