"ie" Adventures: Life in Granada

We are living in the Albaicin district of Granada, a place rich in history dating back to the 11th century. The cobblestone streets are steep, winding, and narrow - so narrow in some places you have to slip into a door frame just to let a small car pass by. These streets create a maze of motion: locals going to market, tourists coming to see the many landmarks hidden in these hills, and the random person (me) pushing a double stroller nearly the size of the small cars mentioned above as she tries to make her way from point A to point B.

The tight squeeze of the roads in the Albaicín

Part of the maze.

The church at the top of our street.

Another view from our roof.

For those who don't know, I spent a few months studying in Granada 13 years ago. I fell in love with the charm, the people, and the challenge of the city. It's not much bigger than my hometown of Greensboro, but the fact that it's urban and people walk everywhere makes it feel three or four times bigger. The Sierra Nevada Mountains line the horizon. The summer days are hot, the wine is cheap, and the local olives and olive oils are endless.

Our apartment has just about everything I could have hoped for. One aircon unit on the second floor (much better than none in 100+ degree weather). There is a small, well-stocked kitchen, a quaint living area, two bedrooms, and two baths. The terrace on the third floor is where we hang our clothes out to dry during the day and where we look for stars, sip on Spanish wine, and share stories at night. I had to pinch myself the other night when I looked up and saw Keller working on his writing with the Alhambra in the background. When I asked Mike to promise me that we could spend one year of our lives in Spain, this was everything I had imagined and more. If only he were here, it would be perfect.

Keller working on the roof terrace.

Our dryer.

The large grocery store is a 20-minute walk from the apartment (down those steep and windy alleyways), but there's a tiny little market at the top of our street with some basics and, best of all, homemade ice cream. Just down from us, there is an Arab market with spices and dried fruit that we frequent as well.

Some of the dried fruit we like to purchase.

At night, Keller enjoys dribbling a soccer ball up to the square. We play pass and steal in front of a church that dates back to the 13th century, which is completely surreal. Tonight he slipped on one of the cobblestones and cut his head open. The blood was enough to freak me out a bit. I took him up to the next square with hopes the little town doctor would still be open. No luck, so we settled for some hydrogen peroxide, frozen peas, and a chupa-chupa (lollipop). I will take him back to the doctor in the morning to make sure everything is okay. I sent up some big prayers for my little guy. Thankfully, he was back in good spirits within the hour and lively enough to still want to help with the nightly duties before bed.

Keller taking the garbage out.

We celebrated the fourth of July yesterday with as much festivity as seemed safe and possible. Part of the group grabbed burgers from burger king and some of us pretended with falafels and schwarmas. Saca designed handmade American flags and we enjoyed a close game of American citizenship trivia with our new friends from Utah. Seeing everyone's pictures on Facebook made me miss home a bit.