Spain - Part Dos: Granada and Madrid

Wow, almost an entire month without updating. By now, you guys must be tired of reading about Europe or at least want to see what I've been up to since I've been back. I promise I will do my best to bring you all to the present in the very near future!

Granada

My idealized version of Spain finally came true in Granada. Barcelona, as gorgeous as it was, was a big let down in terms of me wanting to enjoy sunny weather, flowing sangria, and that carefree vibe the Spanish call a certain "yo no se que." Ah, but Granada was all of those things and more. Even now, when looking back on the entire trip, Granada is just about the only place I felt completely relaxed, at home, yet able to enjoy being in a completely new and strange place.

The rooftop patio view from our Hostel

Apparently, it's a common feeling among backpackers who stop there. People who initially plan to stay a couple days, often times as a pit stop before taking a foray into neighboring Morocco, end up staying for weeks. Well, we already knew we'd love Granada, so we booked five days at a great hostel appropriately called the Oasis, settled in, and enjoyed ourselves.

Watercolor of our "next door neighbor", slightly higher above us.

On our first night, we went on a tapas tour with a group of people staying at our hostel. For a euro-fifty, you can order a drink and have a free tapas to go with it. Unbeatable, really, and it was a great way to meet our hostelmates.

After our first tapas tour, a few of us went to a flamenco show. I sketched in the dark, never looking down at my sketchbook and rarely lifting the pen, trying to follow the movement of the dancer furiously moving up and down the stage.

Every once in a while, she would slow down, or hold a moment briefly enough for me to memorize and quickly transfer onto paper. The right page shows her vocalist and guitarist. Obviously, they stayed still longer.

There was definitely a much milder "spring break" presence here, despite the mass consumption of sangria. Folks were generally more laid back and friendly, and Alex and I gained some great friends out of it. In particular, there were five of us who became inseparably banded together for three days. You guys already know by now how sentimental I can be, so rather than get sappy, I hope you'll enjoy a bouquet of snapshots instead.

(click image to enlarge)

The most wonderful thing about Granada was that there was basically one major site to see: The Alhambra.

The shot everyone takes, me included.

You could spend one morning there, then ease through the rest of your time in Granada in absolutely no hurry. Take a leisurely stroll through the narrow alleyways where shops display goods from Morocco, share a hookah in a Moorish tea house, sun on the rooftop patio of the Oasis, where white bedsheets dry in the breeze and Caroline plays Blackbird on guitar, eat the hands-down best kebabs in all of Europe, or do nothing at all without ever feeling like you're wasting precious vacation time.

Left: Friday nite jam session in the Oasis kitchen (i.e.- folk guitar songs by candlelight) .
Right: Archway in the Alhambra and Alex enjoying a rooftop "siesta" back at the hostel.

Julia writing/sketching in her Moleskine on the rooftop patio.

Typical Granada Alleyscape

Eventually, it was time to say goodbye, and one by one, members of our little band went our own separate ways. This is always the hardest part, but because Alex and I were about the last ones to leave, we felt we were ready to say goodbye to Granada. All the same, it was a rather moody bus ride up to Madrid, and if it wasn't for an 'in-flight' viewing of Counterforce, the cheesiest cinematic flop of all time, to grant levity to the situation, I would probably have been even sadder.

Madrid

We basically had one full day in Madrid, and it was mostly dedicated to visiting the Prado.... really the only reason we went to Madrid at all. We certainly weren't interested in the bull fights, museos del jamón, or watching Wild Hogs in Spanish.

Un cerdo salvaje among cerdos salvajes

There was one great bit of news that I received while in Madrid. I had a piece accepted into the very prestigious Spectrum Annual, which is due out this Fall. This will be my first time in Spectrum after a few attempts over the years, so I'm very excited to see where this might lead me in illustration.

And that's it for Spain! The next update will kick off in the final country of our grand European tour: Italy.