La Mezquita, Cordoba

Granada and the Alhambra

Unfortunately we were still on a time schedule, all thanks to the Alhambra tickets selling out for the following day which was the day that I actually wanted, giving us more time in Almeria and less of a rush to get to Granada. BUT, being Semana Santa and all, those tickets sold out at least 2 months in advance. So Thursday it was, and we had to drive 2 1/2 hrs, get the rental car back, get checked into our hostel, and catch the bus up to the Alhambra by 6pm. When you buy tickets for the Alhambra, you buy for a time slot. The disadvantage of having the 6pm slot is that the Alhambra closes at 8pm and they say it takes at least 2 1/2 hrs to see the whole thing with the gardens and palace included. So, once again, I was feeling that damn, looming dark cloud of having to hurry in a country that's not exactly set up for the face paced life. And it wasn't helping that Granada was bigger than I thought, I was driving in Spain without a valid driver's license and a rental car, and Juliana kept calling and calling my phone while I was trying to navigate. We were meeting her in Granada and she was impatiently waiting for us at the hostel and we had to return the car to the airport on the outskirts of the city and then take an expensive taxi ride to get to our hostel. But I would be damned if we were gonna miss the Alhambra having bought 5 tickets just in case and having to book them months in advance. When we finally got to the point where we were on the bus up to the Alhambra, the streets were so narrow and jam-packed with people from Semana Santa that the bus had a hard time getting through the crowds of people in the streets.

When we finally arrived, we were perfectly on time, thank goodness, but it was only Juliana, my mom and I, and I had bought 5 tickets just in case other people wanted to go. I tried to sell my tickets at the door to people who hadn't booked in advance but there were only people who were humming and hawing over the idea and I just finally said "screw it! I lost some money". I didn't want to miss a minute more of the Alhambra.

Let me tell you, the Alhambra does not disappoint. It is an enormously gorgeous, immaculate oasis of a place. Its located up in the green hillside scattered with palm trees, overlooking the whole valley of Granada. Between the gardens, the fountains, the Arabic decor and architecture it is surely fit for a king. There is absolutely no question as to why a king and queen would choose this as their kingdom. The location is lush and dramatic yet tranquil and dreamy. You can't help but fantasize about living there on the grounds of the Alhambra. Something that should not be missed if you're ever in the south of Spain.

After the Alhambra the rain started to poor. We stood in the rain getting soaked until the bus came. We met a couple from Seattle that we chatted with in the rain(go figure). And on the bus we chatted about life, work and travels while the bus driver was aggressively yelling at someone on the phone while driving crazily through the downpour and heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

When we got back to the hostel, Makuto Backpackers Hostel if I remember correctly, we finally had a chance to look around. It was a super-cute, bohemian-style hostel with hammocks, a tree house, 2 kitchens, a bar and a chill out room. In the chill out room there was a tv, bean bags, a coffee table and 2 crappy guitars for whoever wanted to play. They sold meals there for a decent price, drinks and even had a hookah that you could buy smoke for and use for a cheaper price than the teterias (tea houses). We ate dinner there that night and were pleasantly surprised to have some spicier food cooked by a Mexican guy who worked there. Me and my mom decided that we needed to try the hookah. We puffed on and off for a few hours while mom sat in the gravel by the hammocks playing one of the crappy guitars and singing.

The people who worked at the hostel were really nice, open people who had done their fair share of travelling and some were also learning the language like me. There was a guy from Germany who was Filipino, a guy from Mexico, another girl from Holland I think, and a woman from Galicia working there. They all spoke English and their native language and two of them were there trying to learn Spanish. They were all very hospitable and friendly.

