Spain is full of holiday weekends – yippee! For the first I went to Granada with a couple girlfriends who also teach English here. It was a gorgeous weekend – the photos speak for themselves.
So, I did something I’ve never done before in Granada, and something that many people may never get to do in life…
I stayed in a BRAND NEW HOSTEL. They opened 2 days before we arrived, the room we stayed in had never been used. New beds, the bedding came in its original packaging – we had to open it! The place, Polaroid Siesta, is great, and definitely stay there if you visit. The owner is a young guy, Pepe, from Granada and also has lived in London and Italy. He’s a total gem, really lovely person, very proud of his business and a great host(!!!) – we will be back if not just to visit Pepe again! The interior design was fun and everything was very comfortable.
Everyone has raved about the tapas in Granada, we didnt do our research and unfortunately we did not come across those amazing tapas. Oh well. We did find yummy Moroccan food and I think the trip favorite was Kabab King. It was the perfect find – we got hungry after walking all day – randomly dropped in to this place. It was cheap, fast and good. What more can you ask for? The two guys running the place were tons of fun too.
Food is everywhere in Granada, so we often found ourselves nibbling on little treats, (free) cheese samples at the open air market, ice cream (disguised as a gelato parlor), we Moroccan mint tea in a little corner dimly lit cafe, and wine flowed
We also stumbled upon a beautiful little shop selling all natural oils and parfumes, I loved the presentation of the viles and we each picked out one.
Another favorite was this little shop in the Arab district of the city. Not only was it on one of the prettiest little windy streets, but the shop owner was really fun! He spoke a bit of Spanish, a bit of English and Moroccan Arabic. Amongst us four ladies we spoke English, a bit of Spanish and standard Arabic. He had fun meeting the hodgepodge of us Americans and a Canadian. He’s a young guy running a business in Morocco and Spain, and going back in forth between quite often. Perhaps we’ll have to visit his other store in Morocco…
Of course one of the main reasons to visit Granada is to see the Alhambra. It is of course very pretty and really interesting history. I really enjoyed visiting it and took some killer photos! I do have to admit though, that after visiting Morocco (2007) I was not as amazed by the Alhambra as I had expected. Its definitely lovely and in fact I think I like the view from the outside better, the way it sits up on the hill is really amazing.
The thing that I really fell in love with in Granada was the way I felt when I was there. The attitude of the people, the vibe on the streets, the art, beautiful winding streets and hills, a little creek with trees, ornate architecture… and artists everywhere. The musical performers would hide in little corners sharing a soundtrack to the already amazing Granada.
The Happiest Little Place on Earth
From the energy and joy of the musicians, to this gem of a little boy… this little moment here was a happy one. After they finished the song, of course the little guy standing her began to clap… it was precious.
A daily activity and passtime is to watch the sunset gleam upon the Alhambra perched up on its hill during the last minutes of daylight. Of course, this comes with music…
Evening time, sunset and the fall into night time was equally as magical…
As if I had not already fallen in love with Granada, we wandered down a street and came across this music, and little cove – people sitting on the sidewalk and doorsteps, listening…
It was a great trip! And I could not have asked to spend it with a better group of travel buddies.
