Vibes from Granada

Finally, a ray of idea reached my mind that had been sitting for a while in darkness. Like the rays of light that reached the dark room in Alhambra... Yesterday was a strange day, although I had the intention and the time to bring you some memories from a trip that happened a long time ago, I couldn't pull my thoughts together.

In those moments I leave time for the inspiration to come and try to do other things in the meantime. That is how I watched a Mongolian movie about Genghis Khan (in Mongolian!! ok, with English subtitles). I cleaned the floor. Washed my hair and made dinner. Read a book. But still, my thoughts could not come together. A draft with images from Granada, or rather only images from the Alhambra, was open on the screen, in silence.

Today, a little ray of light came from @whywhy through a comment he made, actually this part:

the most beautiful city in Spain according to some Twitter poll

It was easy to find the answer (thanks Whywhy for the riddle) and the coincidence between my draft without words and the city he mentioned couldn't be ignored. Was it a vibe that had to be spread? Sure, it was!

I knew nothing about that poll, or contest that happened a few days ago where Granada was proclaimed as the most beautiful city in Spain. When we visited it we didn't think about it either, how beautiful it was or not. We just picked a city where to go for a few days and see interesting stuff and I completely loved the choice. I loved to see the snow in the mountains, Alhambra, the narrow streets in the old town and our stay that lasted for 3-4 days. I had a few days off, in November. Year? Pfff, that's tricky, but according to the file where I found the photos it was taken with one of my old phones I had in 2017/8.

It was quite cold there, in November. In our accommodation, we had to turn on the heating to some higher temperatures as it was not pleasant to be in the cold. While we were outdoors, exploring the city, it was fine but we needed the coats every day.

Although I like snow so much (and maybe I also wished to snow in the city 😁) it was visible just on the top of the mountain Sierra Nevada.

One day was reserved for strolling through the city and its old part. I saw announcements for flamenco shows, but we didn't attend any.

Months later, the director of the choir made me play the song Granada by Agustín Lara. He said I should go there and listen to flamenco, to get the vibe. Hmm, maybe he needed to hear more boiling blood in my playing. Or he just wished me to take free days and go again on a trip and have some fun. Anyway, I liked playing the part of the orchestra, on the piano, although we didn't have Plácido Domingo as a soloist :)

video source

Another day of our Granada stay was dedicated to Alhambra. You need a few hours to stroll through it so a little tip - take some water with you. Also, make sure to buy the tickets on time (we bought them online, two weeks before the trip). The tickets are not cheap, but it is worth visiting it as it is a World Heritage Site, declared by UNESCO.

There was a lot of history that we heard and read there from the guide and even though my memory is many times proving good, I can't brag now about remembering all the names of the palaces and patios that we saw there. Unfortunately.

Some of them are so famous that I do remember the names. For example, Court of the Lions (Patio de los Leones):

And the lions :))

Patio de Arrayanes:

Mirador de Lin-dar-Aixa

Palacio de Carlos V:

Seems that there are some names that in the end came back, with the help of a bit of research :)

But even if there is still a lot to discover and say about Alhambra, what you can notice as a common pattern are the decorated walls, doors, and windows. The real beauty you see is in the interior of the palaces.

The plasterwork is amazing. We can see the geometric loops which are common in Islamic art. I found out later that in all these floral and geometric decorations there are also texts and verses from the Koran. Imagine, how words can be woven into so many places and forms.

After all these years I just need to be called again by the director of the choir... to accompany the choir with the same composition, Granada. I would maybe express my wish to go back there, to meet the real vibe once again and play how it should sound.

Let's hope my "plan" will work :))