Rainy Day Adventures in Preciosa Granada

"It never rains in Granada," they say.

LIES they told me. LIES. In my experience, it always rains in Granada. True, my experience was about three days, so I guess that means a return trip is in order to lessen those odds.

I went to Granada, an Andalucian gem, by train with roommates-in-training Lauren and Emmeline in late February 2014. Between Whatsapp chat group activity, Facebook messaging and numerous bank transfers, we were ready and excited to visit one of the most beautiful cities in Spain and the home of La Alhambra, a 9th-Century Muslim palace and fortress complex set high on a hill. Moorish poets described it as "a pearl set among emeralds." Impresionante.

and this is why you come to Granada!

Amid all the beauty in Granada, we also booked a quaint Airbnb with a sweet kitchen - a double edged sword, as it were. Unfortunately, we spent the bulk of our only somewhat sunny day in the kitchen trying to chef up a good breakfast. Go figure.

Despite the craptastic weather that had us wrapping our feet in plastic bags before introducing them to our still-soaked boots and picking up corner-store umbrellas, Granada truly is beautiful. Old, narrow streets lined with fragrant orange trees. Alleys winding through lively mercados. Vibrant spices piled high in display windows. Stained glass. Butterflies. Waterfalls. Tapas the size of your head!

Here's a preview of my pictures, which you can view in full here. Proof that "there is nothing in life sadder than being blind in Granada" - see below!

old steps outside our apartment rental

how I (and my hair) really felt about that weather 

my favorite Spanish ad ;)

bachelor party? 

just had to grab one!

spices galore

tapas received for ordering our first round...beating the mess out of Madrid tapas

those boots aren't actually 2-toned...they were soaked and squishy :-/

gorgeous stuff like this ornate ceiling everywhere

group selfie! 

"Take pity on him, woman, for there is nothing in life like the shame of being blind in Granada."

Self-Indulgence & Getting "IT" Together

I've noticed lately that every time someone asks what I'm doing in Madrid, the conversation spirals into this (only seemingly, I hope) self-indulgent monologue. Checkmark all of the wonderful, soul-searching clichés:

• I've wanted to live in Spain for years!
• I never liked my career path!
• I don't want to work in an office; I want to sing!
• I wanted to try something different!
• The time was right in my life!

Blah, blah, bullshit...you get the point. Yep, I moved here exclusively for me. Helping some little ones learn to speak American (yeah, I said it - I am a language and culture assistant) is just a bonus. I know that may sound profoundly self-centered and selfish, but the point of it is really that I'm in a perpetual state of "getting myself together." I'm pretty sure that for approximately the last 6 years of my life (give or take just as many), anytime I catch up with a friend, no matter my mood, I conclude with, "ya know, just tryna get it together!" And I'm fine with that. I don't always make the best choices for getting "it" together...and oftentimes I realize that I'm not even exactly sure what "it" is...sheesh. But I have to try - and I do know that everything about my experience here is enriching the effort, just like everything before I got here led me up to the decision to come here. Whoa. I just made myself dizzy.

So, one of my latest efforts: an songwriting class. My left and right brains are probably both highly annoyed with me, but I know that my comfort zone for expanding my skillset tends to be in a classroom setting. I have made timid, feeble attempts at songwriting for years now, but always gave up or shoved them away in disgust and disappointment. A couple years ago, a dear friend sent me some instrumental tracks and asked me to write to them. He rebuffed my lyrics with irritation because they weren't songs...and it hit me: I don't understand this. I fully understanding that trial and error is the only true way to improve, but once I got serious about it trying, I accepted that I needed to satisfy that left-brain need to take some tests and get some grades. Maybe I'm feeding the wrong beast here, but I'm gathering my things, making progress...slowly but surely.