Lets see, what else did we do in Granada? We spent quite awhile walking up and around the gypsy caves that are now plastered and made into homes, restaurants and clubs. We went to a Moroccan tea house. We did lots of shopping as there is a lot of cool Arabian, Moroccan, hippyish stuff to buy there for a decent price...things like beautiful jewelry, leather goods, cloths and textiles for drapes and scarfs, paintings, lanterns, boxes, mirrors, etc. I wanted it all. In Granada I kept thinking "man, I just wish I could buy more stuff. It would look so great in my house someday. But how on earth would I get all this stuff back with me?" I had to really keep a tight rein on my spending there in Granada because I really could've boughten a million things. Our hostel was close to the famous St. Nicolas Mirador, so went up there to catch the sunset with the Alhambra as a backdrop that we had heard so much about. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and rainy and we didn't see much of a sunset at all. But the Alhambra looked gorgeous once again from this view point and there were lots of peddlers selling there wares which made for a fun, lively vibe there at the lookout. The mirador was full of interesting hippyish people, gypsies and artists. We even got to hear some gypsy tunes on the guitar while a small group of people clapped to the rythm.

What Juliana and I noticed about Granada was that the people seemed much more open, friendly and cultured as opposed to Cordoba. There was a much more international vibe there in Granada than in Cordoba. We both kinda had the feeling that we think we may have enjoyed living in Spain a bit more if we had been placed somewhere like Granada with its bohemian vibe and higher level of acceptance and appreciation of other cultures. But you never know till you're actually living there day in and day out I suppose.

Also, Granada is known for the fact that at almost every bar or restaurant, when you order a drink whether it be a beer or a coke, they give you free little tapa. This is pretty cool indeed, although, depending on where you go, they can be a delicious little morsel or a something hardly edible. You do not get to choose what the tapa will be, its whatever the cook is doing at that moment and everyone gets the same thing who is dining there at that time. Either way, its a nice gesture I suppose. We really enjoyed one of the places that was suggested by a friend, called Recas(I think). While my mom and I wanted to check out more tapas(of course), Juliana wanted to do more shopping(of course). So as me and Juliana have spent much time travelling together over the last 9 months, she lets me eat (smart girl) and I let her shop (she really doesn't spend any money, so I haven't had to intervene) and we both stay happy that way and have become good travel partners because of it.

In all the rush to get to the Alhambra in time, I forgot my camera at the hostel. So, for now, there are no pictures :( Once I get back home in the U.S. I will get the Granada pics from my mom's camera and include them in this post. So, for now you will just have to read about it and envision it for yourself :)

Renting a car and headin down to Almeria

After 2 days in Toledo, we headed back to the Madrid Airport to pick up the rental car. My mom really wanted to be able to swim at least once in the Mediterranean on her trip to Spain so I asked around and was told that Almeria would be a good choice. People said it was a good choice because It wasn't AS FAR north (hence warmer and closer) as some of the other Mediterranean beaches and that the beaches were "virgin."

But before we could get on the road to Almeria, my mom wanted to look into to changing her flight and staying a few more days in Spain. We talked with a girl at the ticket desk in the airport and she was able to arrange a really nice deal for my mom with basically the same flight pattern, schedule and price. I think she only had to pay around 200$ to change her flight(which is cheaper than most).

We then picked up the car and headed out of Madrid. Once again I was a ball of stress. In my 8 months here, I hadn't been driving at all. I was not only out of practice, but worried about different road signs, getting lost and other drivers on the road. Not to mention we were on a bit of a tight schedule for the first few days so I also felt this nagging sense of urgency which shouldn't be allowed but sometimes can't be avoided on vacations. Originally my mom was going to drive and had gotten the necessary International Driver's License through AAA in the U.S. before coming. She had to present that when renting the car and they assumed that she would be the driver. But then at the last minute we decided that it might be a little too stressful having her drive in a COMPLETELY new country straight out the gate. So I drove which worked out good. That way she could be the navigator and also look out the window to enjoy the changing scenery on her vacation.

Almeria was very dry, kind of like Eastern Washington and apparently Hollywood has filmed lots of westerns there in the past and packaged them as if they were the old west. One of Clint Eastwood's old westerns was filmed there but I'm not sure which one it was. Also, there was a ton of agriculture there in Almeria, but most of it was covered with white tarps for miles and miles. We were weren't exactly sure why. We drove for about 5 1/2 to 6 hours before the big, tan desert hills broke and we got a dramatic glimpse of the turquoise Mediterranean. It was gorgeous!!!

