Granada: Monday and Tuesday

Monday
Took a freezing cold shower, waited in line forever to check out. After that line ran down to grab my food, kitchen was locked. I have a turkey sandwich with lettuce in there! knocked and knocked.
" the kitchen is closed" (it does close at 10:30 and it was exactly 10:30, but we aren`t allowed to have food in our rooms either)
I just need to grab my bag of food, my bus is leaving...
¨the kitchen is closed¨ (i figured out afterward this probably was all the english he knew)
I could see other hostelers in the kitchen eating and talking. The guy was standing off to the side so I just pointed, walked into the kitchen, grabbed my bag and left.
I walked quickly to the bus station, eating my turkey sandwich. it was really good. I had toasted the bread, buttered it, layered both sides with turkey (so the lettuce wouldn`t mess up the bread) and then put my fresh lettuce in the middle).
I made the bus, again, with 20 minutes to spare. The ticketguy who gave me my printed out ticket when I showed him my reservation number said something that sounded like Leaves at 11:50. but I had reserved the 11:30 bus. there wsa no 11:50. The desk guy was busy with people, so I went down to the buses... looked around. There was nothing on the screens, nothing that would tell you where the bus left from. and I had 60 places to choose from.
I found a continental bus driver and showed him my ticket. veite tres. he said
ok. tres is 3. Veite. I ran through the numbers in my head and as I thought about my lost rick steves spanish phrase book that had the list of numbers, I forgot all the numbers I knew (1-100) over 10. is it 50? It was 15 minutes till and I was a close to maybe sort of panicing. BUt first I found a group of 18 year old girls (one of them had to know a little english). She did. Veite tres? Is it 53? yes.
Ok gra....
No wait! Veite tres. that`s 23.
gracias. I went to 23 and looked at the people around and pointed to the ground. Granada? they nodded. I ate the rest of my turkey sandwhich. This would have cost me $4 anywhere else. but from a €1 head of lettuce (also used in soup, salad, and another salad), €3 container of turkey (also another sandwhich, soup, and snack), and two slices of white toast and butter from my hostel breakfast- it was not only tasty but economical.

I really am missing on some sleep. Those accursed spanish girls. They were so loud and talkative. They came in at 1am and were whispering and whispering to eachother. I love how, when your bed is 2 feet from theirs, they think that by whispering for a half hour (and I`m being generous calling it whispering) you won`t disturb anyone.
After 45 minutes I had had it. Even my earplugs wouldn`t keep them out. They had had all day to talk.
"Porbavor!" I called out slightly sleep-drunkenly. I mumbled something and then softly went shhhh.
The worst one, girl 3, let out a loud muffled laugh. but shortly whispered "buenos noches" to her friend, snickered a little more. I`m sure it will become one of their many little inside jokes. And that is ok.

I had thrown my bag underneath with everyone elses, my camera was locked inside. This wasn`t a problem at first, the scenery was pretty uninspired for awhile. Factories, flat, with tje shadows of mountains in the distance, I finally closed the shade and tried to sleep.

This bus also didn`t have a bathrooñm, so we took a break. Only I didn`t know how long it was, because the driver announced it in spanish. I looked to the women next to me and she held up her hand 10 fingers and said something (in spanish). 10 minutes. I went to the restroom, and bought a bag of cheetos. Something about bus trips sometimes inspires me to eat crap. I got outside just within 10 minutes, I completly on mytoes with these bus breaks. I do not want to be left behind with everything I own but my moneybelt driving away. but noone came out and the bus was shut down. I walked around some more, still dead. I walked in and finally found some of the fellow passangers I recognized, they were pretty settled in, dipping their pastries in their hot chocolate or coffee. One was eating a sandwhich. I bought a crossaint for .90. It was bready and probably factory made but it was stilll 100 times better than the cheetos. I have to knock this off. I`m going to get so sick of crossaints.

I watched the 4 recognizable passangers, they still eren`t moving. I went and took a walk around the bus. after a 40 minute break, we were on our way.
I was reading and then something caught my eye, I opened the shade, just like that we were in the mountains. and they were amazing. my camera`s under the bus. how do I describe this? how do I remember this? I ran words through my head and nothing seemed to work. I was too tired to get set up to draw. I jsut settled for looking. I came up with something that night, and in the halfsleep thought it was close to genious, but since changed my mind...
I might put it up, we`ll see.

We got in at 5:00 (not the 415) and so all I wanted to do was get to myhostel before dark, since it was in a winding street, tourist drawing (therefore mugger drawing) neigbhorhood.

I`m sort of figuring out the meters vs. miles. I figured out if I walked to the hostel from the station it would be around 3 to 4 miles and I didn`t have that time so I took the city bus. I feel sorry for the granadians who have to take bus 3 or 33 everyday. Half of it was packed with people and their cumbersome suitcases/backpacks, yet somehow we kept managing to fit people on. Granada suprised me. I had expected to walk out into a hilly ancient city, and instead was met by a very modern one. I was looking at my map, trying to figure out where the bus was so I wasn`t taken 10 miles away from where I needed to get off, and a spanish guy with colorful rope tied around his wrist just put his finger on my map and pointed to where we were and where the bus went. There are a lot of people like that. They know you are a confused tourist and even if they don`t speak english and you don`t speak spanish, they find a way to help you out.
After a half hour I started to see my picture of granada, spanish homes climbing up the hillside, emerge between the tall buildings. I second guessed myself as to where to get off and so got off at the next stop (wasn`t too far off though). I saw on the map I had to walk by a river for a good deal of the way. Sigh. A river. I pictured a mile of concrete and lampposts. But in five minutes I was walking on a narrow one way cobbled street, that I thought was a pedestrian walkway until a car lumbered past. The river was lined with quaint stone bridges, beautiful old buildings with the alhambra on top. The river was almost a stream being enjoyed by large white ducks, and the shops were filled with morrocan lamps and pillows. It was a great walk that didn`t last too long. I walked up a two high hills. Almost all the reviews for this hostel complained about having to walk up high hills and stairs. Almost half of hostel reviews in general complain about having to walk up hills and stairs. Which I find quite funny. These people have surely seen pictures of the cities they are going to. It`s part of why they are going. I don`t know how you might not suspect that your hostel might possibly be on one of these many pituresque hills or staircases, meaning you would have to walk up it to get there.

I got checked in at 7 and went to bed at 8.
It was very very cold. I had thought granada, being in the south, would be warmer. must be the mountains.

Tuesday
people are waiting for the net so short version.
got my train booked, but not without problems
walked around
found the greatest supermarket on earth. I would cut my grocery bill in half (if not more) by moving to spain. tasty bakery chabata bread. .80 (in the US it would cost me about 5 bucks) wine 1.00-4.00. capers .75 olives (huge jar) 1.00 fruit and veggies: cheap and amazing (I had august worthy strawberrys yesterday) I walked around the grocery store trying to supress the crazed grin on my face.