Oh Granada in the afternoon... The only people on the street are tourists or people who have terrible luck. Why, you might ask?
Because Granada, my friends, is fucking hot.
When I talked to people who had been there before I came here, every one of them said something the lines of "The Alhambra is awesome and oh yeah, it's hot" Me, sitting pretty in nice, chilly Boston, thought, "Woo-hoo, I love hot weather!" I'm here to tell you that my love of hot weather has significantly diminished, and often fond thoughts of winter's bitter cold cross my mind and I long for its return. There is no escaping... hence the invention of the siesta. Everyone with a brain in their heads goes inside, shuts the windows, and just hangs out for a bit. Once the less-than-200-miles-from-
I don't know how they do it, these Spaniards! They go on no sleep and they have so much time between meals. Breakfast is usually strong coffee with toasted bread, scrubbed with a tomato, drizzled with incredible olive oil, and sprinkled with salt, possibly accompanied by a cigarette. That's right when they get up. Then they wait until 1, 2, sometimes 3 before they even have lunch! Lunch is usually a few courses: gazpacho or salad, followed by pork, chicken, or fish with some kind of side dish. Dinner is a late and casual affair, between 9 and 10. Tapas are a very popular dinner. Some serrano ham with machego cheese, olives, sausages with little pieces of bread... You get the idea. And it's all really delicious. But I have to confess, I am American through and through when it comes to my meal plans. I'd rather have five tapas throughout the day than go so long sans food. When being hungry combines with the heat and the thirst produced by said heat, it's enough to turn me into a cave troll for most of the afternoon. The only surefire cure is ice cream :) Which, luckily for me, is very popular and extremely delicious.
With all the carbs and all the amazing sweets, I do not understand how Spanish women stay so slim. Seriously, most of the women here look like they just walked off the pages of a magazine. They don't generally wear too much makeup. Long hair, skinny skinny jeans, heels, long necklaces. Even during the summer the women in Madrid often wore a blazer or a short leather jacket. In Granada fashion is slightly more relaxed. You can't really wear heels, unless you want them to get caught in the cobblestones that make up most of the streets, and you can't wear a jacket because, well, you would probably get heat stroke and die. You can, however, wear super cute and comfy harem pants (which I happen to be wearing at this very moment), interesting leather sandals, and wonderfully breezey dresses. I have not seen a pair of sweatpants or little booty shorts that read "juicy" on the buttcheeks in like a week and a half, and that's pretty wunderbar.
So... that's Spain, in a very small nutshell; like a sunflower seed shell. There is much more to say but, like my meals, I prefer to keep things short and sweet. There will be more entries on my adventures thus far in Madrid, Toledo, and Granada, but not today. Today's siesta is over and I'm happy to have spent it writing. Everybody stay cool out there.
Because Granada, my friends, is fucking hot.
When I talked to people who had been there before I came here, every one of them said something the lines of "The Alhambra is awesome and oh yeah, it's hot" Me, sitting pretty in nice, chilly Boston, thought, "Woo-hoo, I love hot weather!" I'm here to tell you that my love of hot weather has significantly diminished, and often fond thoughts of winter's bitter cold cross my mind and I long for its return. There is no escaping... hence the invention of the siesta. Everyone with a brain in their heads goes inside, shuts the windows, and just hangs out for a bit. Once the less-than-200-miles-from-
I don't know how they do it, these Spaniards! They go on no sleep and they have so much time between meals. Breakfast is usually strong coffee with toasted bread, scrubbed with a tomato, drizzled with incredible olive oil, and sprinkled with salt, possibly accompanied by a cigarette. That's right when they get up. Then they wait until 1, 2, sometimes 3 before they even have lunch! Lunch is usually a few courses: gazpacho or salad, followed by pork, chicken, or fish with some kind of side dish. Dinner is a late and casual affair, between 9 and 10. Tapas are a very popular dinner. Some serrano ham with machego cheese, olives, sausages with little pieces of bread... You get the idea. And it's all really delicious. But I have to confess, I am American through and through when it comes to my meal plans. I'd rather have five tapas throughout the day than go so long sans food. When being hungry combines with the heat and the thirst produced by said heat, it's enough to turn me into a cave troll for most of the afternoon. The only surefire cure is ice cream :) Which, luckily for me, is very popular and extremely delicious.
With all the carbs and all the amazing sweets, I do not understand how Spanish women stay so slim. Seriously, most of the women here look like they just walked off the pages of a magazine. They don't generally wear too much makeup. Long hair, skinny skinny jeans, heels, long necklaces. Even during the summer the women in Madrid often wore a blazer or a short leather jacket. In Granada fashion is slightly more relaxed. You can't really wear heels, unless you want them to get caught in the cobblestones that make up most of the streets, and you can't wear a jacket because, well, you would probably get heat stroke and die. You can, however, wear super cute and comfy harem pants (which I happen to be wearing at this very moment), interesting leather sandals, and wonderfully breezey dresses. I have not seen a pair of sweatpants or little booty shorts that read "juicy" on the buttcheeks in like a week and a half, and that's pretty wunderbar.
So... that's Spain, in a very small nutshell; like a sunflower seed shell. There is much more to say but, like my meals, I prefer to keep things short and sweet. There will be more entries on my adventures thus far in Madrid, Toledo, and Granada, but not today. Today's siesta is over and I'm happy to have spent it writing. Everybody stay cool out there.
Happy adventuring!
*Olivia
"Dale limosna, mujere, que no hay en la vida nada como la pena de ser ciego en Granada."
"Give alms, woman, that there is nothing worse in life than being blind in Granada."
- Francisco de Icaza
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