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Photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/074w5vcllqhxvwq/AAC9UBg2mU1uF8sGhihDpJrYa?dl=0

The Alhambra palace. Every square inch is covered in geometrical carvings, with Arabic writing included as part of the design. There are tessellations and tiles and Celtic knots and flowers and vines, all perfectly symmetrical. Unlike in the Christian cathedrals we've seen, everything here is about perfect design. There are no depictions of humans: the closest thing are the twelve lions in the middle of one of the courtyards. There are fountains providing water to the lion statues/fountains in the middle of the courtyard, through channels in the marble floor. Through every window are orange trees and gardens and views of the city.

There is only one piece of Christian-style decoration that I've seen so far, it must have been added after they re-invaded and took over this palace.

On the way up to the palace on the steep dirt path, I saw some Alexander plants like the ones infesting our backyard. Except these had fewer, skinnier leaves, as well as longer stalks. But definitely a variety of Alexanders. I wonder if they also taste like bitter celery.

Now we're going to see the fortress part. It's the oldest part of Alhambra.

There's a couple very tall towers surrounded by ruins and brick walls and ruins of rooms and buildings. Everywhere has a beautiful view of the white buildings and the complex construction that is the medieval city. Everything is on top of itself. High density.

The gardens are very nice (I come from the city of Gardens, so honestly I'm more impressed by the ancient palace and fortress, but these are still really nice). The Arabian carvings are still there on the walls, but this time it's all courtyards and flowers and trees and fountains. The orange trees add a lot of colour with their oranges. There's one fountain that stretches about twenty meters long, with jets of water making parabolas all the way along it. Flowers and neatly trimmed hedges surround it. And on either end are ornately carved arches.

I think the best way to take in Alhambra I'm this blog post is to see the pictures. I don't have as much facts to put down here, but it was an incredible experience nonetheless.

It's interesting the range of languages I hear just sitting on this bench in the gardens. There's Spanish, English, French, German, Mandarin, Italian, and a couple more I can't recognize. There are a lot of tourists here.

We're having free time from now until 5, then 5-7 at the hostel, then 7-11 we're going for dinner and to see a procession from Semana Santa. 

I'm so hungry, and looking forward to lunch. I'm eating with Eryn and Tekahra. After lunch I have some things to get done: I need to go to the bank, do some more shopping, hopefully get some more math done, and if there's time have a nap. I'm really looking forward to Nerja, which is our next place we're leaving for tomorrow morning at 8:30am. We have two nights there and it's all free time to relax. I'm hoping I will be able to intersperse swimming and relaxing with homework.

I just found out there is a roof patio on our hostel: the views are incredible. You can see the overlapping buildings and rooms and stairs. And I would imagine it's a cat's paradise: they would be able to climb over the whole city just on the roofs and patios and clotheslines of the canopy of the city.

Well I chose a nap over homework. I think it was a good decision. We're on our way to dinner. I just bought some tea from a place called Mediaeval, where the tea is outside in baskets and you ask them for a bag to put it in. It's tea right from the source. I got an orange infusion rooibos and an apple rooibos. 

After dinner at a buffet place where I found the best salad and some great meatballs, we went to see the Semana Santa procession (one of them-there are more than one in the city on the same day). There were people in purple suits and large pointy hats carrying huge candles. The kids watching would run out and collect the dripping wax (and there was a lot of it) on a giant wax ball. I bet it's a thing they do every year, also it just keeps getting bigger. Like babybell  cheese wax collecting in elementary school on another level.

There were two giant gold and silver plated float things carried by people. At the end there was a marching band playing very solemn music. It's a very cultural Catholic thing, and apparently Granada (along with Seville) has one of the most elaborate processions in Spain. I can believe it: there were priests holding golden books and children with baskets and swinging incense lanterns.

I'm standing in my hostel room now with the windows open, watching the stray cats run about on the ground and listening to the music of another Semana Santa procession somewhere else in the city. This is truly another place/country. I have loved my stay here in Granada, it's the kind of place where I think it would be amazing to grow up in. It's such an Arabian city, with amazing streets and cats and culture. Granada is a place that up until now I have only imagined in stories.