SEVILLE

She couldn’t believe they were late. As they ran through the deserted streets of Granada at dawn, she thought about how she had never missed a train or a flight or a bus to anywhere before. And she was determined not to make a first with this train to Seville. They took a shortcut to the railway station, based on their general sense of direction and it paid them off well. They reached in time with 2 minutes to spare – enough to catch their breath. And to laugh at themselves. How could they be late? They had done a recce of the route to the station the day before, and knew the roads of Granada quite well by now; having walked around everywhere. They left the hostel early and had even skipped their daily dose of hot chocolate, to ensure they be on time. Despite all that preparation, when they looked at their watches halfway, they were shocked to see that they just had a few minutes to catch their train. Guess they were too lost in the sight of beautiful Granada in the early morning.

When she reached Seville, she was surprised to find it very different from Granada. Everything about this place was bright and sunny and cheerful. It reminded her of the movie – Before Sunrise. They took a bus to Plaza Neuva – the most happening centre of the city. Their first destination was Plaza Espana. It was a breathtaking structure with a mixture of different styles of architecture. It looked as if the plaza was constructed as a tribute to the different history and art of Spain. Each district and section of the country was depicted beautifully. She had never seen anything like this – even in the movies. 

 
The place was full of tourists from across the world. After all, this was the time of Semana Santa – one the most famous festival of Seville. People from around the world had flocked here to be a part of the celebrations. However, just like in Granada, she didn’t find any Indians there. With an exception. They met a man selling flamenco fans – beautifully painted ones. As she bargained with him, she found out that he was a descendant of an Indian who had migrated here generations ago. He was quite excited to see them.

The cathedral in Seville was one the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world and was quite magnificent. The interior was quite fascinating with its paintings and carvings and the gold. She had never seen that much of gold outside a South Indian wedding. The cathedral had a tower named La Giralda – a very old structure. As they climbed up the tower through its winding ramp, they met a very good looking Spanish man wanting to strike up a conversation with them. However, he didn’t know a word of English. They gave up trying after some time, and instead focused on the view from the top of the tower. It gave a panoramic view of the city – quite breathtaking view. They could see the Torro, a famous bull fight ring from there – it looked quite interesting. They both instantly decided that would be their next stop – a trip to Spain would be incomplete without a bull fight.

 
As they walked around the streets of Seville she couldn’t stop admiring the orange trees laden with ripe fruit. She had seen that in Granada too, and wondered if it is an entire Spain thing. No one seemed interested to pick them and eat – strange sight for her. In India, even the flower plants and shrubs were not spared. She enjoyed the sight of festivities in the streets. There were vendors of every kind, magicians, musicians and people acting like statues. There was celebration in the air, everything was so bright and colorful. 

 

The visit to the Torro was quite upsetting. While the ring was quite amazing – bright orange and brown sand swept in a spiral, it was the history and the depiction of bull fights in the museum which troubled her. She hadn’t known that the bulls are killed, and quite brutally too, in the fights. Sometimes it is the fighter who dies. It was all so bloody and gory; she wondered how people enjoy it. She was happy that there was no bull fight happening while she was there. 

Once out of the Torro, they walked across the road to the bank of the river. It had a very calming effect after the violence of the bull fight. The sparkling water of the river, with its beautiful bridges and lovely boats made her feel so happy and relaxed. There were people lying on the banks and enjoying the quite afternoon sun. As they sat there, enjoying the soft splashes of the river, she couldn’t stop admiring the people around. Everyone seemed to be in a holiday mood – beautiful people just sitting or walking around and enjoying their time. 

The processions and festivities picked up in the evening, and everyone were out on the streets. They saw how the young crowd jumped from one pub to another – holding plastic glasses of drinks. This was the first time she saw people in groups. Guess, pubbing is not much fun just as couples – you need a group to enjoy it all. After wandering around for ages, they finally decided to reach the bus station in time – to catch their bus back to Granada. They didn’t want to be late this time. 

