Granada Day 3

Today was another solid day. We woke up this morning and went over to the Alhambra, which was crazy with the view. We also went into the cathedral and were actually able to watch them prepare for their Semana Santa procesión. And of course the decoration inside the church was crazy.

Then I was actually able to go to a guitar shop. Now, these were handmade acoustic guitars, starting at 750€ ($850-900), so they normally only allow professionals to even pick them up. Well, the owner could tell I was genuinely interested, so he picked one up, tuned it, and then went in Carlos Santana style something crazy. After he finished, I wanted no parts of the guitar. But after he insisted several times, I understood that he would be offended if I didn't play a little, so I picked it up and hit a few chords. I thought it was overall a cool experience. After we left, Raymond let me know that the owner was saying (en Español) that he could tell we were not from Granada, and he didn't want us to have a bad impression, so he allowed me to play.

We then went to the courts where Raymond and Carson usually go to play basketball. It was cool, and even though I was dressed in hiking boots and pants I jumped on the court and played a few games. It was interesting to see how even in a game I've grown up playing for so long, my lack of Spanish speaking affected me. I wasn't able to easily communicate with the rest of the people on the court, which just made the game that much more difficult. But it was fun.

We finished the day with dinner and watching the Barcelona
Vs Real Madrid fútbol match for their championship. It was crazy seeing how the city shut down while the match was going on. No taxis, pedestrians to be seen. But as soon as the game was over, people started spilling out into the streets for more Semana Santa celebrations.

It was a great day, and we got to skype with Conie, Alicia, and Lauryn too!