Study Spanish
     in Granada!		  

Language-Learning-Tips.com

 
  Photo Section > Granada > "Our Neighbourhood", Page 1

Home

  
   
     Towards the end of 2001, I moved back to Granada. I say "back" because I had already lived here from 1990 to 93, and after spending seven years in Madrid, and fourteen months in Barcelona, I decided to return to the Spanish city I love most, the jewel of Andalucía, Granada.
 		    
        We were lucky to find a nice apartment that suited our needs perfectly. Oh, the street doesn't look too fancy (there it is to the left; our building is just this side of that rose-colored edifice at the curve), since most of the houses were built about a hundred years ago. But the place we rented had just been totally renovated, and the fact that the street has almost no traffic means that it's quiet - despite the fact that we are only about 8 minutes walking distance from downtown, and only a few hundred meters, or less, from any one of a number of  beautiful historical buildings...    
  Less than a minute by foot from our door is the "Hospital San Juan de Dios", a 17th century building now used as a hospital. The simplicity of its exterior belies it inner grandeur: a series of courtyards, whose walls are decorated by old paintings which depict scenes from the life of Saint "Juan de Dios", who dedicated his life to helping the poor and infirm. Let's take a walk inside, and check it out...

   Questions about Granada, or about Spain in general? Write to me at 
        dbolton99b@yahoo.es , and I'll be glad to answer them. 		 
 		  
  Here are several views of one of the courtyards in the "Hospital San Juan de Dios" (admission is free, by the way!). This sort of inner courtyard with covered walk-ways lined with pillars is very typical of traditional Andalusian architecture, and reveals arabic influence.

(all pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.)		  
 

 

 

 

 

 
  Two more views from that courtyard. If you click to enlarge the one to the right, you'll see a few of the old paintings on the wall in the passageway.      

 

 

 



 
 


"With a generous hand, with loving affection,
 He distributes the food to his poor:
 But he notices that the bread, not being abundant,
 Provided only scanty and weak sustenance:
 Juan saddened, but at that instant
 Raphael (the angel) descending, encouraged him,
 Saying with voice and gestures: Sweet Brother;
 The Bread of Heaven is at your disposal."
 

   Under each painting, there is an accompanying poem that describes the scene depicted of an event in the life of San Juan de Dios. Here, we read:

       "Con larga mano, con afecto amante,
       A sus Pobres reparte el alimento:
       Mas repara, que el pan, nada abundante,
       Hacía escaso y débil el sustento:
       Entristecióse Juan; pero al instante
       Baxando Raphael, le inspiró aliento,
       Diciendo en voz, y trage: Dulce Hermano,
       El Pan del Cielo tienes a tu mano."

    
Right across the street from the Hospital San Juan de Dios is the church and monastery of San Jerónimo,  built in the 17th century. On the next page, we'll show you some lovely scenes of the church, and its outer and inner courtyards.

 

              Click HERE to go to San Jerónimo now...
 

    
   

Other Photo pages:
 

  

Home   San Jerónimo   The Cathedral Area   The Alambra   The "Semana Santa" (Holy Week)
 

    
 
             Index of articles:

  1)  Envision your goal, plan your strategy, and go for it!
  2)  How to form positive habits that will help you reach your goals 
  3)  Memory Techniques: How to learn faster, and remember better
  4)  Divide and Conquer - Mastery though piece-work
  5)  Be a parrot - don't think, talk!
  6)  ..And if you still can't get it right, try this!
  7)  Don't Settle for less than Excellence
  8)  Annihilate your ego - learn a new language!
  9)  Rated "R" - Daily conversation in Spain
10)  Listening and understanding: how not to get frustrated along the way.
11)  The Absolute Best Way to Learn a Language Quickly
12)  Practicing Correct Pronunciation on your own
13)  View the world through rose-colored glasses - visit another country!
14)  Inertia - how it can help you... or ruin you
15)  Mastering your new language: "Automating" your thinking processes
16)  Communicate faster when speaking a foreign language: Learn to simplify
17)  Heinrich Schliemann's method of language learning
18)  The musician's language learning advantage: more than just "good hearing"
19)  Should we learn a foreign language as children do?
20)  How long will I need to learn a foreign language?