We pulled into Carboneras which is a small white beach town in Almeria and started looking for a grocery store. That town was really difficult to navigate through because the roads were so narrow that one car could hardly fit and certainly not 2. Most of them were one way streets, so we could see our destination but never quite make it there because all the sudden we would have to turn in the opposite direction according to the one way signs. It was frustrating because we were racing against the sun so we could see a Mediterranean sunset with a little picnic down at Playa de los Muertos. We found a Mercadona, did a quick shopping trip, found our hostel(not without trouble), checked in and headed up to the entrance to Playa de los Muertos.

It was a little hike down to the beach but nothin too crazy. It was superwindy and a bit cold still in April. We had hoped to go swimming but that evening it was just too cold and windy. From the wind and rough, choppy waters, the color of the Mediterranean changed from the turquoise we had scene earlier to a cloudy blue. We did, however, invent a fabulous sandwich in all our hurried state of grab this, grab that at the grocery store. We had these fresh whole wheat mini loaves of bread that we bought, spreadable goat cheese, dry sausage/salami type link, and jalapeno stuffed green olives. With my new knife, we spread on the goat cheese, chopped up the salami and olives and piled our sandwiches high. They were SO incredibly good. We sat in the sand, facing the water and eating our fabulous new inventions while I sipped straight from a bottle of red wine.......ahhhhh!!! Only one problem....we couldn't see the sunset. Playa de los Muertos is on Cabo de Gata which means that our sunset was being blocked because we were on the eastern side of the Cape. Good one Jessey!! Way to think that one through. lol.

The next morning we started out by taking advantage of our free breakfast of lattes and the traditional Spanish breakfast of toast with olive oil and grated tomato on it. Then, luckily the owner of the hostal was kind enough to let my mom make an international call on her phone to figure out why her credit card wasn't working. It was a 1-800 number but from another country it doesn't quite work like that(another little added stress). But anyhow, the lady was sweet and let my mom use her office and phone for a minute. Meanwhile I brought the car around, we loaded up and headed down to the beach again but this time just the city beach. We got in the water a little although it was pretty cold. We didn't actually swim, just got wet so that we could say we did it. We bathed in the Mediterranean. Then, it was off to Granada......

Toledo

Our first night in Toledo my mommy dearest had to catch up on her sleep and try to shake the jet-leg a little. She had slept a solid 12 hours that night when I decided I should wake her up so we could explore the city. Since my step dad has her spoiled with fresh coffee delivered bedside every day back home, she requested that I bring some coffee directly to her bed. Since unlike Seattle, coffees to-go aren't the norm here in Spain, I was a little worried at how I would get her coffee to her bedside that morning. But since I love her, I pulled a few strings in the restaurant down below and they let me take the glass cup up to our hostal and she got her precious coffee in bed. And joking aside, I was glad to do it:) I was excited to have her with me.

Toledo was cool because it has the Gothic architecture which gives it a little bit of a cold, spooky and mysterious feel. It feels a bit like a fairy tale and you can easily envision knights in shining armor riding around on their white horses. Also, it is built in a river valley which gives it lots of hills to hike up. I actually was looking to lose a few pounds so I welcomed all these butt busting hills. Luckily my mom is a great travel partner and had no problem keepin up. In fact I'd say she kept up better than most 20 something year olds that I know. We spent the entire day trekking up and down the steep hills of the city. We walked down to the river by the gorgeous bridge, into the agave, back up to the hostel, around to shops, and basically just took pictures all day.

In Toledo, I wanted to buy a knife since I often wish I had one here for various reasons AND I had heard that Toledo is famous for its knives and swords. A sword, not so easy to take back to the U.S., so I bought a really cool, Gothic looking pocket knife with a dragon's head on the end and a sketch of a dragon on the side. Its pretty sick!!! I have used it a lot already...at picnics that is. But I also just like knowing that I have it JUST IN CASE. Although I've been informed that it is illegal here to carry one. Oops.