By the time they reached Granada, it was after midnight. There were no buses at that time and they decided not to hire a cab. Instead they walked down the long road to their hostel. The streets were not as deserted as she thought it would be – there were those groups of people still hopping bars and trying to have the last bit of fun before hitting the bed. Night life in Spain seemed quite fun. She had to try it before she left for India. There would be plenty of chance to do that in Barcelona – the big city. Their next stop. 

                                                                                             To be continued…..

 

GRANADA – CONTINUED

Alhambra was not the only majestic building in Granada. This place was a congruence of Moorish and Christian architecture. While the Alhambra, Albayzin and Generalife represents the Muslim reign, the Palace of Charles V, the Cathedral and Sacromonte represent the Christian era. To her, everything looked beautiful. She hadn’t imagined it to be so magnificent, when she had read the book. She was quite happy that everything turned out to be more than her expectations. 

It was the Easter holidays, and most of the shops were closed. People were out on the streets, having fun and enjoying the sun which was getting warmer every day. Spring was in the air, and there were beautiful flowers blossoming all around. Easter is celebrated quite grandly in Granada – she could make that out from the processions in the evenings. People in the processions were dressed up quite strangely – probably had a lot to do with the history of the Easter in that location. But she couldn’t bother to find out. She was never really interested in religion that much. 

She wasn’t interested in fashion either; before coming here. Now, she just couldn’t stop herself from noticing what people dressed here. Because it was still early spring, everyone wore jackets and scarves. Women wore short skirts, shorts or dresses, with stockings and boots. They matched these up with lovely warm clothing like sweaters, jackets, scarves and caps. In her eyes, each person was a model posing for a fashion shoot. She felt that she was walking through one big fashion show all the time. And amidst them all, she found a small group of tourists dressed even better – like the movie – Devil Wears Prada. These women made the rest seem like school children in fashion. Her friend could make out that they were from London, from their conversation and accent. She then got to know that fashion sense in London was of an entirely different league. She wondered if she ever went to London, people would put her in the jail for being dressed as she was.

Granada in Easter was quite full of people. There were tourists everywhere – the streets shopping for souvenirs, in the restaurants enjoying the traditional Spanish food, and in the famous buildings admiring the architecture. However, there were very few international tourists, most seemed to be from Spain. There were very few Indians, and she felt people looking at her more than once. Once as they walked along some inner streets, she found a lady pointing them out to her numerous children – “Indians – Bonita Indians”. She was flattered when she got to know that “Bonitas” mean “beautiful” in Spanish. She had to tell people back home that people in Spain think Indians and India is beautiful. 

They had to try the free “tapas” for which Granada was famous for. Tapas is the wide variety of snacks or appetizers – a very famous part of Spanish cuisine. She had heard they could be quite delicious. Interestingly, most bars in Granada were known to offer them free with drinks. She had read that these tapas becomes more than a meal for people, as they hop from one pub to another to try the different variety – while only paying for their drink. Everyone who visits Granada had to do this thing. However, fate was not their side. Since it was the Easter holidays, most restaurants had stopped offering free tapas. That didn’t stop them from looking for that one bar which would still offer free tapas. And that’s how they got lost.

It was all because they didn’t know Spanish. After taking directions from their hostel manager, they made their way for Sacromote. Somewhere in that district was a bar which was not only still offering free tapas, but was very famous for its ambience. They however had underestimated how big the district was or how deserted. Once they entered the winding lanes on that hill, there was no getting out. They went up and down and into alleys and lanes, which were completely deserted, looking for some living being who could guide them to that restaurant. But everyone was at the processions in the main street. They got terribly lost, and couldn’t find their way out of Sacromonte. After forever, of walking around in that maze of beautiful, ancient lanes, they found the free tapas bar. It was completely crowded - with loud music, and people standing on every inch of the place. She had never seen a place like this before. It looked like all the young crowd of the city was jammed into this one place. She had her first Shangriya – which tasted quite like fruit juice. And her first meal. Yes her tapas was quite filling and the best tasting food she had since she landed in Spain. Being a vegetarian was quite difficult in the western world, but tapas came to her rescue. She hoped she would have similar luck in the other places she would be going.

