Weekend Trip: Granada

And now, a quiz.

1. The Catholic Kingdom of Spain conquered the Islamic Moorish-held city of Granada in the year 1492 (same year as when Ferdinand and Isabel sent Columbus out), after how many years of Moorish rule?

a) 50, so Muslim Arab culture hadn't really settled in

b) 250, roughly the same amount of time as America has existed, so there is still a faint trace of Arab culture even after this long

c) 400, and Arab culture still persists to this day

d) 800, so imagine a kingdom lasting from the year 1212 until now

2. What are some of the highlights of Granada?

a) The Alhambra - a massive Arab fortress containing four sultans' palaces and extensive gardens

b) The Cathedral and Royal Chapel where Ferdinand and Isabella are buried, and many gory statues which frighten children 

c) The winding, narrow Moorish quarter where you can buy a prayer rug and smoke a hookah pipe and forget you're in Europe

d) Whitewashed caves on a hillside where gypsies have lived for 600 years

3. What does the word "Granada" mean?

a) Grenade

b) Fields of grain

c) Pomegranate

d) "Nothing, Grandma."

4. How was the Allebests' and Clarkes' trip to Granada indeed like a grenade?

a) Because the amount of dog doo on our children's shoes made the fathers of both families want to plan a military attack on the city

b) Because certain members of the family accidentally pulled the pin out of the weekend and it was a ticking time bomb - they shaped up and put the pin in in the nick of time before we all blew to high Heaven

c) Actually no one put the pin back in, and we were each our own grenade and we launched ourselves repeatedly, blasting tears and yelled words at enemy and innocent civilian alike

d) Because the sides of our rental car were torn to shreds resembling post-grenade shrapnel by the narrowness of the streets

Answers:

1. d - you can't believe how Middle Eastern Granada feels. Even after 520 years it still feels both Catholic/Spanish and Muslim/Arab.

2. All of the above. So much to see, and in a mountain pine/palm tree tropical landscape of rolling hills that reminded me of our beloved Northern California

3. Granada has two meanings, unrelated, a (grenade) and c (pomegranate). The emblem of the city is the pomegranate, so pomegranate Art is everywhere.

4. Parts of all are true. The weekend felt at times like an exploding bomb. But luckily the dog doo washed off easily, and the car never actually made contact with the sides of buildings, though it was darn close!! At times we only had a couple of inches on both sides, and I'm pretty sure the stress took years off of Erik's life. 

Tempting (and appropriate) though it is to continue with more exploding grenade analogies, I will now compare our trip not to a grenade, but to the other translation of "Granada," a pomegranate. These fruits are some of the most delicious and nutritious and beautiful on earth, but they are a lot of work to eat! A whole lot of weird white pithy stuff to pop out one shiny, ruby red kernel of juice. I don't usually don't take pictures of the gross white stuff moments on the trip, but they are part of the experience so I will mention a few in between the sweet, juicy gems that usually fill the family photo album.

The Clarkes arrived late (1 am) Friday night, and Saturday morning we rented two cars and took off on the 3 hour drive to Granada. It was a beautiful, sunny day ("A clear blue sky!! How long has it been since we've seen a clear blue sky??" exclaimed the Clarkes, who live in Amsterdam). Stone moaned repeatedly from the back seat "Why did you take me here? I want to go back to Seville!! Actually no, I want to go home to California. I'm tired... I'm hungry... I don't want to be here..." It appears that someone in the family has reached travelling capacity. Upon arrival in rainy, cold, mountainous Granada, we entered the narrowest, steepest, bumpiest cobblestone roads we have yet driven (keep in mind - two 7-passenger stick-shift rental vans). I should have taken pictures - we were in real danger of not only destroying the cars, but getting completely wedged in between the buildings!

We finally arrived and dropped our suitcases off - we rented two identical, adjoining apartments, the best feature of which was the loft. At the end of the weekend Stone sobbed "I don't want to leave Granada!!! I hate school in Seville, and I want to live in the attic!!!"

