This whole month of July Granada hosts The "Festival Internacional de Musica y Danza". It is quite famous and a lot of well known musicians and dancers travel from around the world to perform here. There are music events happening every night in different parts of the city. The other night I was walking around and stumbled upon an open-air concert; there were four men on a stage that was illuminated with spotlights and behind the stage the cathedral stood as their backdrop-massive and majestic. They played what sounded like french gypsy music. It was so beautiful and there were so many people gathered in the plaza to listen. The Festival is also host to very famous orchestras and bands that come to perform at the Alhambra. Last night when I was feeling a bit of apartment-fever, I decided to walk up to the Alhambra to see if I could buy a ticket to go see the "Staatskapelle Berlin Orquestra" directed by Israeli-Argentine conductor Daniel Barenboim. Little did I know that you have to buy tickets for these types of concerts months in advance. So I decided to sit outside and hear what I could of the concert from the outskirts of the palace (I really couldn't hear anything). I got to talking to one woman who was waiting for her friend who was at the concert. She was so nice, and I tried soo hard to follow what she was saying. After the concert she introduced me to her friend who is a Russian ballet professor and the three of us went to the reception that was directly outside the Palace. It overlooked the whole city and was so spectacular. The Alhambra is really a magical place and being there at night was even more special. I have included a photo of the Palacio de Charles V, where the concert was held. The Palace was built in 1527 for Roman Emperor Charles V, after the "Reconquista"; this explains the Roman-style architecture. I can imagine that coming to see a musical performance here would be quite moving. Maybe if I buy a ticket today I can secure a seat for next summer....