Mi Grana'

Back from Almería and Granada. This trip was a bit weird, a bit of a downer. Granada is definitely a place to go with a boyfriend, and if he doesn't exist, well, friends.

I got up too early to go to Almería on Thursday morning, still recuperating from farangitis. My duffel bag decides to break, and then my backpack, full with all my clothes, decides to do the same. Fantastic. I take a cab to Cibeles to catch the bus to the airport, go through security without any problems what so ever, and then have two hours to kill. I watched some Angel...plane ride non eventful as I was asleep after only about 3.5 hours of sleep.

Almería is sort of ugly, it's true, but the Alcazaba was pretty damn cool. I was being followed by cats everywhere. And they seemed to like my Barça wallet that was a gift from Valencia. Everyone commented on it, and it seemed to make me friends. I went to the beach and sat a while, looking at my favourite sea (the Mediterranean). And I was able to understand andaluz everywhere I went. My friend Rubén, who I had been talking to online since 2004!!, and I met up for tapas and so he could show me the town some. It was one of the most fun nights I had had in a while, seeing the Almería gay life and just spending time with someone I knew from the virtual world.

I knew 3 Almerineses in Valencia...one being my Body Combat monitor, one being another monitor at the gym, and the other being Spanish Flake from June, who showed that the andaluz stereotype of being falso exists for a reason :-/

Friday morning, I get up to go to Granada, then find out that I could have caught the bus to Cabo de Gata, which is the national park I really wanted to see in Almería. Ah well, there's always next time. The contrast of desert and mountain is the coolest thing to see in the landscape between Almería and Granada. I caught a cab to the pensión where I stayed, which is one of the worst experiences I've had and put a damper on the weekend. No internet, no heating, no hot water, bad location (I only like staying in the Albacyn!)

So I went to a really cool bar for café con leche, and hiked out to the Sacramonte caves, where gypsies (gitanos) make their residence. And my camera batteries died, of course. One gitana tried to rip me off, but I just walked out and didn't stand for it. I went back, ate cheap at a nice restaurant in the Albacyn, the neighbourhood that is really a labyrinth of white cobblestone streets. Because of cloud cover, I wasn't able to understand the Best Sunset in España from Mirador de San Nicolas as I wanted (but I did on Saturday).

I felt a little down being alone as I wandered the streets and saw all the Christmas lights. Not going to lie. This time of year is hard for me. Especially since I turn 30 tomorrow (more on that later) and have no relationship or permanent job to show for it. Anyway...

I decided to try going out by myself, and the bar played Mariah's All I Want for Christmas and two Lady Gaga (my two fave singles), Alejandro and Poker Face. But they played some Beyonce shit that affected me to the point of having a panic attack on Saturday. People think I make this up, about her causing panic attacks, but it's true...

Came back early, woke up Saturday and decided to spend the day roaming Granada some more. Maybe a mistake, but there is a lot to enjoy in Granada. I walked back up to Sacramonte, went through the maze of streets, found a new Mirador, had too many cafés con leche, tried and failed at a siesta, tried and failed at finding a chino to buy a new backpack (have to do that now), made it to The Best Sunset in Spain which was amazing as always. A lot of hippies go there, as do a lot of flamenco singers, which add to the ambience. I have my panic attack, then recover and go out again. They played Mariah All I Want for Christmas again...then Beyonce, and this time I had finished my Coca Cola (as I'm still on antibiotics and am concentrating on my health).

Granada remains one of my top 5 cities in Spain. However, next time I go, I hope it's with an amazing boyfriend by my side. More on this later.

I watched Ángel on the way back. I still hate the character, but I love the supporting cast, even if they killed myDoyle. Now if I could just have Giles and Wesley do some research that Cordelia would approve of, and have Buffy fight off the demon that causes one to turn 30 and kill it. 12 hours left of my 20s. Not sure where it's gone to. Again, more on that later.