The view from our apartment window. That castle on the hill is the Alhambra!

Aaron, Stone and Sophie walking to lunch/dinner in the pouring rain

What you see in this photo is the pomegranate juice moment. Smiling!  Fun Moroccan restaurant! Otter pops! (The owners are a husband and wife team who live above the restaurant and do all the cooking themselves - they were lovely. They brought the Otter Pops for the kids at the end). What you don't see is the pith of the pomegranate that we had to pick through to get to this smiley moment. Stone and Sophie literally would not leave my lap all through the meal, wouldn't eat the food, cried, whined, were banished from the table, etc. Travelling is really so hard on them - they were doing their best but these circumstances (not enough sleep, very little control over their world, constant transitions from one place and activity to another, unknown place and activity) set them up to struggle. And they have not mastered the skill of struggling quietly.

Day-time tours of the Alhambra palaces sold out weeks in advance, so I had set up a night-time tour. Erik told me there was no chance he would take Stone on the tour (it started at 7:30, so that was a good call)... so Erik stayed home with him and the rest of us set out in the rain to walk to the Alhambra.

That group ahead is us - I was speechless at the beauty around us - it reminded me of Muir Woods, (North of San Francisco), one of my favorite places on Earth.

We arrived at the fortress at sunset - the camera didn't capture it but the sky was brilliantly pink and orange!

The ancient Arab palaces were lit up by warm-glowing lights. Every inch of ceiling and walls was covered in elaborate Islamic carving of flowers, geometric patterns and Arabic script.

We wished we knew more about the people who lived here... not just the sultans but the artisans who created these masterpieces. We always look at man-made artifacts from history and wonder whose hands made them and what their lives were like. You could almost feel their ghosts in the room...

Such a wet, drippy, beautiful night

Late night walk home - this was the street our apartment was on, in the middle of the old Muslim Quarter called the Albaycin

Night-night in the loft!

This was the view out the other window of the apartment - note that that is the building across the "street" - SO narrow!!

Lindsay and Lucy slept in the attic; Erik and Stone slept in the bedroom downstairs, and Sophie and I shared a small futon. After such a busy, exhausting day, she slept really, really soundly and we woke up at 5 am in a puddle. :)

Kids woke up (Erik slept in until I woke him up at 9:30! He was chronically underslept) and we all found a breakfast restaurant that could accommodate our rowdy party of 12. Most memorable moment: Stone gulping a huge mouthful of mango smoothie and then promptly spitting it out all over his shirt. "It has hairs in it!!!" The mangoes were stringy.

We planned to go back to the Alhambra to tour the fortress and gardens, but got lost trying to get to the entrance. - it was a very far walk and we ended up going far out of the way (note to World Heritage Site organizers: put up more signs!!). I was the person in charge, having planned this excursion for 12 people, and I get very stressed out when I plan activities and so badly want everything to go perfectly. Add to that my terrible sense of direction and put me in the role of navigator and then add in 500 x more whining from the children than usual and Erik's bad attitude about seeing old stuff and reminding me that I told him we were going to hire babysitters and not take the kids to places they can't enjoy because they ruin it for everyone and throw all of that into my expectations of what it would be like to finally see the Alhambra after years of imagining it... it was my #1 place I was excited to see in Spain... and I had an exploding grenade moment. The Clarkes got to know me better than they had before! 

Me piggybacking Stone up the hill trying to find the right entrance. Cute Aaron is holding onto my elbow. He and I are buddies. Unfortunately this photo was taken just a few moments before I turned into a mini "granada" and sent everyone away so they wouldn't get blown to bits.

But of course, I got no time alone. Stone cried to be with me, so I spent about 25 minutes on a bench with him on my lap while everyone else went on without us. I got a grip and decided to salvage the rest of the day, and caught up with the group to find that Erik had organized them into a game of Simon Says. He is a great husband and dad - I guess all this travelling is not just hard on the kids - it also wears down the adults and makes us on edge. Sigh. Some pithy stuff to get to the fruity gems. Sophie was a darling little Simon Says leader.

