Two Nights in Granada

Andalucía is the Spain that's on all the postcards, tea towels and novelty keyrings. It's the Spain written about in poems and sung about in songs with its orange blossom, golden sunshine and señoritas swishing about in flamenco dresses. I've wanted to experience this "real Spain" for as long as I've been studying Spanish and, as I now call this country home, it seemed the perfect time to pay a visit to the south. Chris and I thought we'd make a week's holiday of it so set off for Granada; the first stop on our three city tour.

 

We arrived (after a 5 hour bus journey...) and were not disappointed. The light was fading and the streets were full of women in frills and men in boots tripping about on horseback; we'd unwittingly stumbled upon La Fiesta de las Cruces.

 

 

 

 

After our journey we rested for a while in the room we'd rented in the apartment of a lovely Spanish couple and then set off to explore. The fiesta involves lots of large crosses being erected around the city with great time and care dedicated to their decoration. They're generally to be found in squares surrounded by locals dancing away to the flamenco music that's provided by huge speakers near the display. Our host told us of a particularly impressive one that we managed to find tucked away inside the interior patio of a block of flats:

 

 

 

 

It was incredible! The entire cross itself was covered with red carnations and the table it was on heaved under the weight of all the fruit and religious offerings on display. Even the floor was strewn with flower petals and coloured shawls had been draped over the bannisters on each level of the building.

 



 

 

 

 

We wandered around the city watching all the excitment and then found a bar for a drink. Food comes free with your beer in Granada so dinner was surprisingly cheap and fun. We ate the tapa that came with our first round and then ordered something that we couldn't understand from the menu to see what it would be like. It turned out to be dogfish which was deliciously battered and crispy.

 

On our way home we found a square with what seemed to be a show going on. A group of amateur flamenco dancers were singing, twirling and stamping on stage:

 

 

 

 

The next day was Alhambra day. Nobody can visit Granada and not set foot inside La Alhambra - it just isn't done! Tickets go like hot cakes so make sure you reserve them online a while before you go (I'm talking weeks) to ensure you get in. If you arrive without a reservation its very likely you'll be turned away especially during Spring and Summer.

 

That morning we followed the long road up from the city towards El Albaicín; the oldest quarter of the city. It borders a river with a pretty bridge halfway up:

 

 

 

 

 

The streets here are narrow and cobbled with most of them on a fairly steep slope. We got our first view of La Alhambra from between the whitewashed houses:

 

 

 

 

We followed the sounds of a guitar and singing to the Mirador de San Nicolás the most famous spot to watch the sun set over the palace. We didn't have time to come back at sunset but it was still pretty impressive in the daytime:

 



 



 

After quite a breezy morning the sun came out and we found a bar and enjoyed the view over white wine, chilled melon and jamón.

 

The walk back down and around was made all the nicer by the moorish market that you pass through on the way. Each shop is just bursting with jewel coloured lamps:

 

 

It takes a good 30-40 minutes to get to the Alhambra from the centre of town and you'll need more if you haven't already picked up your tickets. The walk, though up-hill isn't too hard and it's mostly in the shade.

 

 

 

Even waiting to be let in the view is quite lovely:

 

 

 

 

And inside is just beautiful:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

La Alhambra is actually made up of several different buildings including the Palacios Nazaríes, El Palacio de Carlos V and the Generalife. The gardens of the Generalife are just like something from a book; they scent the air as you get closer and the roses are gorgeous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That afternoon we headed back to our room to chill for a while after the long hot morning. I don't know what happened but suddenly the air was thick with pollen, seeds and all things sneezy. People were spluttering and holding handkerchiefs over their faces. It was a pretty uncomfortable walk back having to stop every few steps to get seeds out of your streaming eyes and cough up some pollen (nice...). Hayfever sufferers be warned!

 

 Later that evening we headed out again to see a flamenco show. I had never actually seen a full length flamenco dance, only clips on television and in Spanish lessons, so was really looking forward to it. We bought the tickets in a bar and the theatre turned out to be actually in the same street as our apartment. It was a really intimate venue with only about 15 chairs arranged in front of a small stage. The show lasted an hour and it was great to see some really authentic flamenco so close up. Here's a clip from the last dance of the night:

 

 

 

 

We only had half a day left in Granada after the second night so after our breakfast pastries we just wandered around the city taking a look at anything we'd missed. The Cathedral was cerainly impressive:

 

 



 

We stumbled upon a flamenco shop stuffed with every colour of dress, shawl and silk flower imaginable:

 

 

 

 

Then it was time to head back and pick up our stuff to catch the bus to Córdoba. Here's a quick snap of the view from the balcony of our room:

 

 



 

 

Granada was a wonderful start to our Andalucían trip and we left looking forward to what the next two nights in Córdoba would bring. The answer was flowers, flowers and more flowers - but that's another blog post!