They walked back from the bar and reminisced the last two days. They hadn’t expected to see so much in such a small city – they had walked around everywhere – never having to take a cab or a bus to any place. It was not so much about the buildings or the Sierra Nevada which impressed her, as much as the people and how they lived. Granada has this relaxed atmosphere, as if everyone were leading quiet, happy and contended lives. No one was rushing anywhere, or trying to be something. It was tranquil, soft, easy and peaceful.. Somehow being in Granada made her feel complete. 

She hoped Seville would be as great. Her next destination.

GRANADA

She had not expected it to be that cold. Else she would have dressed appropriately. As she stood shivering in the long queue for the ticket to Alhambra, a lovely dawn broke through the trees. She took another glance at the long queue and cursed herself again for not wearing warmer clothes. She couldn’t believe they had woken up at that unearthly hour and come all the way to Alhambra, just to get the entrance ticket – the place doesn’t even open till late morning. Anyways, here she was, looking at people from across the world waiting just like her, with the exception that they were more intelligently dressed. 

By the time they had collected the ticket it was a bright morning, and they decided to skip the bus and walk around the place. She was soon to learn that walking was the only way to explore any place. As they slowly made their way back to the hostel, she felt awed by the stoned houses with small plants and flowers peeking from the windows, the smooth roads with lovely plants and creepers planted neatly in the sidewalks, the clear and bright blue sky with its soft tufts of clouds. 

She saw people walking around with poodles. Everywhere. People from Granada seemed to have a special interest in poodles – the only canine species she saw there. No street dogs at all. That felt strange – not to see any stay animal species. Most inner roads in Granada were very tiny, but would still have pavements – she felt the pavements took up more space than the roads. There were two-three storied buildings on either side, but they didn’t seem to be separated. It was one long continuous procession of houses, shops and offices. 

By the time they reached the main street near their hostel the city was wide awake and getting ready for the day. While the shops were still closed, the restaurants and eating joints were slowly opening up. Walking along the road she could not but be amused by the road sense. People crossed only at Zebra crossings, never anywhere else. Which meant, that there were zebra crossings at every street – however small the street was. In fact, every street had pedestrian crossing street lights. The funny thing was the vehicles would stop at these lights, even if no one was crossing. They really were quite safe here, she thought to herself. That was quite amazing. Most of the street crossing lights also had this button – to stop the traffic, in case someone wanted to cross while there is vehicular traffic on the road. She felt they were totally unnecessary. Whatever the color of the pedestrian crossing light, any vehicle would stop at least 10 feet away if they saw just a foot off the pavement and on the road. Boy, did they care about their pedestrians!!!

The traffic sense was also quite amazing here. She never saw anyone changing lanes or trying to reach anywhere in a hurry. There was perfect order in the way the traffic moved. The cars made strange squishing sounds as they passed her. They made that sound everywhere, in straight roads, in curves, at high speed, low speed, all the time. It was quite weird. The buses were just like out of the movies – so neat, shiny and clean. The ticket had to be collected at the entrance, from the bus driver – until each person had not finished this, the bus wouldn’t move. There were obviously no free rides here in Spain. What surprised her was the each bus journey had a fixed fare – it didn’t depend on where they were going or how far the destination was. 

After a lovely breakfast, where the person serving the food was better looking than models she saw on TV, they set course for Alhambra. Once there, she could not stop but feel like she was home. The beautiful Moorish buildings with the intricate carvings were similar to those she saw in India. But that’s where the similarities ended. The buildings were quite well maintained here – there was very little damage to the carvings, and everywhere she could see the restoration work happening to keep this manmade beauty intact. 

As they walked through the beautiful corridors and walkways, she couldn’t stop admiring the beautiful craftsmanship of the carvers. They did the ceiling too – with colored tiles and painted wood. They looked far more exquisite than the marbled floors. The gardens of Alhambra were perfectly manicured and lush. Occasionally there were splashes of color among the green – a bright yellow tree or a tree laden with pink blossoms. It character and mystery to the entire place. The paths through the gardens consisted of beautifully laid down stones and pebbles – with swirling patterns. Someone made this place up with a lot of love and care, she thought.

