We had another beautiful day when we entered the city. Our hotel was fabulous and this timed I roomed with Jessie Euler (another Marylander!). We went out to sketch and explore the city.
Obviously the city loves me!
After finding some interesting graffiti, I was curious to explore all the little old-world streets of the city. While the rest of the group sat down for lunch, I recruited Kristin to join me and we were off to discover new lands. We wandered a bit, finding some awesome graffiti, as well as interesting courtyards. I decided to sit and sketch a bit after our photoshoot (see photo below). The buildings of the city dug into the incline , seemingly stacking on top of each other. It reminded me of the valley in LA, which I had visited over the summer. I found all the steps and innovative entry sequences intriguing, so I gave it a shot in my sketchbook. Meanwhile, Kristin had gotten a call from Nick, another member of a group, who wanted to meet up with us. She ventured out to locate him, since we had wandered aways away. I continued to sketch, dangling my feet over a sidewall with a 40 foot drop, as I sketched the homes that clung to the hills.
After Kristin had successfully hunted down Nicholas, we decided to find the highest point possible in the city for a good view. We took lefts. Then rights. We went up. Got stuck. Had to go back down. It was entertaining...other than the fact I had not worn hiking-esque shoes for the day, but had vainly chosen black flats to coordinate my outfit. The cobblestones massaged my feet in sometimes pleasant ways, but sometimes I'd catch myself on a it of uneven paving that would leave my feet sore later. Triumphantly we climbed what would be our last inclined alleyway to find ourselves near a square rising above the surrounding area. Guitar music and lively tourists, who had also discovered this scenic plateau, gathered above us. We climbed up the stairs to find a dazzling panaramic view of Alhambra before us. We snapped some photos before realizing we needed to meet the group shortly...and we didn't know exactly how far we had wandered.
Heading down was a bit easier. Shortly after our descent we started seeing familiar areas. Then it dawned on us that we had taken a very convoluted journey to get to the site. We met up with our group by a tea market where that had been doing a bit of shopping (Granada has an awesome Islamic/Middle eastern feel because of its history). We made plans to meet up again in a bit, since some of the group wanted to retrieve another layer to wear before we left to watch the sunset over the Alhambra. While some people headed over to the hotel, a few of us joined the professors for an Islamic tea. The patterns of the inlaid wood table soon captivated everyone's attention, although I found the play of the candlelight on the environment around me more interesting. As I sipped my violet tea, I enjoyed the warmth of the company around me as they chatted about the turns of the geometry in the woodwork.
Reluctantly leaving their riddle of a pattern in the tearoom, we headed out to meet up with everyone again. After the habitual head-count we started off. Walking down towards the trickle of a river, we were often crammed into doorways as cars had to squeeze by the narrow streets. We hung a left and started our climb. Talking to Christy, we soon discovered we were returning to the place Kristin, Nick, and I had found earlier. Laughing as we continued our ascent we ran into a couple from the US that chatted it up with Eric and Adrian. Climbing up one particular stairway we passed gated garden courtyards that were so picturesque in the late afternoon sun. Finally, we rediscovered our plaza and positioned ourselves on the wall to sketch and watch the sunset over the beautiful Islamic structure.Amusingly, as we sat sketching an unknown older man was telling people (in Spanish) that he was our professor and we were architecture students. I thought it was touching that we would incited pride for this man's non-accomplishments. Other people just thought it strange.
The sunset was gorgeous:
(I'm posting this unfinished because I'm trying to catch y'all up! I'll finish ASAP)
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