Granada for starters

I swear I am still working on Salamanca and Paris entries.

Granada in short:

La Alhambra is great. Pretty much every part of it is great -- gardens, fortresses, ruins, what have you. The Patio of the Lions is still under construction for restorations so that sucked.

I visited the cave houses in the Sacromonte neighborhood (north Granada) and the Albaycin, the medieval Muslim neighborhood. I super neurotically watched for muggers (before taking out my camera, a map, or stopping to look at a posted document I did at least a 360 and sometimes a 720 degree turn, and whilst walking down the marked "nice pedestrian walk" street on my excellent Granada tourist map I all but spun in circles), who kindly did me the favor of not showing up. I did get harassed by a "palm reader," cat-called (I think because I had a sunburn? More likely the guy was just a dickhead. I realized that I am uncertain of how to say "go to hell" in Spanish,) and asked for money in the bus station, but other than that I took loads of pictures, had some good conversations, and ate ice cream.

random notes

One: Realized something terrible today, i.e. that for some portions of Madrid's male population mullets are acceptable. NOT OKAY. I even saw one mullet that was shaved all around and then had lots of little skinny dreadlocks in the back. GROSS.

Two: Purchased bus tickets to Granada and back for the weekend of August 14-15. They were 30 euros (as compared to 37 euros online.) WHOOOO.

Three: For another personal treat, I bought myself an ice tray.

Four: I now have a tumblr, contemplating chicken. Taking a cue from a fellow design student/friend, I plan to use it to make note of images I find interesting/inspiring.

Five: One of my fellow Fenbeings, who happens to be Puerto Rican, commented once, "I don't know why they teach coche and carro as words for car in American Spanish classes. No one says coche! Maybe they say it in Spain." YES THEY DO. I HEARD THEM.