"Up the Ante on the Frizzy"

what does the title mean, you wonder? well, it is Joanna´s response to the torrential rain that is coming down in Granada today, and the effect that is is having on our hair. What I am also saying is that we have gotten high and dry in our hotel room to wait for the sun to come out, as neither of us thought to pack anything that looks like a rain coat or an umbrella.... come on, do you blame us? it is SOUTHERN SPAIN!

So, since the last post, we have had a busy couple of days. On tuesday night we left our little apartment in search of Tapas. Instead what we found was another Semena Santa parade just coming down the road towards us. we decided to stop and ultimately took in the whole parade passing.. something that took at least three hours. I feel really lucky to have seen it though. First came a brass band playing sort of sad flamenco music, the front row all young men with shining brass silver helmets on sprouting purple crests of feathers. the crowd applauded thier music, and called bravo. Then came all the fellows in thier hoods, and the float carrying Jesus. There were two highlights-- one was just watching all of the families and people in the street. There are people of all ages just mingling and wandering the streets, and lots of people calling out greetings to one another. everyone is eating and passing beer and food, and there is just this lovely energy.

the second highlight was the passing of the float carrying Mary. we were standing in this very small alley, where you could only be one person deep on the "sidewalk" (more of a curb, really) so when the Mary float came by, which is huge (bigger than a king sized bed) there wasn´t more than 12 inches between us and the float. People on the balconies above showered the float with flowers, and luckily, the men carrying this massive thing had to rest right in front of us, so we got an up close look at how they move the float through the street. The statue was beautiful and sad, and everyone was reaching out to her. the float was covered in roses and candles, and you could smell the flowers and wax burning. Mary´s float was also followed by a band, so you also hear these really powerful drums and the float lurches into movement again. it is very moving.

after Seville, we hopped a train (leaving EXACTLY on time, the swiss don´t have the monopoly on that!) and ended up in Granada after watching the olive groves roll by for 4 hours. We are staying at a swish little hotel on the edge of the old town, directly across from the Alhambra, and just next to the gypsy quarter. Our hotel let us know that it was one of the biggest nights of the year for the largish gypsy community in Granada, as it was thier evening to bring thier Semena Santa flaot through thier community, and since they like a good party, the singing and drinking and flamenco go on all night after the float passes by. hearing this, J and I tried to nap so that we could stay up late, but mostly failed as we kept excitedly whispering "gypsies!!" to each other.

At 8:00ish, we climbed the big hill into this area of Granada. Gypsies have been living here for centuries, and they carved houses out of the rock of the mountain--they look like normal houses on the outside, but are caves going back in to the rock. We were kind of early, but lucked into a tour of a cave complex with a lovely man named Anthony, who tried to tell us about gypsy/romany culture through our cobbled together french, english and spanish. we then headed down the road to kill some time at a flamenco bar (also a cave). while there was a show going on, we opted to sit at the bar and people watch. It was fantastic. There were all these beautiful women dressed in flamenco outfits going in and out. I was surprised to see that despite the long time they have been in Spain, the community has not altogether lost the look of thier ancestors from India--some of the women there you would have thought came directly from India in thier looks and complexion. The music was great, people were clapping along, and things got busier and louder as the night went on.

At about 1:00, we finally heard the drums of the Semena Santa troup. We rushed outside, and in the street below us, were both floats (sadly covered in tarps as it had started to rain). They were being serenaded from a balcony by a flamenco singer--singing solo--with a sad sad sounding song. the huge crowd was hushed for the tribute. After another song, the floats were picked up again and run up the hill, the crowd racing after them in the narrow street. Very memorable.

eventually at 2 am joanna and I wandered home. on the way we caught glimpses of big parties full of flamenco music in houses along the road. sadly the rain had driven people inside, so the street party we had been promised was not to be.

we got up at 8 this morning, and took a tour of the Alhambra, a moorish city on the top of a mountain in the centre of Granada. I am not going to write about all of what we saw, but i will say that i was very taken with the grace and beauty of the sultan´s palace... everything is ornamented, everything is proportional, everything is done with an eye for beauty and symmetry and balance. Gorgeous. We were fortunate to have a guide who was an art historian who really loved the art and architecture of the palace, and so he really brought it to life for us. J has concluded that being a wife or concubine there in 1100AD would have been a pretty good gig. :-)

And then the skies opened up and the rain came down, and we have been nesting in our hotel room for most of the afteroon. I have to say, while I would like it to be warm and sunny, a little enforced down time is OK too. I am on the last 50 pages of "The Other Boleyn Girl".

The countdown is also on, and I am starting to turn my mind back to Victoria. Only three more sleeps now. This trip has gone by in the blink of an eye.