Chapter 2: “Landed and Launched”

So, after our initial bumpy landing in Spain, we finally got our travel legs under us and Wednesday night, we took advantage of the free museum night at la Reina Sofia and saw the Guernica in all its massive glory as well as some of the usual Picasso’s, Dali’s and an entire room filled with Spanish propaganda posters. LOVE.

We dreaded going back to the hostel, fearing that our bags would have yet to get there. At least at this point we were wearing our only other outfit, purchased that day. 

Taking the long way back, we meandered back to our hostel. Holding our breath as we walked in, we were praying to the gods of lost luggage that our bags would be there. Seeing the same guy behind the counter that we had countless times about our bags, I looked at him hopefully. He looked at me, raised one eyebrow, and ever so casually looked over his shoulder. Following his gaze, I saw two beautiful blue backpacks, leaning against the wall. It is hard to describe the overwhelming joy I felt. Basically, I lost my mind. Jumping up and down, shrieking like little girls who just bumped into a backstreet boy (or Justin Bieber if you want a modern reference), we felt like complete tools, but I didn’t care. I now had t-shirts, tank tops, underwear, soap, JEANS!!!

Getting our bags back gave us a whole new perspective on life and cemented out next move. We were heading to Granada in the morning.

We woke up early and headed to the bus station to catch the 7am, 8am or 8:30am bus to Granada. Turns out they were all full. I got us tickets on the 10:30 am bus and we had a seat in the caf. At that point, we realized that we were heading south to Granada when we had to be in Barcelona the next afternoon. Ooops. We also realized at that point that the bus to Barcelona from Granada is approx 15 hours. Double ooops.

 Oh well. We were already going. Might as well take advantage of it.

The bus ride was lovely. At the rest stop, I tuned into a conversation happening at a table behind us so I decided to break the ice. “Excuse me”, I said, “do you happen to have a Spain travel book I could take a look at?” Translation: “You’re really cute, can I sit down and chat?” Turns out he didn’t have a travel book, but I didn’t really care AND he had been to Granada before so he gave us some good tips. This ozzie was immediately joined by his Ozzie friend. Thanks to them, we made it to Granada, found a hostel and a flight from Malaga (one hour down the coast from Granada) to Barcelona, meaning we didn’t have to be on a bus for 15 hours.

That night in Granada, we watched the sunset from the Mirador de San Nicolas. Across from us was the Alhambra, lit up by the setting sun. Framing the Alhambra were the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains. The setting sun made the Alhambra look like it was made of gold. SO GORGEOUS. The mirador was filled with juggling hippies, guitar playing hippies and some other tourists.


After the sunset, we had shared a bottle of vino and enjoyed some free tapas. The bar we were at was a really cool scene, packed with a mix of locals and tourists. We had to rush our tapas experience a little because we had tickets to a flamenco show at a place called Le Chien Andalou (named for a movie by Picasso and Brunel).

We made our way to this place and it turned out to be a charming little hole in the wall. The room itself was really narrow, maybe 3 meters wide and three times as deep, filled with low tables and low benches. The ceiling was arched and carried the sound really well. S and I sat down at a table across from a young couple that I instantly took a liking to. Loud, obnoxious and HILARIOUS. Just my type.

The guitarist came on stage first and sat in the middle of three chairs. He greeted the crowd and placed his hands on his guitar. I was instantly mesmerized. I didn’t know guitars could make sounds like that. It was magical. He was soon joined by the singer who took the chair on the guitarist’s right side. Together, they had the crowd completely entranced. Then it happened. She arrived. She was wearing a more toned down version of the typical flamenco outfit that you see in pictured. She sat on the third chair onstage. The two men continued to play and sing and she sat until the music got to her.

As soon as she stood up, it was as if the crowd all held their breath at once. She started slowly and then just broke out into the most incredible dancing I’ve ever seen. Her feet were stomping at a mile a minute, she was passionate, her face was serene while her body was flying and she was the sexiest creature I’ve ever laid eyes on. I had to pick my jaw up from the ground a few times. (I'll post a video once I figure out how)

The show lasted almost two hours and by the end of it, we had befriended the couple across the table from us. Not that I remember either of their names. We walked out of the bar and down the main street with them, while the guy pulled out his guitar and started to play. S whipped out her mad flamenco moves and we had a party on the street.