We didn't get there until about 7 p.m. so that night we enjoyed a great perk of going out in Granada: when you order a drink, you get free tapas! And a beer is only about 2euros! While we were there, our tapas ranged from pieces of bread with cheese or chorizo to lo mein noodles to complete bocadillos (sandwiches), panini-style with ham and cheese.
Granada is situated on two large hills and we conquered both on Tuesday! We started the day off with a free walking tour of the Albayzin. This is the oldest part of the city and everything is very Arabic influenced. Our tour guide was great and we learned all about the history of the city. Also from the Mirador (viewpoint) San Nicolas, we got great views of the Alhambra which is on the opposite hill.
In the afternoon we headed to the Alhambra, which was a palace and fortress built in the 14th century for the Moorish rulers of Granada. In 1492 Ferdinand and Isabella conquered Granada and took over the Alhambra. They say "If you die without seeing the Alhambra, you haven't lived," but I personally would dispute that. I found it fascinating and beautiful, but I thought it was a bit overhyped and definitely not a Top 10 World Destination or anything-- whoever coined that phrase was good at PR ; ).
Most impressive in the Alhambra were the Generalife gardens, the amazingly intricate carvings, and the beautiful tiles. The Alhambra and the Albayzin are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites which just continued that thread throughout my trip!
We decided that Tuesday night was a great night for a Tapas Tour and did just that! We made an important, delicious discovery that night: Tinto de Verano which means Summer Red Wine. It is red wine with ice and a splash of sprite/lemon fanta and SO good!
On Wednesday, we hiked up to the Sacromonte (holy mountain), where many people lived (and some still do), in man-made caves carved into the hillside. I can't imagine living in a cave but I did find it interesting to think about the wide variety of nationalities that all have or had some sort of cave-dwelling culture.
Another thing I loved about Granada was the incredible contrast between the beautiful warm weather, cacti, and palm trees, and the Sierra Nevada looming in the distance, covered in snow!
As you can probably imagine, I rallied for a ski day but no one else wanted to go! Not sure how I would have skiied in jeans and a trench coat anyway...Luckily our hostel had a rooftop terrace with a beautiful view of the city, the Alhambra, and the Sierra Nevada, which is where we relaxed on Wednesday evening before heading out to catch our night train to Barcelona!
As you can probably tell I couldn't get enough of Granada (did I mention the amazing jewelry shopping, and delicious Moroccan tea rooms?), so I was quite sad to leave.
