Before I talk about Granada and how great it is, I need to briefly describe the extensive process required to leave Gibraltar. Step 1: walk across airfield. Step 2: Spain. It's seriously that simple. I thought after my easy entry, the Spain side would be sure to zing me. Nope. Just strolled right across. Well, in my case I walked across at a brisk pace as I was attempting to catch the 11:45 bus, knowing full well that the next bus wasn't until 4:30. And by "the 11:45 bus," I mean the 11:45 bus to Malaga as there is no direct bus to Granada. Once I got to Malaga I'd then have to figure out my travel accommodations to Granada. In the end, all that worked out nicely and about 5 hours later I found myself in Granada.
Ok, so now, Granada is great. It's also apparently the genesis of the name for pomegranates which means "apples from Granada" in Latin. Or if it doesn't, it does now. In any event, it is a beautiful city nestled between some mountains that sport one of the premier Moorish attractions in Spain: the Alhambra. No, I didn't just sneeze, but thank you for the "gazuntite." It's actually a gigantic extremely well preserved Moorish castle/fort. The night I arrived, I quickly made some new friends at the Oasis and Claudia, Bill, and "Atman" as I will henceforth spell his name, embarked on our own tapas tour that saw a flaming chorizo sausage cooker and ended with some fabulous views of the Alhambra at night.
The next morning, per typical routine, I joined up for the free walking tour where we saw some guys playing flamenco guitar, gypsy caves, great Moorish architecture, and of course, more great views of Alhambra. Here is me in one of my obligatory poses of the day!
After our tour the temperature in Granada had risen close to 100 degrees and it was time to take refuge. So, seeking proper working internet, I grabbed my computer and set off up the hill to find a cafe. I happened upon a great one serving large "Latina" beers (which I had never heard of) and a great tapa of cooked potatoes, onions and peppers. Outstanding on both fronts! But this is a good idea of a typical Granada tapa.
That night about 30 of us accompanied the staff on a tapas tour, but sadly I forgot to take photos of the great tapas we had. As you can imagine, they were excellent. Granada is famous for its tapas scene because, unlike many other Spanish cities, they adhere to the true tradition of tapas. Meaning when you order one drink you get a reasonable tapa (often of your choice) free. These can range from meats or cheeses, to cooked meatballs, fried squid, sandwiches, or fish. And many establishments have special in-house tapas. Overall it was an outstanding experience, and unlike my tapas tour in Madrid, these bars operated extremely quickly- whisking out our tapas almost as fast as we could order them. In the end it turned out to be quite a late night- as Atman says we "went steep" and I ended up sleeping in steep as well.
The next day had me signed up for the Alhambra tour. A quick note: if you visit Granada you should probably buy tickets to the Alhambra ahead of time as they have limited availability and tend to sell out. The other option being to stay in a hostel and inquire there as most have special access to tickets. As you may have guessed, I went with the latter option and easily secured mine for only a modest fee. The first thing you should check out at Alhambra are the Gardens of the Generalife. Exquisitely designed and maintained they also provide some great views over the city. This is really another example where you should check out flickr as there are way too many great shots to put on here.
After touring the gardens, Bill and I happened upon our friends from tapas the night before, Nicole and Kristin from Kansas, who happened to have tickets for the same entry time into the Palace Nasrid. The Palace itself is littered with immensely breathtaking rooms, towers, fountains, and a host of other Moorish architectural delights, the most impressive of which being the Room of Lions which was sadly under rehabilitation when we visited. At some point we lost Bill so the girls and I proceeded to finish the tour
Subsequent to visiting the palace we proceeded down to the Alcazaba which was the historic military encampment, and whose towers hold some of the best views of the city.
We then wandered around a bit more before the heat finally took its toll and we proceeded back in the direction of the hostel. On the way, I acquired my first kebab of the trip which was, not surprisingly, meat-tastic. All tuckered out from the past days' activities, I repaired to my room for a much needed siesta. Later that night, many of us at the hostel partook in their paella- a Spanish dish of rice and fish prominently featuring saffron. It was my first paella of the trip which is frankly embarrassing for me. I promise to do much better through Valencia and Barcelona. The version produced by the hostel was good, however, it severely lacked in the traditional seasonings and was thus stricken from being great. It was prepared in the single largest pan I have ever seen though!
After that, we enjoyed the sounds of the Wandering Camels, a jazz group featuring an oboe which was turning out some great tunes including a rendition of the Benny Hill Theme. I kept waiting for them to break into the Cantina Song from Star Wars. We went out for another round of tapas where I, being the rebel I am, instead tracked down a 40oz of Cruz Campo and some OJ and created a makeshift Spanish Brass Monkey. It was delicious(ish). Finally, we retired to the roof terrace where we had earlier enjoyed our paella and watched dusk settle in on Granada.
The next morning I was due at the bus station at 11:45 (again- the last one until 4!) for my bus to Almeria. I awoke at 10:30 with plenty of time to spare, packed and headed to the bus stop. I boarded the local bus to the station at 11:05, went two stops and realized I had left my (friggen expensive) shorts and my (second) towel at the hostel! So I jumped off the bus and hightailed it back to the hostel. By the time I found them and made it back to the bus stop it was already 11:25 and the next bus to the main bus station wasn't for another 10 mins! CRAP! So, as Phileas Fogg would have done, I chalked it up as a monetary impediment only and hailed a cab so as not to miss the bus and compound my losses. In all, I did make the bus and the cab ride only cost me 6 euro. Now those shorts are worth $65 and 6 euro.
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