I know everyone hates to hear this but I haven't been altogether very stoked on the food in Spain. For my taste buds, everything seems bland and repetitive to me. I will later blog on exactly why I think this is in a later blog. BUT, I had some of the best food that I've had in Spain at a restaurant in Toledo. We read about it in my tourist guide book and thought we should try and find it. It was worth the trouble we had finding it for sure. It's called Bar Ludeña in la plaza Magdalena. It was completely full on their patio and there was a wait list for the restaurant, so we just saddled up to the bar and ordered what the bartender suggested. We had a sampler of sausages that tasted like they could have been deer meat. We had a delicious stew called caramusas with deer meat, peas and a slightly spicy tomato sauce. We also had sardines in a garlic, vinegar and oil which was THE BOMB. I have tried these boquerones en vinagre many times in Spain but this recipe was by far the most tasty. Every little bite was scrumptious and we left that restaurant feeling fat and happy.

Other things we enjoyed in Toledo were the manchengo cheese with membrillo, which is like a fruit butter, spread on top and then the little mazapan treats that Toledo is famous for. The mazapan is something that I have seen in the U.S. as well and apparently started originally somewhere in Greece and has spread all over the world. It is made in large quantities in Toledo by the nuns there. Toledo was at one time considered the spiritual capital of the world and still has a lot of convents where they make mazapan for a living.

Procession Semana Santa in Toledo

The Mother Daughter Adventure Begins....

A couple weeks ago, I was blessed with a visit from my mom aka Pacific Northwest folk musician Susan Welch. lol. I was soooooo happy to have her come all this way, across the Atlantic ocean on a 16 hour flight to come spend time with me and see a little bit of the world I have been living in over the past 8 months. It really meant so much to me. Like many of the other Americans in my programs, I didn't go home for the holidays so I was really missing the feeling of having someone around who loved me unconditionally and understood me as much as any person can understand another. You must consider the fact that you are perceived very differently when you speak another language and with a strange accent and lots of little mistakes mind you. It felt really good to have someone around who saw me in the light that I am used to being seen in, rather than as a silly little foreigner. Plus, I wanted to hear my mom's impressions of the country even if only from the perspective of vacationer, rather than someone living and working in the country which is a whole nother ball game as you could imagine.

So, our trip started with me picking her up at the Madrid airport on a Monday morning. We both shed a couple tears at the airport, me more than her understandably. I have just been alone over here for what seems like forever and missing SO many people. To see her face just made me so happy and I am more of "a tears of joy" than a tears of sadness person.

So, after the waterworks, we took the Metro to the bus station and then caught a 45 minute bus to Toledo. I feel a little bad cuz I was stressing myself out by worrying about all our plans and making sure I we caught the right connections and found our way around these cities on public transportation and such. My poor mama was probably not understanding my stress and was feeling her own weird exhaustion from being jet-legged and overwhelmed in a new country and language. But we found our hostal, which as it turns out, is not a hostel but a step up from that where you get your own room but is less expensive than a hotel. Its a great way to go when travelling through Spain and only costed 45 € a night for 2 people. And what we call a hostel, where you share a room with others and there is a community kitchen, is called an albergue apparently. Anyways, so our hostal was really nice and the people that worked there were super-nice as well. We had a little balcony and from it where able to watch one of the processions of Semana Santa come through at night. I thought the night processions where much more effective and dramatic. Up next is a video that I shot from our balcony. Stay tuned for more mother daughter adventures :) This is only the beginning!!

Mojo Picon..from the Canary Islands

One of the ladies that I teach on Tuesday nights made this for us one night. I absolutely LOVED it. I know that it is traditionally used as a sauce for small boiled potatoes but I could see myself using it also as a sauce over white fish like snapper, cod or halibut or even shrimp or scallops. It is very simple but a tiny bit spicy and most definitely worth trying. Enjoy!!!

Mojo Picon

(pronounced moho peek-own)

250 centilitres of olive oil (metric people, sorry)

Some drops of white vinegar

1 clove of garlic

Some leaves of parsley

leaves of cilantro (not many, it´s much stronger than parsley)

A pinch of salt

Blend all ingredients together and serve over boiled potatoes such as baby reds or yukon golds or whatever soft-textured small potatoes you can find. Or if you're like me, try it over white fish or even chicken. And if you want if more spicy, just add more garlic. Feel free to play with the recipe a little.