Sr. Peeper en España: You know you're in Spain when ...

You know you're in Spain when you walk into a restaurant at 8:15 p.m. and it's 90 percent empty. It's not because the restaurant is about to close. Just the opposite is true, as it's just opening and the crowd hasn't arrived yet. The waitress smiles and says, "Sit where you would like; it's early still and we won't be busy for a couple of hours yet." Most people eat lunch around 2 p.m. or so, and dinner is normally much later than in the United States. I've been eating around 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. each night, which is still pretty early for Spain.

Speaking of food, I'm in Granada for the next couple of days, and Granada is known for its tapas restaurants. Many of the places here give you a free tapa once you order something to drink. This evening, for example, the waitress brought me a small plate with pan y albondigas (bread and meatballs) after I had ordered something to drink. Most every tapas restaurant in Granada does the same. It's really neat! I ordered a tortilla espanola and ham croquetas for dinner.

As I was making my way back to my hotel in the Plaza Espana, I saw there was a group of musicians setting up for a concert in the plaza. The Danish band the Steelhammers began playing music around 9 p.m. There were about 12 college students from a music school in Allerod and they were playing a mix of calypso, cha cha, mambo and salsa songs using a variety of instruments, including the Caribbean steel oil drum. The group has played music across Denmark and other European countries. I listened for about an hour and loved their music. The short lady sitting next to met, who was probably in her 70s or 80s, stood up after about 30 minutes, made her way to the front of the plaza where the band was playing, and began to dance next to some 20 year olds. I just smiled.

Earlier in the day, I visited Granada's Capilla Real (The Royal Chapel). It's such a famous spot because the Catholic Monarchs, Isabel and Fernando, are buried here, along with their daughter Juana and her husband Felipe. To put into perspective the role Isabel and Fernando played in Spain: They captured Granada in 1492, brought the Spanish people under one monarchy, funded Columbus' trip across the Atlantic in April 1492 that would eventually lead to an enormous expansion of the Spanish empire, linked Spain to Portugal, England and Austria through the marriage of their children, and much more. The Monarchs had the chapel built but it was not finished until 1521.

　
In the center of the room across from the chapel's chancel are marble monuments. In the center on the right I saw the monuments for Isabel and Fernando, and on the left were those of Felipe and Juana. There is a narrow staircase that leads down to the crypt, where I saw the lead coffins of Isabel and Fernando in the center of the chamber. Felipe and Juana rest at each side. Also located in the crypt are the remains of Prince Michael, the grandson of Isabel and Fernando, who died in Granada in 1500 when he was 2. There is also a small museum in the room south of the main chapel where I saw Queen Isabel's chest, mirror, scepter and crown, as well as Fernando's sword. It was a morning of some pretty exciting history! I saw Columbus' tomb when I was in Sevilla, and now I've seen the final resting place of the Catholic Monarchs.

I also walked up to the Alhambra from my hotel today since I'll be spending half of the day there tomorrow. The Alhambra is a fortress from the 9th Century, and I'll be visiting it from 8:30 a.m. until probably 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. tomorrow. The Alhambra is Spain's most visited monument, and I'll tell you a lot about it tomorrow.

In the afternoon, I walked to the train and bus stations to get my tickets for the upcoming days. I'm planning to take the Renfe train to Ronda and back on Sunday. It's about a 2.5 hour scenic train ride each way, and I'll have about four hours to see Ronda, which is located on an inland plateau near the 328-foot El Tajo gorge. I'm hoping to get some good pictures to post because of this city's dramatic location. I'm leaving Granada Monday for Murcia, located northeast of here. I'm planning to visit an exchange student from Murcia who studied at Homestead for a year about three or four years ago and came back to visit us a couple of years ago. I'll spend one day there, and Alejandra is going to take me around to see the city. On Tuesday, I'm off to Barcelona -- a nine-hour bus ride. Barcelona is my last stop on this journey around Spain but I am really looking forward to spending six days in what many say is Spain's best city.

　
I also did a little shopping today and explored more of Granada by just walking around. I'll have more tomorrow about the Alhambra. I can still here the Steelhammers playing from my hotel room, so I'm going to walk back to the plaza to watch more of their concert!
Buenas noches,
--Justin