We have relocated to Sierra Nevada for the last leg of our trip, high in the mountains above Granada. It is quite lovely here, in this little European ski town. First, let it be known that I am not much of a skier. I have tried it a handful of times, and, to be honest, skiing and being afraid of heights don't go hand in hand. It's funny, it is truly a beautiful location, but for someone not attending conference workshops or skiing, well, I am doing an awful lot of relaxing--and I'm not complaining one bit about it! Today I walked around, checking out the views, souvenir and trinket shops, grocery stores (my favorite thing to do in other countries!), and people watching. I read a bit of the historical fiction novel that I brought (Mademoiselle Boleyn, about Ann Boleyn's time in the as French Court as a child and young woman), took a lovely nap, walked around a bit more, checked out the local gym and spa--with sauna and Turkish bath included (tomorrow's adventure!), and now to check email and write this post...Raf has been a busy bee, but took some time to walk around with me this afternoon, and just stopped by a bit ago for a hello.
The mountains just after sun rise, with the clouds rolling in.
Mid-afternoon (from the window in our hotel room).
At sunset.
On my last night in Granada, I had the pleasure of visiting the local Hammam, which is a Turkish bath house, located in a 13th century building, where you partake in a hot bath, medium bath, and freezing cold (!) bath, steam room, and traditional tea, all before getting a massage. The place was beautiful, almost entirely lit by candles, in a very cave-like, Arabic tiled building, with the most incredible soaking pools. It was very grotto-like. There was Arabic music playing softly the entire time, and people moved from pool to pool to steam room to tea room, to heated marble slabs. It was extremely meditative and I felt so cozy and sleepy when I got back to my hotel room. My only complaint was not having Raf share it with me. Most of his talks and poster sessions went all day until midnight, so he wasn't able to come with. :( Also, I wasn't able to take pictures, unfortunately, because, well, people were bathing, and the heat and water and steam of the place would have killed my camera. Speaking of, I apologize for the rough images (especially the night shots), as my camera is not fantastic. Sad story is, the last time Raf and I were in Spain (almost 2 years ago) my very nice DSLR got stolen on our very last night there! Pick-pocketed! The nerve...
Christmas lights right outside our hotel.
The alleyway to get to the Hammam. This neighborhood had such a mood to it, especially at night, which probably had something to do with the lighting, narrow, cobbled streets,and 13th century buildings.
Last night, on our way to the mountains, we got a private tour of the Alhambra. It is a is a palace and fortress that was constructed during the mid 14th century by Moorish rulers and later lived in by the Catholic Monarchs. It has incredible Islamic architecture and amazing gardens (although we didn't get to tour them). It was really pretty cool to see where the Sultans and royals lived.
The palaces at sunset.
Looking out of the palace windows.
Some of the finely detailed plaster work. Arabic writing and incredibly detailed shapes and symbols.
Oh, and Iberia Airlines is having a pilot strike starting on the morning of our flight out of Granada! So, we have to catch a bus at 2 am to make it to Madrid on time to catch our flight back to the US. We are going to be a couple of sleepy kittens...
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