The three Flamencos of Spain - Part 3

Photo: La Alhambra, Granada, Spain - 15/05/10

See also:
The three Flamencos of Spain - Part 1
The three Flamencos of Spain - Part 2

It's been some time ago already, but that last flamingo was still out there waiting for me to be given shape, colors, a character and simply to be written about. While I am sitting in the train in Italia. To give you an image of my situation, it's the train from Pisa to Roma. It's 19:23h and this is a nice ride along the coast with the last sunshines warming my right cheek in this cold air conditioned coupé. I would take a photo so you could see me again wearing my blue jumper. I really dislike airco! The people who have been traveling with me are in any sense aware that I simply hate airco! Outside it's 30 to 40 degrees and you arrive somewhere inside, BAM! 15 to 20 degrees! Now that is cold after 1 week non stop in these temperatures! A t-shirt would not be sufficient. Nor shorts! Hence the blue jumper. Ah wait I am going to show you anyway!
There you go:


I am listening to te CD of David Guetta - One love.
You must be thinking this is the only jumper I have and all. Actually I have to admit it is the only jumper I have with me. So I am sitting in this train writing about flamingos, listening music from France and taking photo's of en lighted cheeks and Benfica scarfs. And one photo of the train for Daniela! Yes once I started taking these photo's I couldn't disappoint her not taking one of this old vague and dirty train chair all worn down. Yes it was getting time again for another Benfica photo! Two days ago I was walking around in Barcalona and I actually took the metro to the FC Barcalona stadium to take a photo there of myself wearing the Benfica scar right in front of the big FC Barca commerced front entrance but it didn't work out so I thought to walk around the stadium to get a good photo anyway but it took me about 30 minutes getting around with only concrete views of this stadium and it was getting dark already and I started wondering if this was the right stadium. Maybe the old one or something although it showed some banners of FCB being champion etc. It didn't look like the real stadium, or it's going to be time to get a new one for such a club with fans all over the world supporting FCB from behind their TV! So that is why I took the photo wearing the Barca scarf in the train instead. Pretty different though it's somewhere in the world as promised! I thought do I have to take another one with the DSM flag as well? But I decided not too as I already saw a DSM Resins refinery in Spain while in the bus to Reus airport, and all I want is supporting my colleagues in Mechelen and maybe I will do that continuing with the army names hat! 'Sorry I'm Dutch' is written on the back. I am glad at least someone is sorry :) Was it you writing it on there Yannick?

So I was writing about flamIngos, those pink ones you have in Sardinia as I was told by Tiziana while we were on the bus to Barcelona. Please do have a look on facebook for 'sirfafafa yeah'. The pink lady is there too. I met her a few times.
But I wasn't exactly writing about flamingos from Sardinia. Not from Italia at all as a matter of fact and also not from Manchester like sirfafafa yeah.
No it's the third and last flamingo from the south of Spain. It was the last Flamingo-stop but not the least one. Three days I spent with the flamingo from Granada. My first experience was pretty bad actually as this flamingo made me walking for two hours with two heavy bags and I was just completely lost. I was on my way to the south of the city while arriving in the north of the city. Pretty easy, just cross town with again a right cheek catching sunshine. Then you should arrive where you are heading for. This old stubborn lady told me to take bus 3 when I asked her which direction was the city center. Later on I realized she wasn't being the one being stubborn. After many busses passing by I realized why she kept repeating i should take bus 3. She said it three times. But after analyzing the busses passing me I found that she meant I could take bus 3 or 33. Hence three tines telling me it was bus 3 but she meant 3 or 33.
So I got lost trying to find where my next couchsurf-host Judith, also from Italia, lives. The next day I got pretty much lost again and I decided to take a bus and again nothing made sense to me! I simply couldn't find even which direction I should take the bus. Nothing made sense. The day before I already found that they printed the local map 20 degrees turned. And it took me over half an hour to realize that the map in the bus-stop was actually completely upside down!!! And suddenly I found everything at it's place where it belonged, well 'where it belonged' but at the wrong side of the map.
Anyway first evening we went for a drink together with Cesar, the Spanish housemate and another friend of theirs.
Judith wanted to show me around the next day but she was busy with work so she called her Australian friend asking to show me around the next day. That is how I met up with Linda. First of all she had to show me her awfully awesome terras at the roof with this amazing view over Granada and the mountains all around!
Later on we walked a bit around and I found Granada pretty similar to Cordoba, only larger. Later on I completely changed my mind. We climbed a hill via it's little and steep streets and from near the top we had a nice view over la Alhambra. Next day I would try to get in queuing up at 7.00am.

Since Judith had a place for me to sleep for only one night - she had already a surfer for the next day - I found myself another couch by a German host. I was lucky! Because coincidentally Ulrike lived literally just 4 streets down the hill! I had to walk for 5 minutes to arrive at my next sleeping place. In the evening I went out for a few drinks together with Judith, her new couchsurfer also from Holland and another Italian friend of Judith. This friend, I forgot his name, however he knew this nice bar with live-music where he got drunk the day before. The bar was in the middle of the Juderia of Granada. Again all these little streets like a maze. Only this time it was dark and all shops were closed making the place ir-recognizable. And leaving a place drunk the day before didn't help him remembering the location. Anyway we ended up walking for half an hour, asking many people with vague descriptions of the bar.
Once we finally found it, it turned out to be empty and boring so ok lets go somewhere else! He knew another good one! Only where was that again? It seemed to take the same time to find it only this time we were more lucky to coincidentally walk into the right street a little earlier. Anyway this Juderia was way more in the style of Morocco, as I imagined it to be because at that moment I had never been to Morocco. And it turned out to be pretty the same like a medina but just more quiet, way less crowded and the people not bothering about you. While trying to find the bar, we met some people in the street who Arianna, the new couchsurfer of Judith remembered from meeting them the day before. So suddenly I was hanging out with 5 Dutchies!! Not really what I expected from going out with an Italian girl and her couchsurfer :)

The next day in the morning I went to la Alhambra. Another one on the list of the UNESCO world heritage. Thing is, you have to get tickets at least one day before if not earlier. Me with my 'very detailed general knowledge'(ahum) wasn't aware of the Alhambra. Anyway Judith was able to tell me that they have a few tickets left in the morning for the same day. So after a good night out with friends, I decided to arrive at the entrance at 7.00am while the cash desks were opening only at 8.00. With my arrival at 5 minutes past 7 I counted that I was the 21st in the queue! I was scared I was too late and wouldn't be able to get myself a ticket. But 15 minutes later when I glanced over my shoulder I saw an amazing queue of at least 100 people all hiding behind my back! Suddenly I was not afraid I could not get a ticket. And as a matter of fact, I did get myself a ticket.

How it was inside? I did not really know what I had to expect. I was amazed! See the photo´s below or the album on Facebook experience what amazing art I discovered!