She couldn’t stop noticing the couples. There were couples everywhere, in every age group. In fact, she thought to herself, there were only couples she has seen since she landed in Madrid. Or groups of couples. Most of them were in their early 20s. While some seemed all cooing, kissing and holding hands, most of them seemed quite normal. However, one thing was common among them all – they seemed to care for each other quite a lot – to the point that they were oblivious to others. And they were quite comfortable being a couple in public. It was like they were used to this since a very young age. So different from back home, she thought pensively. 

Another thing which she couldn’t get enough of was the couples with babies. There seemed to be families everywhere she looked. She wondered how did Indians come to the notion that family concept is not strong in the West. There were so many couples with babies ranging from a few months to toddlers, and most couples had multiple children – all of them cute and lovely. All the parents were lugging around prams and strollers, which carried their bags and jackets, while the children enjoyed their time on their parent’s arms and shoulders. It was beautiful to see such families. She had kept away from babies all her life – she thought them to be these crying and pooping things which need attention all the time. However, babies here seemed so comfortable and happy. The fathers seemed to be more involved with the baby rather than the mothers. That was another strange sight which she was not used to.

She found that Spanish people talk a lot – or maybe their language was quite verbose. When they talked it sounded like constant babble but with lots of expressions and nice to hear. They smiled a lot too – to anyone who met their eyes, even while walking on the streets. Since she was staring at everyone, she got a lot of smiles back from them. Initially she felt quite conscious but soon she started enjoying the smiles and giving it back. Once again she found that not a single person was talking on the cell phone. It was surprising to see that they seemed to live so much in the present – not dividing their attention to something else, somewhere else. They all seemed such good looking people with well maintained figures and postures. They obviously paid a lot of attention to health and exercising and enjoying life. She had this constant feeling that she needed to learn a lot from this place and people. 

                                                          To be continued…..

THE JOURNEY

She looked around with awe at the bright shiny airport, as she waited for her bag to arrive. It was so clean - squeaky clean actually. And empty – where were the crowds of people jostling each other at the conveyor belt to get the perfect spot to catch their incoming luggage? Well, she had to remind herself, she was in Madrid…not in India anymore.

The journey till here was surprisingly comfortable. She had boarded her flight from India at two in the morning – she didn’t expect she would get much sleep due to the excitement. Very soon she drifted off to a restless sleep. She kept waking up intermittently for the never ending meals. And to check on the early morning twilight sun – she had been racing the sun throughout the journey. Finally the sun caught up with her as the aircraft started its descent to Paris.

The view of France from above was beautiful – picture perfect. The fields looked large, very green and so neat – with quite straight borders. They looked so well tended – a sight of perfect harmony. Even the occasional woods in between were so well defined. The trees were not like anything she had seen before. But it was the towns which differed from anything she had seen in India. They were organized and structured so well – like the sketches of a 10 year old child – perfect straight rows of houses which all looked the same differing only in sizes. They all had cute red roofs sloping into porches and backyards. It was so pretty, and tranquil.

As the aircraft landed in Paris, she had scanned the horizon for the Eiffel Tower, telling herself that there it was not necessary that she could see it from a landing aircraft – but just couldn’t stop herself from searching! Queuing up to disembark, she didn’t pay much heed to everyone putting on extra layers of clothing - it looked bright and sunny outside. She regretted this the moment she stepped outside. It was 5 degrees, and windy – so cold, she couldn’t breathe for a few seconds. Fumbling in her bag for her sweater, she hoped Spain wouldn’t be this cold.

She was dismayed to see the immigration check lines in Paris much longer than those in India. It took her forever to get the necessary stamp on her passport and board her Madrid flight. The aircraft to Madrid was tiny but she didn’t mind as she was seated next to a gorgeous looking man. If she knew he would be the first of many such good looking men she would see in the next 10 days, she wouldn’t have stared at him so much. She tried to make small talk, like you do in India but her offer was put down very politely and firmly by the handsome stranger. 

