It was creepily dark when we woke up the next morning to go to Granada. Apparently the sun doesn't rise here until a little after 8 am. This day brought some...surprises.
A couple of people were sick that morning and everyone assumed that they were just hung over. Then, one by one people starting dropping like flies. By the time the whole ordeal was over there was something like 17 out of the 29 people that had gotten sick. It was pretty evident that it was food poisoning. Unfortunately this also happened on a travel day...and let me tell you, it's lovely sitting in a bus for four hours while everyone is throwing up. Luckily I never got hit. Those of us that were still well at the end of the day were in a mild freak out mode...it felt like the plague. One minute one of our friends would be energized and talking and the next they would have their head in a bag. Lovely.
Anyway, we still managed to make our way stop in Cordoba that day to see the cathedral/mosque. Again. Wow. I really wish I could have seen it before it became a cathedral, though. It really felt like all of the Christian decorations were just kind of slapped on while the Muslim carvings and tilework were so seamlessly worked into the building. We only had a couple of hours there and it's definitely another place I would like to go back to. I would also love to explore the actual city of Cordoba.
We all made it alive to Granada and checked into the hotel. A few people headed out but Kit and I were worried about Aaricka so we hung back and ran a couple of grocerey errands for her so that she could eat something when she felt better. The well people had dinner at the hotel that night. Let me tell you, that dessert table was AWESOME!
The next day those who had sufficiently recovered (only about 7 stayed home as opposed to 17) ventured out to Alhambra. It was literally on the opposite end of the city so we took a forty minute bus ride to get there. If you ever go to Alhambra, buy your tickets WELL in advance. You can still get in to the general gardens but the real magic of Alhambra is in the Palace. Luckily they had booked our tickets early because the Palace was completely sold out for the day. Definitely worth it to see those squinches! Alhambra felt like a larger version of Alcazar. It had the same amazing level of detailing and seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor space. We spent most of the day there before walking back down the hill to explore the city a bit and find food. The rest of the day everyone just passseeddd out. I managed to take a wonderful three hour nap and then wake up and sketch for a bit before dinner. Most everyone was feeling better at that point so we had the whole group there. Thank god, too. Safety in numbers. There were literally two hundred Asian tourists there. They don't seem to understand the concept of buffet LINES. It's more like a buffet wrestling match. Also, they're OBSESSED with fruit. I saw one guy take a plate back to his table with three pears, an orange, and banana...just for him. That was normal. And not his first plate of fruit.
This morning we're on our way to Alicante. Sal has informed us that there's really nothing there and to take a break and enjoy the beaches. Can't say I'm complaining.
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