In 2008, when I was 21, I came up with the idea of booking an Interrail ticket and touring Europe for a month. I decided travel to Paris, Madrid, Granada, Barcelona, Venice, Rome, Athens, Istanbul and Vienna. And I felt the strong urge to do this tour alone.
Day 8 – Granada (Spain)
After my breakdown the night before, I felt peaceful for the first time in months. This gave me the opportunity to wander around Granada while waiting for my actual day to visit the Alhambra. It was lovely exploring the streets, but it was especially memorable to climb up the hills and get an amazing view of the city.
During my explorations, I ended up close to Plaza del Carmen. An older Roma woman approached me. I could see that two if her female companions were walking around the plaza, aproaching pedestrians with bouquets of rosemary in their hands. I was cautious, but curious. We did not speak the same language, but she made indications that she wanted to read my palm. I initially tried to decline, not believing in this practice and feeling weird being touched by a stranger, but she insisted.
She took my hand and started to trace my lines and pointing to others. With simple Spanish words and hand gestures, she told me that I was going to meet a tall dark stranger. We would get married and have two children. With that, she handed me a twig of rosemary with a wide smile.
She asked for a donation in return and I felt weird not giving her anything but did not want to overextend myself after not having asked for her “service”. I ended up giving her something along the lines of 2€. Apparently, that was not the going rate, she suddenly became very aggrevated and seemed to be spitting some insults at me. But it remained at that, so I resumed my journey.
Being already in the area, I made a point to stop in the tourist information and asked them about the Roma ladies and the meaning of the rosemary twig. The lady behind the counter was very unimpressed by the question and told me that the twigs had no deeper meaning, that it was just part of the strategy to coax tourists into giving them money.
Personally, I don’t believe in palm reading or fortune telling. But it was an interesting and unexpected experience on my journey. One of the many adventures that happen while we travel.
Day 9 – The Alhambra (Spain)
The actual highlight though remains my visit to the “Red Castle”. The Nasrid architecture is truly magnificent. There are so many details in the old Muslim art work. It feels like your stepping into a fairy tale. I was so mesmerized that I actually forgot to take pictures for longs stretches of time.
Cover picture was taken in the Alhambra palace in Granada (Spain) in Sep 2008
Missing the beginning of this story?
Around Europe in 30 days #1: Forming a plan
Wandering Explorer Travel 
I’ve always regarded such eager people with distrust, especially when I’m out on my travels. I’ve learned early on to keep my head down and ignore such people, as they’re all after your money. Sorry to hear that you had the misfortune of encountering such distasteful characters, but your visit to the Alhambra more than well made up for it!
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I’m usually also very cautious and luckily nothing bad came from this encounter, just a funny travel memory 😉
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