She was brought back to attention with the arrival of her bag. As she walked towards the exit, slowly taking in the sight of very different looking people – someone pounced at her with a pair of scissors. She was startled as she hadn’t expected anyone to approach her. But it was just an airport attendant helping her cut off the tags from her bags. That simple gesture felt so good, made her feel welcomed. She fell in love with the place all over again. 

Once out of the arrival gate, she met up with her friend. They made their way to the airport metro which would take them to the bus stand – where the bus would take them to Granada – their first destination. She was fascinated with the ticket vending machine and insisted that they take tickets from the machine. Waiting for the metro train was fun. The tunnel looked just like in the English movies – clean, bright and completely empty. She could hear her own echo. There were quite a number of people in the train – but couldn’t hear anyone having a conversation. Everyone was either reading a book or staring away into space. She imagined the bustling trains in her city, and couldn’t stop herself from smiling at the comparison. 

The main bus stand in Madrid was quite like those back home – just more cleaner and larger. The buses too were quite well maintained. But she had expected this. What she didn’t expect was that not a single person in that entire crowd of people was using the cell phone. The sight was so different to her. Unlike the train, here everyone was busy chattering away. The sound level in the small eating joint was quite high!! She felt good to listen to it, after all that silence. 

The trip to Granada was quite amazing. The sky was so blue with soft tufts of clouds. However, it was not hot despite the bright sunlight. This was something she would get used to in the coming days. Initially the landscape was quite bare, in the outskirts of Madrid. It was slowly replaced with huge plantations of some shrubs, the plantations continued on the small hills too. After a few hours, they reached Andalucia, and the road took them through the rocky hills and cliffs – so inviting for treks. The journey was quite tranquil and comfortable. 

They reached Granada late in the afternoon. After checking on the information desk, they realized they had to take a bus to the place where they were to stay. The bus was the most sophisticated and shiny vehicle she had ever seen. The bus driver doubled as the ticket collector and he listened intently as they explained where they needed to go. With no luck, as he didn’t know any English. With the help of some passengers they were able to reach the place where they were to stay. The hostel manager was an old man. He welcomed them warmly and gave interesting snippets of information and tips on how and what to see in Granada – they were soon to find his tips and maps quite useful.

By the time they checked into their rooms, it was dark outside. She was quite excited to see everything around their place. They dumped their bags, and set out again to explore their street and surrounding areas. From the closed shutters of shops, they could make out it was a busy street. Everything looked beautiful to her – the buildings, the streets, the pavements. She was completely fascinated when she found a tree laden with ripe oranges right on the pavement! But it was quite dark and the streets had become deserted. She decided to leave the exploring for tomorrow. 

She was finally here – the crown of Spain – Granada!!! Tomorrow would be some day. 
                                                                                         

                                                                                                   To be continued….

FINALLY – SPAIN!!!

She checked for her passport and boarding pass for the hundredth time as she waited for the boarding call of her flight. It was not because she might have misplaced it in the bustling airport, but rather because she couldn’t get herself to believe she was actually going to Spain!!! It looked so surreal….

Reaching here had been a long journey. After her initial doubts, she decided to go for it. She would have loved to go alone on this adventure, but wasn’t brave enough. Luckily her friend; who had initially suggested the trip, hadn’t been to Spain and was free to join her. She was thrilled. Her relationship with this friend had the amazing balance of intimacy and non intrusion. She was happy that she had the perfect company for the trip. 

Planning for the trip turned out to be such fun. They both decided on when to go, which places to visit, where would they stay, their mode of travel and so on. All she had read about in that book of hers was Andalucía. But there was so much to see in Spain, that she couldn’t limit herself to that one place. But choosing was tough – Spain has exotic beaches, mountains, old towns, metropolitan cities, islands and almost everything in the geographic and cultural range. And they had only 10 days to see it all. After a month of discussion, they could finally decide on which places to visit. They had chosen the Easter holidays to go there – the perfect time to be there, as Easter celebrations in Spain were spectacular. With her tickets and visa done, all she had to do was tell the rest of the world.

