Tapas, Flamenco, and Muslims

This past weekend I had a trip to Granada, which means pomegranate in Spanish for all of you itching to know that fun fact. I went into the trip not knowing what to expect but I left saying it was one of the best weekends I have had here. Even though I have only had five weekends here they have all been awesome so it does still means something, I would strongly recommend Granada or at least one of the major Andalus cities for anyone traveling in Spain.

Unfortunately from Valencia, Granada is an 8 hour bus ride away but it was sped up because someone brought all of the Harry Potters so we would have something to do. Once we got there we went straight to the hotel and then to tapas bars for dinner. Granada is famous for their tapas so we ate as many kinds of tapas as we could. All you have to do is sit down and order a drink whether it is alcoholic, carbonated or just water they will bring you a tapa regardless, it's awesome. That night we went to three different tapas bars, we coined the term "pop tapa hoppin" meaning when you go from bar to bar ordering different tapas. It will catch on soon, I promise.

After pop tapa hoppin we went to a view of La Alhambra at night which is a famous Muslim palace in Granada. It was a breath-taking view, and the live flamenco music in the background made it all the more jaw-dropping. I could have stayed there for hours but we only had 5 minutes, VERY sad. 

After seeing the view of La Alhambra at night we went to a flamenco dance. I had no idea what to expect going in so I was surprised when they sat us in such a skinny room. The flamenco music is really cool, I can't even imagine how hard it is to play the guitar the way they do, and the singing is very unique, I am not able to put words to it. I would suggest listening to it sometime if you aren't familiar with it. The flamenco dance is also incredible. They make such strong movements and stomp so hard it could break your foot, that's why I was so nervous sitting so close to the stage! I had no idea there would be so much footwork. I have no idea how they do it. On a side note, the royal family and Michelle Obama have been to this restaurant to watch the flamenco dancers, pretty cool!

The next stop on our trip was a tour of La Alhambra. Inside the palace are beautiful gardens, very fancy fountains, and intricate moldings on the walls. It was very interesting to hear all of the history, it is so complicated because of the Spanish Inquisition. We had our own tour guide which was nice so we could ask as many questions as we want, and yes, it was in Spanish. It was a lot of fun to walk around inside the palace even though it was scorching hot, I don't know how they can take it!

After La Alhambra we finished the night off with more pop tapa hopping, which is always a great time. The next morning we quick toured the Albaycín. This is the Muslim neighborhood in Granada. I am told resembles Morocco more than Spain, I have yet to go to Morocco so I can not speak on this except for the fact that it certainly didn't look Spanish. We also got a little lesson on the Muslim culture in Granada which was interesting especially since before coming to Granada I had no idea it had such an prominent Muslim culture. I guess I should start doing some research before I go to these places. Granada was an awesome experience and I am very glad I got to see the culture from the south of Spain, its definitely different from Valencia.

Hasta Luego!