Andalusia, Spain - Granada 3
It was our last day in Granada. First we took advantage of the hotel's breakfast again and then strolled in the downtown to enjoy the fresh morning air for a while. The city of Granada was also as clean as Seville. I don't think the city of Barcelona was clean like that.
I know we just had a breakfast, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to try the original Pionono when we passed by Pastelería Casa Ysla. Pionono is probably the most famous sweet in Granada. It's a small cake soaked in syrup, filled with yolk cream and sprinkled with cinnamon and crowned with egg yolk cream that is toasted and caramelized. Ceferino Isla González, a confectioner and a founder of Casa Ysla, invented the cake in 1897 to honor Pope Pius IX, or "Pio-Nono (Pio ninth)." The cylindrical cake recalls the Pope's somehow chubby figure, wearing with a white robe and a zucchetto (skullcap).
I had one piece of the cake at the pastry shop. It was wonderful! Actually it wasn't my first Pionono. I found some Piononos at the hotel's breakfast buffet and I had one in the morning as well as the day before, just in case I would not have a chance to eat the original. Pastry shops in Granada make their own Piononos today. I am sure the hotel's Pinonos weren't made by Casa Ysla. They were good but weren't as moist or flavorful as the original.
I can't get everything all the time, though. I wanted lemon cookies from Monastery Carmelitas Calzadas in the downtown. We visited the monastery three times while we were in Granada but the door was always closed. On the morning again I rang the door bell but nobody answered...
We gave up the nun's lemon cookies and headed to Cathedral de Granada. Our hotel was adjacent to the cathedral and we walked around the building so many times. However, somehow we didn't have a chance to enter it until the last day.
The Cathedral of Granada was built upon the site of the Great Mosque, a symbol of the 600 year Muslim dominance. The construction started in 1523 and took almost 200 years to complete due to numerous alterations of the designs, including the major style change from Gothic to Renaissance.
The chapels inside, including the main chapel looked modest after our visits of the Baroque churches in Granada and Seville. The white color of the giant pillars and ceilings brighten up the inside of the church and visually calmed down the pressure from their weight.
J7
We also visited Royal Chapel of Granada that was adjacent to the cathedral. The early 16th century chapel was built by Queen Isabel and King Fernando as a burial place for themselves. It was also the last Gothic church to be built in Spain. Today the chapel protects the remains of them as well as their heirs (their second daughter, Joanna and son-in-law, Philip I), and Prince Miguel, who was the son of their first daughter Isabella and died when he was about two years old. The highlight in the chapel was, of course, their magnificent tombs that was carved out of beautiful Carrara marble. Under the tombs was the crypt, where the five coffins were placed in. Photography wasn't permitted in the chapel. I hope I remember what I saw there as long as I can.
Next we visited Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, or Monasterio de la Cartuja. The Carthusian monastery is located on the northern hill of Granada. It was about 30 minute walk distance from the downtown. We took a taxi to get there to save the time of our last day.
The Monastery was built on the land that Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, a.k.a the Great Captain donated to the monks in 1506. He was a knight and a Spanish general who fought in the Conquest of Granada and was one of the two commissioners who conducted the final negotiations for the surrender of Granada.
The construction lasted three centuries due to multiple reasons including geography and funding related issues. While the Monastery is recognized as one of the greatest exponents of Spanish and Andalusian Baroque architecture, it also has elements in different styles such as Late Gothic, Renaissance and Early Neoclassicism because of such a long construction time. The monastery was inhabited until 1835. Today it can still remain under historic-artistic protection.
We walked through the cloister with orange trees, and then stepped into the 17th century of the church.
The church looked elegant and calm perhaps because the dominant color was white, not gold. On the contrary, behind the main altar was a small, extravagantly decorated room, where the red and black marble tabernacle with canopies stood in the middle.
Actually the highlight of the monastery was the Sacristy. Built in the 18th century, the late Baroque style Sacristy is known as the most beautiful sacristy in the world. The dramatic plaster works, which created a sort of illusion of waterfalls, were impressive indeed.
I thought it would be easy to walk from the monastery to a pottery shop that was located at the northern Albaicín. I was wrong. It was a long hilly walk but eventually we arrived at the pottery shop, Albayzín Cerámica. Founded in 1974, the pottery company is specialized in the Fajalauza style ceramic, a traditional ceramic art in Granada.
The Fajalauza ceramic was born in the 16th century from a mix of traditions both Christian and Arabic. Common designs are flowers, birds, and plants, and most notably the pomegranate ('Granada' in Spanish), the symbol of the city. Traditionally the designs are painted in blue and green glazes while more different colors have been added over the past five centuries.
The small shop was filled with their handmade potteries that were cheerfully painted. We happily bought a couple of small round dishes with traditional designs with a lovely "Granada" and a small rectangle dish with a cute bird in blue and green.
We walked to another pottery store from there. The name of the store was Fajalauza. In fact there were two stores facing each other across the road, and both had the same name. One dates from the 16th century, the other from the 17th century. Apparently both are the city's old ceramic factories. Anyway, we checked both. As the name suggested, both had Fajalauza ceramics. They looked like those at Albayzín Cerámica, but I thought Albayzín Cerámica's painting work was better and I didn't find anything I wanted to take home with us at the two store.
Then, we walked more to the next pottery store, which was located in the central Albaicín. It was the store we tried to visit two days ago. This time the door was closed again. We rang the door bell and a lady showed up and let us in. Maybe that was what we needed to do two days ago.
Founded in 1984, Cerámica Al Yarrar has its mission to recover the techniques and designs of Andalusian ceramics from their ancestors and making pieces that can be adopted in our daily life. One of their main product lines is called 'Andalusi,' a style that would be made in Al-Andalus (the area of the Iberian Peninsula that came under Muslim control by the early 8th century) between the 12th and 14th centuries. I liked the patterns and colors (mainly blue and green) so much! We picked two large oval plates that would be lovely to serve pasta.
It was time for lunch. With the lovely potteries we got, we happily climbed down to the downtown. It was nice walking in the maze-like neighborhood of the hilly Albaicín again.
We tried Bodegas Castañeda, a classic, traditional tapas bar, dating from 1927. When we got there, the inside was packed and all the outdoor tables were taken. However, luckily we managed to get a small table in the bar.
In Granada, you get a free tapa when you order a drink at a tapas bar. It's a nice custom! The free tapa at the bar was a sort of tomato-based stew with rice and sausage. It tasted pretty good.
We ordered some dishes on the menu printed on the tablemat. Our waiter told us that they could be too much for two of us. We removed a few dishes from the original orders. When the dishes came to the table, we understood his warning. They weren't tapas but regular size dishes. Later we found out that there was a tapas menu leaflet on the table separately, which we missed when we ordered. Oh, well.
A giant Empanada, Toasts with Iberian ham and Manchego,
Roman style artichokes,
A kind of layered baked dish with salmon, tomato and cheese, and
Croquetes with ham. Overall, those dishes were a little too salty for my taste. At least we weren't hungry anymore when we left the bar.
We walked in the downtown for a while to digest the rich dinner and enjoy the pretty weather.
We stopped by at a bakery and bought two pieces of Roscos de Vino (wine cookies) and two pieces of Roscos de Anís (anise cookies), which we didn't eat on the day and took home after all.
It was on Valentine's Day by the way. Happy Valentine's Day!
To be continued...
