A huge day today. Caught an 8.30am bus from Cordoba to Granada. We hadn't pre booked our visit to Alhambra - a bad move. We were able to buy a walking tour/Alhambra package at the bus station - a good move as it turned out. The bus station was miles out of town but we managed to find the local bus that took us close to where the walking tour started. Our tour guide, a Brazilian fellow called Fabio, was great. He popped us in to a very small, very crammed bus and we went to the top of the hill in the old Arab and gypsy areas. Like Cordoba, it was clear that historically there have been Muslims and Christians. It was interesting to hear about what took place in different centuries. The Spanish Inquisition must have been horrific in many ways. Again the streets were merely narrow cobbled alleyways (more cobblestone and door pics to add to my library!!!).
There is still a community of gypsies living in the part of Granada we were exploring. Many of the houses had facades at the entrance to elaborate cave dwellings. There were bars and cafes too where you can see 'authentic' flamenco dancers. They are proud that their skill is handed down from their ancestors. The gypsy area has electricity, water etc these days but you can still see the odd current day gypsy 'residence', obviously in a cave, in the distant hills. Their entrances were obvious - they had blue tarps covering them.
As we wandered around there were many small groups of younger folk playing their guitars and smoking pot. I guess we could have become high if we'd hung around longer!!!
Am adding mosaic tiles to my favourites. Found many patterns and colours on our walk.
We also could see the massive Alhambra in the distance.