We pulled it together and hiked around the fortress. I was cheered up by Erik taking the ball and running with it in a positive way, by the beautiful sun, the amazing castle, and more than anything the rolling hills and trees. Oh! And the Sierra Nevadas had snow on them! It was like being in Colorado where I grew up, and California where my heart is, as well as ancient Europe. And with my dear family and friends. Deep breath. Pop in a whole handful of those delicious pomegranate seeds and taste that tart, sweet juice.

The city below the fortress

Spirit-healing landscape, with snow-capped mountains in the background (they look like clouds)

Kids love to climb and run and explore and be free

We are trying to not think about when we'll see each other next. These friends haven't gone more than a month without seeing each other since they were 2 years old

The walk back to the city - that is Sophie on the sidewalk on the left, chasing a floating seed pod down the tiny river

Shopping in the Arab Quarter near our apartment.

Alycia, Avery, Lindsay, Sophie and I wanted to go to the Royal Chapel to see where Ferdinand and Isabella were buried (and the sword and crown!) and out for pastries and hot chocolate. We were so sad that no photos were allowed in the Chapel, but Sophie and I pledged to remember it always. We had been so excited to see it after reading "Isabella of Castille" and it was everything we hoped for. When I think back on it my main memory is of her little hand in my hand and her face against my face, looking through the glass.

Erik and Stone walked to the grocery store to pick up sandwich stuff - we couldn't bear to take everyone to another restaurant

Our apartments shared a courtyard in the back

That night after sandwiches, Aaron fell asleep early and Erik and I turned a movie on for the big kids while Alycia and Pete went out to dinner and to a Hammam (a hot tub/cold plunge/steam room in an authentic ancient Arab bath house. They use swimsuits now). They said it was wonderfully relaxing! And Erik and I got to chill out and talk, which was much needed.  

The next morning, a long, loooong, looooooong walk to the Gypsy Caves of Sacromonte. Erik had gone on a long, gorgeous run early that morning; I had stayed home and listened to whining, crying and temper tantrums, so I told Erik he was in charge for the day. Thankfully he stepped up again like a champion and told the kids that the "Gypsy Cave" story was all a front for the true story - there are vampires that live in the Granada Hills.

Climbing farther and farther up the hill, the sun getting hotter and hotter, again no signs to show the way and Google Maps on our phones not much help

Finally we arrived! A humble little museum at the top of a cactus-covered mountain, showing what life was like for the residents of the Sacromonte Caves 100 years ago. Gypsies have been living here (they still do live nearby) for hundreds of years.

Shacks on the hillside, and the Alhambra on the opposite hill on the left. Looking at it now I am having a lot more compassion for the kids' complaining about the walking. Our apartment was way over there by the castle, so those sweeties walked all that way.

After the caves the kids were famished. We found this amazingly decorated Moroccan Restaurant. Stone loved the Chess set.

The food quality was inversely proportionate to the ambience quality. The falafel was pre-frozen and microwaved (then burned on a grill) and the milkshakes tasted like goat. But such a fun place to sit and talk, and Lucy was the only one to cry during that hour!

We trudged back up the hill, packed our car and piled into the cars... and then Lucy had a complete and utter hysterical meltdown, and then we got lost among the labyrinthine dead-end streets and were in the white-knuckle midst of a 100-point turn-around when an angel from Heaven appeared (the man who had checked us into our apartment) and offered to get our car un-wedged and back up the hill. We were so grateful!! Our blood pressure eventually returned to normal, I made PBJ sandwiches for the gaggle of kids in the car with my finger (we forgot the knife), and we arrived "home."

Granadas take patience and determination to eat, but those seeds are really really delicious!! (Remaining question: how do you get one of those pomegranate seed packages like at Costco where someone else has already done the work and you just eat the good part? Maybe that's called a nanny.)