Granada

This past weekend I was able to visit the beautiful city of Granada in the southern part of France. It has a rich history with a significant Muslim influence. It was my first time in the state of Andalucia which takes up a majority of the southern coast of Spain. I will be going back next weekend for Seville, and I had a great time in Granada.

The first night, my friends and I were able to find a great affordable Chinese restaurant. I was surprised to find decent Chinese food in Spain, but it is possible. After our dinner, we boys went adventuring through parts of Granada. We just walked up a road and it brought us to an awesome fountain. There were a bunch of younger people drinking their typical calimocha (red wine and coca cola) with random dogs just running around. We ended up being there for a good hour, and then left for the first mountain we could find.

Walking up through random streets ended up working out, and we found this great open area with a view of the city. We enjoyed the view, tried to see free flamenco but were not allowed in. So we decided to walk through random areas again, and we found some interesting sites like a bunch of guys carrying a huge bed frame. We figured it had to be some ritual thing, and it was interesting to walk past. We ended our adventure once we got a little scared of our location, and it was easy to get back to the hotel.

Saturday was our only full day in Granada, but it rocked! We spent our morning and early afternoon at the famous Alhambra. The Alhambra was built by the Muslims on the top of a mountain overlooking the city. It includes a beautiful palace, gardens, entertainment areas, fortress and other small buildings in a fortified wall. Its architecture is unlike any other in the world, and I would recommend you all to see it. Remember to make reservations, and for an extra perk, it is a making a run for being voted as one of the wonders of the world.

After our tour, we split off from the group to adventure and find a good cheap place to eat. We found a great falafel and pita restaurant, and chilled out next to a fountain while we enjoyed our food. We ended up finding another area to relax next to the river (more like a stream), and we got out the Frisbee. We spent a good two hours listening to street musicians, throwing the Frisbee or making fun of each other while enjoying the weather. My friend Mark ended up falling in love with an Australian street musician, and bought her CD; we tourists are so easy to fool.

We then walked up through the streets into the Albaicin neighborhood of the city. We heard about this great view point where the gypsies and younger crowd enjoy their Saturday afternoons. We ended up finding the spot and spent another two hours in the area. We once again enjoyed the street musicians, the crafts being sold by gypsies, the great view of the Alhambra and talking to other English/Spanish speaking people. My friend Dan kicked a Spaniard’s ass in chess.

We left to find the best view of the sun setting in Granada, and were once again successful. We ended up in one of the highest spots of the city, and enjoyed the sunset listening to the techno music of other Spaniards. It was pretty awesome and while walking back down into the city, we found the coolest thing ever!

Just like the 60s and 70s in America, there are Spaniards that have built homes in the caves of the mountain. It was amazing to see how they managed to create homes out of complete junk, but it was a beautiful art. The word on the street though is that the mayor wants to build a hotel and kick out all these cave people! It is sad to hear but the town is trying to make the most money possible out of tourism.

After this great adventure, we back down into Albaicin and enjoyed the vibe of the city. We walked for a good hour or two throughout the city until finding a good spot for the dinner. It was an all you can eat buffet with a great selection of veggies for my friend. We ended up spending three hours laughing and making fun of each other. We of course got our moneys worth of the 10 euro we paid for the buffet.

We had to leave for the airport by noon on Sunday and of course we did not wake up until the latest time possible. But we did have a lot of time at the airport, so we started a great game of ultimate Frisbee. My team lost unfortunately but it was all in good fun … it always a tie at the YMCA! It was not actually inside the airport but in a grassy area outside. It was by far the best way to end our trip!

If you are ever in Spain, you need to visit this beautiful city! You can find cheap flights through Vueling or Ryan Air, and there is a 3 Euro shuttle into the city. Know your hotel name because that is the only way to know where your bus stop is! I will have pictures up more into the week, but look for my blog after my adventure into Seville!