Granada

Long before I ever set foot in this country, I had a picture in my mind of what Spain would be like: Really old buildings, white houses set upon bare, brown hills, street performers playing guitar, outdoor markets and food vendors, and of course, lots of people speaking Spanish.

Madrid was different from that preconceived idea. Yes, it had the old buildings. But they were far grander than i'd imagined. And it had the street performers and the Spanish, but was overall too big to fit my idea of "picturesque Spain". Barcelona followed suit, being too "beach town-y". Toledo and Segovia were closer, but too touristy and no hills with white houses.

Granada, on the other hand, is it.

This is what I'd imagined Spain to be. Granada has it all: from the markets, to the guitarists, to the white houses set upon the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. It's a city, but it's walkable, not huge like Madrid or Barcelona. So though I booked my ticket on a whim and wasn't actually too keen on going there, I'm really glad I did.

I left Friday morning. There was traffic, which added an extra hour onto our five hour bus ride. But we made it, and unlike the ride to Bilbao, the scenery along the way was constantly changing.

Granada is situated at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The drive through the mountains was gorgeous. When we got to the bus station in Granada I set off walking in the direction of the city center, where my hostel was located. I hadn't realized that the walk would take nearly an hour. But it was good to see different parts of the city, and also good to walk after sitting for so long on a bus.

I checked into my hostel and decided to hang out there Friday night. I was tired and knew that I had almost two full days to see everything. I was staying in a six bed dorm, and the other girls in the room were also traveling alone. Once we were all introduced and realized that none of us had plans for the night, we decided to go out for tapas. Before we knew it word of our outing had reached others in the hostel, and our group of five quickly turned into twelve. So my Facebook post wasn't entirely accurate. It was more like: 6 Brits, 2 Canadians, 1 Australian, 2 Koreans, and an American walk into a Spanish bar to have drinks and tapas served by a South African bartender. That would've made for a complicated joke...

Granada is one of the few places left in Spain where the tapas are free when you buy a drink. I ordered two drinks, and with them the thai chicken and the spicy beef. Both came with rice and bread in a little bitty dish. And just two was a perfectly satisfying dinner. The best part? I got all of it for under five euros :)

It was nice to talk with other travelers and share stories about where we're from and why we're in Spain. I talked to a few other teachers, and some people just traveling for the fun of it. My favorite comment of the night was when someone said, "Oh, you're from Washington State? I drove through there once. One of the most beautiful places I've seen." Yep, it is. Makes me miss home...

Saturday I woke up around 9:00am and was out and about by 10. It seemed like I was the only one, because hardly anything was open and very few people were walking around. I wandered until I found a cafe and went inside for some breakfast, chocolate con churros. Not as good as San Gines, but still pretty tasty :)

After that I walked across the main street to a historic area known as "Albaycin", the Arab quarter. All of a sudden I was walking through narrow streets lined with tiny shops and vendors selling all sorts of things: Scarves, tea, rugs, lamps, sandals, jewelry, and more. Spanish began to mix with Arabic as I passed tea shops and traditional restaurants. It was a fun place to experience. 

After walking through the Albaycin I went to the Granada Cathedral. Though it's open for tourists, you're only allowed to stand in a small roped off area by the doors. The Cathedral is big, and definitely impressive. But I was in and out in just a couple of minutes.

Near the Cathedral is a maze of narrow streets connecting open plazas. I walked through them, again looking at shops and buildings. Granada is a tea lover's paradise. They sell it everywhere, all kinds. I went in one shop that specialized in tea, spices, and fruit. I bought some of their dried fruit for a snack. Mangos, strawberries, kiwi, pineapple, coconut, and even Aloe. It was yummy :)

After that I decided to walk towards Granada's most famous attraction: The Alhambra. I had been told you needed to purchase tickets in advance to get in, so I went online on Wednesday to buy them. Sadly, they were already sold out. But as I walked towards the famous site I saw a tourist booth advertising tickets, so I decided to ask if they still had any available. They did! I got tickets for that afternoon between 2pm and 6pm. Since I still had a couple of hours I decided to hike up towards the Sacromonte Caves and Abbey.

I walked for about an hour. Along the way I saw beautiful gardens, got great pictures of the Alhambra, and went by many of the white houses I'd seen from the city below. Whether I went the wrong way or didn't go far enough, I'm not sure. But I never got to the caves. I saw the Abbey, but it was still pretty far off and I wanted to make sure I didn't miss my entry time into the Alhambra. So after a scenic hike up the mountain, I turned around and went back down.

Granada has a lot of going up and down. Once I was back down in the city I had to climb yet another hill toward the Alhambra. It was tiring, but worth it. The Alhambra is not, as I had previously thought, one individual palace. It is multiple palaces, towers, and gardens all situated on a hill overlooking the city. I walked through the gardens first. I loved all the flowers and fountains!

After strolling through the gardens I went to the Nasrid Palace, the largest of the Alhambra buildings. It was built in the 11th century by a Moorish King. It was amazing for being built so long ago. The detail in the architecture was amazing, especially the ceilings.

I also visited other buildings that are a part of the Alhambra, each one a little different. There were great views from the top of one of the towers. Though I didn't think I'd need the four hour time slot printed on my ticket, I almost did. I left around 5:30pm. That place is huge.

Since I didn't have lunch I was starving. And I wasn't in the mood for looking at menus or trying new interesting Spanish foods. I wanted one thing: pizza. So I went back to the maze of streets and squares near the Cathedral and found a restaurant that had pizza on their menu. I ordered a delicious shrimp, mussels, and calamari pizza to enjoy with a glass of sangria as I people watched. After a day full of walking, it was great to just sit and relax.

I slept in on Sunday. Since I'd gotten all of my sightseeing out of the way on Saturday, I decided to spend Sunday shopping :). I spent time in both the Cathedral area and the Arab quarter, walking the streets and looking in the shops. I bought a few souvenirs. At 2:00pm I went back to the hostel, got my bag, and started the long walk back to the bus station. The walk didn't seem as long this time, and I was glad to get some exercise before sitting for such a long time.

I got back to Madrid around 9:30pm. it was dark and raining, and definitely cold compared to the 70's I'd had all weekend in Granada. Granada was fun. It was the last of my Spanish city trips. It's been really neat getting to experience the different regions of Spain. I've enjoyed all seven of the Spanish cities I've seen, some more than others. If I had to rate them right now, based on what I saw in a weekend or less, it'd look like this:

1. Granada. Its just so Spanish. There was nothing I didn't enjoy about it.
2. San Sebastian. So beautiful. I could've spent way longer than a day just taking in the natural beauty here.
3. Segovia. The castle, aqueduct, and history are all incredible!
4. Madrid. I'm not really a big city person, but I do like Madrid. Plus....churros.
5. Barcelona. I wasn't a huge fan. The beach was nice. And there was some very unique architecture, but if given the choice I'd much rather go back to San Sebastian.
6. Bilbao. It's nice. There are beaches, and the city is clean and inviting. But nothing really stood out here. 
7. Toledo. The Cathedral was incredible. Other than that, it was really crowded and there wasn't much else to do.

Next weekend I'll take a break from traveling and stay in Madrid, and then I have three international trips in a row! I can't believe I'm more than half way through my Spain adventure! Time really does fly...