Pearl #2 ~ Plaza Bib-Rambla

Listening to:  The clocks ticking in the silence

Today's six-word memoir:  Oh to walk Granada's streets again!

Looking through to Plaza Bib Rambla from The Alcaiceria 

When studying abroad in Granada, Spain, one of my favorite pastimes was wandering the streets, most of which were cobblestone, and all had this wonderfully uninterrupted rhythm of life happening as it does day in and day out.

The Spanish have a couple of words for walking, and early on I learned that the difference between caminando and andando is that the first is just the act of walking, nothing special about it.  But andando is more similar to paseando, just passing along or out for a stroll.  No hurrying, taking in the sights around you, maybe stopping to look in a window or sip a cafe con leche along the way.  No real purpose to the walk, just walking for walking's sake and seeing what you can see as you pass by.

It was this process of just heading out and taking in life around you that often comes back to me now.  I think, too often, we head out with a purpose and don't allow ourselves to just be there, nothing pressing us in one direction or another, just out for a stroll.  

Plaza de Bibbarambla, or Bib-Rambla for short, was one of my favorite places to andar.  Typical of the many plazas that dot the city, this one has a fountain in the middle, and old men dressed in suits occupying the benches, maybe talking, maybe not.  There are cafes that have outdoor seating areas with canvas tents to shield from the sun or cooler winter and spring temperatures.  

One of the canvas tents is actually a florist with mountains of fresh-cut blooms.  An alley off one corner of the plaza has some of the best Moroccan-style shops and another road heading in the opposite direction houses a vendor booth with every-day Spanish ceramic utensils:  Bowls, butter dishes, cups, tiles, all painted in the typical blue on white, maybe with some yellow accents.  

And there's a churreria, where you can stop in for a churro con chocolate.  A churro is kind of like a doughnut, but different in shape, and served fresh from the fryer with a cup of hot, thick, melted chocolate for dipping.  I astounded the servers at the churrerias by also requesting that mine be served with nata, or whipped cream, which is an alternative option, but never served together with chocolate!  

When I went there with the Spain girls, they were obsessed with the candy shop and would stock up on all their favorites.  I liked the white licorice-y tubes with red filling, coated in some sort of sugar and tasting almost like Sour Patch Kids, but not as sour.  The gummy bears were terrible, so I had Mom and Dad send me a 1/4 pound bag of Brach gummy bears, which my Spanish host-sister absolutely adored.  When Mom and Dad came to visit at the end of my semester, they brought a bag with them to leave for "Little Carmen" (her mom's name was also Carmen, so that's how I differentiated).