Michelle Obama and daughter tour cathedral during visit to Granada in southern Spain
By APThursday, August 5, 2010
Michelle Obama visits Granada
GRANADA, Spain — U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and her 9-year-old daughter Sasha toured a historic cathedral in the southern city of Granada on Thursday on the first full day of their vacation in Spain.
Before entering the cavernous church, they tried to beat the blazing heat of the Andalusia region by stopping at one of the city’s most famous ice cream parlors.
A crowd of several hundred people shouted “Obama!” and “guapa!”, or beautiful, as the Obamas entered the cathedral with a large security detail in tow.
The Obama plans also include taking in a flamenco performance in the old Sacromonte quarter, a hillside district known for caves that serve as dwelling places or taverns for nightlife fun, and a nighttime visit to the Alhambra, the exquisite, reddish citadel that was the seat of Moorish rule in Spain.
The Obama delegation arrived Wednesday for a five-day private visit and is staying at a luxury hotel just outside the southern jet set resort of Marbella.
President Barack Obama and the couple’s elder daughter Malia stayed in the United States.
The Granada cathedral was ordered built by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella after they recaptured the city from the Moors in 1492. It stands on the site of what had been Granada’s main mosque and houses the monarchs’ remains.
