Dispatch: Granada

As charming and beautiful as Seville is, all of its glory exists in its past. The on and off tour, which I do not recommend, only reconfirms the fact that Seville is irrelevant in terms of 21^st Century culture, finance, banking, trade or political influence. We saw two failed 20^th Century exhibitions, the most recent being in 1992, and they are increasingly neglected: overgrown with weeds, poorly maintained and otherwise undistinguished.  

The high points of Seville included our charming hotel; cobbled together from at least 10-separate 16^th to 19^th century houses, painfully narrow roads, Tapas Bars, the Cathedral and the Royal Alcazar (Palace) de Seville. Originally a 12^th Century Moorish fort, the Royal Palace maintains a very strong Islamic influence, with most of the Christian influences on the upper floors which still serve as the official local residence for the Spanish Royal Family. We were blown away by the intricacy of the detail, the beauty of the architecture and the sublime design of the gardens.

An early morning train delivered us into Granada. Finally, the sun was shining in a bright blue sky and we were able to put away our umbrellas, galoshes and ponchos. Once we escaped the hustle of Columbus Avenue, Granada’s main thoroughfare, with its graffiti strewn shops and heavy traffic we discovered a lively and charming community of ancient buildings, stylish shops, and restaurants.

We wandered around, found a great people watching spot and spent a couple of hours judging and critiquing the locals. We decided that they are cosmopolitan, sophisticated and stylish. All in all, Granada is pretty fantastic. The one criticism that Violet and I agreed upon is that Granada seems to have surrendered to graffiti. It is everywhere from the Cathedral that houses the tomb of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand to the smallest retail outlet. It reminded me of New York City before Chief Bratton and Mayor Giuliani cracked down on small time crime in the early 90’s.

This morning we visited the Alhambra, a Moorish monument that lords over the rest of Granada from high on the red hill of Sabika. A palace, citidal, and fortress, the Alhambra is Spain’s most popular tourist attraction. Personally, I was more impressed by Seville’s Royal Palace, but anyone visiting this part of Southern Spain needs to visit this important World Heritage site.

We had Tapas for lunch and are looking forward to suckling pig for dinner. Right now Violet is napping in our room while I sit in the courtyard of our hotel, the Palacio de Santa Paula. It exudes old world charm as water from the fountain subtly integrates into the serenely quite afternoon.

I’m so glad that Violet and I are able to share this trip together, without the nuisance of a tour. We are having a wonderful time and I am reminded again why I wanted to marry and spend the rest of my life with her. Now if I could just get her to rub my aching feet!