Miami, Spain

We arrived in Granada around midnight, so checked into our hotel in the Old Town. We would meet up with Malia on her birthday, June 9 – the next day. Hotel Lima was very nice, with lots of artworks and handcrafted touches. We were on a quiet side street but near a plaza with a fountain. The owner was very friendly and we seemed to be the only guests. The next day, we were awakened by the noise of hammering around 10: am. When we went into the lobby, we found out why. Some workers were gutting the lobby, demolishing the brick and stone interior walls. We stepped over mortar and broken tiles to exit the hotel. We had breakfast on the plaza, then explored a bit. We met Malia and Tomas for lunch to celebrate her birthday. What a joy to see Malia again! We spent all day together on her birthday, tapas hopping around Granada, seeing her house, and enjoying the view. From Malia and Tomas’s apartment you can see the Mirador of Alhambra. That night, we met up again with her friends. At the first bar, Norm started singing happy birthday, and soon the whole bar was singing choruses in several languages. We stayed out until the wee hours. The next day, we met in the evening for flamenco at a small club. We had a front row seat, and watched a young flamenco dancer move through her routine with a very serious look. She was accompanied by two musicians, a singer and guitar player. They both had a gypsy sultry look. Of course we visited the Alhambra which was quite spectacular. We wandered the moorish and Jewish quarters where the streets were narrow. We had Morrocan lunch. This would be our taste of Morrocco because Norm had decided we didn’t really have the time to visit there this time. The only other bad news is I lost my iPhone on the bus into Granada. Luckily, I had find phone set up so I could remotely erase it since it was surely stolen. Malia and Tomas tried to help me recover it, but that didn’t happen. Anyway, I still have my iPad. I’m missing the phone, because it was my watch and camera too, and loaded with useful travel apps. I know when I get home I can replace it with an equivalent model, and reload all my data. Our last day, we went out for tapas one last time, and I went shoe shopping with Malia. It was sad to say goodbye. Meanwhile, back at the hotel, the crew finished up the demolition. The maid cleaned it all up, and all the artworks were strategically moved back in place. Except for some missing walls, you would never know what a mess it had been yesterday!