Today, we made our way to Granada. Before this trip, I had only a small notion of the influence that Muslims had on Spain. Granada was the last stronghold of the Moorish Sultans here. Muslim architecture is so unusual compared to what I am accustomed to seeing that these places seem more foreign than the cathedrals and other things we’ve visited. Sure, everything here is foreign to an American, but the Islamic buildings are like absolutely nothing I am used to seeing.
The place was beautiful. We saw the palaces, the gardens and the numerous fountains all around. It was quite a walk, and there were some in our group who sat out the last leg of the journey in the beautiful gardens. Cas and I were well prepared, though. We had extra sunscreen to reapply (which we shared with a grateful Canadian) and we both do cardio at home, where it’s apparently been in the high 90s this week. Today is the longest day of the year- the Summer Solstice- and the high here is 87. It’s not the most fun fun to walk around in the sunshine when it’s 87, but coming from Texas, it’s kind of a snap.
Cas and I are peeling off from the tour group this evening to meet up with a retired teacher friend of his named Jim. Apparently, when he retired, he moved here. I have to say, it’s not the worst option. Certainly, if I wasn’t so deeply dug into life in Dallas, I would consider a similar retirement. Cas has seemed happy here so far. One thing we could both get used to is the practice of napping a little in the afternoon. I just dozed for 20 minutes, and he is relaxing a bit, now. Given the afternoon we had, the siesta felt well earned. Spaniards stay up late, and on this trip, we have had to be awake pretty early, so the siesta is absolutely brilliant. The problem, of course, is getting up from the nap. I can bounce back with relative ease, but it takes a little more urging to get Cas back to a vertical stance if the nap goes on too long. I feel bad about limiting his time, but it’s entirely necesssary. We have plans later, and if left unattended, Cas will wake up at 8 am in his shorts and button down, realizing he didn’t brush his teeth before bed. That’s not the plan...
Tomorrow morning, we leave Granada and head to Valencia for a few nights. On the way there, we stop in Guadix where people live underground. That should be intriguing. One we get to Valencia, we have a cooking class there where we will learn to make paella. Then, it’s Barcelona and back home. We tacked on one extra day in Barcelona. We had the option, and we figured it was a good move. How often do you get that kind of an option? Anyhow, now that siesta is done, it’s time to get ready for dinner.
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