She did not let anyone know of her plans. Maybe she didn’t want to explain everyone about her dream, maybe she already knew the protest her parents would raise, maybe she was expecting people to question her….Mostly it was because she wanted to keep this experience close to her heart. She wanted it to be perfect. But getting away from the rest of the world for 10 days seemed quite difficult. She had to tell her parents and close friends – they would be anxious if they do not receive that everyday call. It took quite a lot of convincing that she would be safe and Europe wouldn’t really eat her up. She had to apply for a leave from office – which seemed impossible without stating reason for leave. Finally when she did tell her about her trip – she was showered with blessings and good advices. It felt good but was also embarrassing – she wasn’t good with handling that kind of attention. But finally it was all over. 

She packed carefully – all her best clothes, good pair of shoes, light winter wear (it was hot summer in India, but websites said it would be chilly in Spain – wow!!), camera, a notebook to record events, and also some food (for times when she might miss India). She was so excited she even took a photograph of the shy and smiling taxi driver helping with her bags, once she reached the airport. She loitered around the airport, willing time to go faster and get her to her destination soon.

The boarding call for her flight was announced. As she queued up for boarding, she was hit with a fresh volley of doubts – what was she doing, why was she taking such risks as going to a totally unknown place, was it worth all that money, what if she didn’t have a good time….She stopped this train of thought before it occupied her entire mind. It was 2 am, and she was tired of all that excitement. She couldn’t get herself worked up with all the doubts anymore. She looked forward to some sleep during the nine hour flight to Paris, where she would take another connecting flight to Madrid.  

Madrid!!!.... She couldn’t stop smiling…..

                                                                   To be continued….

A BREAKTHROUGH

Things were going really bad. Especially, when she compared everything to how they were six months ago. She was 25 years old and life had been perfect six months ago. After having procured the kind of education she had wanted, she took up a job in a kind of place where she learnt many things but more importantly she was respected and loved by her colleagues and mentor. She had great friends with whom she shared amazing times. She had started hiking with a group and the experience had been liberating for her. To top it all, she was in love – with the perfect guy. She never had been happier or more confident in her entire life. She felt she was living the life she had always wanted to…Well at least for a while.

Lately things had started taking a bad turn. Work and projects were not moving in the right direction as work. She missed her mentor who had moved to a different department. Just like her friends – who all got transferred to different cities. And love…well it brought out emotions in her like jealousy, possessiveness and doubt; emotions she thought she didn’t have. She didn’t like it a bit – the kind of person she was becoming. 

Yes, things were not going well at all. As she was chatting with her childhood friend, she complained about it, and how she felt. Her very wise friend, instantly prescribed a break – a holiday at a new destination, even gave some suggestions of places to go – UK, Europe, etc.  Her first reaction was that she could never get away from work, and an overseas trip meant big bucks down the drain to her. But as she walked home that evening, she thought about it again. Yes, it would really be nice to get away from everything. The idea began to excite her – to go to some place completely different from where she lived. It sounded like an adventure. 

She got to chat with her friend again about the idea, and they discussed about locations where she could go. Suddenly it came up, the name, the one place she had wanted to be most, but had completely forgotten over years of trying get to the place where she was now. Spain. How had she forgotten how long time dream? She had the money as well as the freedom to go there, yet it hadn’t crossed her mind till then.  It no longer was an impossible dream. To think that she could actually be there, got her immensely happy.

Of course, it wasn’t easy. It needed an entire mindset change for her – she had never done anything that bold before. She also had other things to think of – with whom would she go, was it safe to go alone (which she badly wanted to do), what would her family say about spending that kind of money, would her office give her a leave for such a reason, is it really necessary or worthwhile to spend that much, etc. All these doubts ensured that they stopped her from taking a decision. But just that thought that if she really wanted – she could go, anytime, made her feel so free and immensely happy. She didn’t feel like wasting time thinking of her troubles - they felt so puny and boring in front of this idea. Her mind was more attracted towards this trip – if she decided to go for it. 

Should she go for it?

                                                                            To be continued….