We arrived to our hostel in Granada around 10 am Friday morning and immediately saw on the chalkboard a free walking tour of the city schedule for 11 am. The walking tour was exactly what we needed. There were only five of us on the tour and our guide was super enthusiastic and willing to answer any questions. We walked mostly through the Albazin, the historic part of the city. It was quite a picturesque neighborhood with all small winding streets and white houses. As we walked further and further up the hill we got to see some amazing views of the Albazin as well as the old famous muslim palace the Alhambra.
I am in love with the hostel lifestyle. Everyone is super friendly and a lot of people are traveling around Europe alone and are eager to make new friends and find fun things to do and see. On our walking tour we made friends with two boys, one from Australia and one from Argentina. The boy from Australia is traveling around all of Europe for 6 months because he doesn't have to start work until then. He doesn't have his trip entirely planned out so he goes from place to place depending on how he feels and what he wants to see. Such a cool lifestlye!! I am hoping I can do this at some point after graduating and before starting a real career.
After our tour, we ate a delicious and relaxing lunch with the boys and walked to the gypsy neighborhood of Sacromonto where many of the houses are built into the caves along the hill. Next we walked along the Moroccan street which is close to our hostel. All of the stores on this street were full of spices, moroccan clothing, jewelry, and hookahs. I felt like I was back in Morocco! Friday night we went on a tapas "crawl" since in Granada with the purchase of a drink you get a free tapa. After tapas we attended a flamenco tableau. I had never attended a real flamenco show before and I was so impressed by both the musicians and the dancer. It was truly a lovely evening.
Saturday morning before leaving Granada Natalie and I went on a 3 hour guided tour of the Alhambra, the famous muslim palace and fortress that was built starting in the 11th century. Seeing the Alhambra was so interesting for me because after traveling to various places around Europe I have seen many old christian/roman cathedrals, castles, palaces, and so on. But never have I seen an old building with such muslim influence. The architecture is a lot different. The plaster on the walls is covered with incredible detail. The spanish muslims loved to use colorful tiles in all of their rooms as well as outdoor patios and terraces. The Alhambra was truly a relaxing and peaceful palace and I can see why spanish rulers (muslim and christian alike) wanted to stay there.
Sadly we had to leave Granada on Saturday to head to Sevilla but I was really content with the amount of history and culture we were able to see in such a short amount of time.
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