Granada, Spain is known for its great tapas and the spectacular fortress Alhambra. Get your scrolling finger warmed up and join me as we pub crawl though Granada and wander the fortress, palace, and gardens of Alhambra.
I took a bus from Malaga to Granada and booked 3 nights at INN Hostels Granada & Apartments. The hostel was very well maintained and offered different activities from pub crawls to tapas tours.
The courtyard of the INN Hostel.
The tapas tour was excellent. I am a huge proponent of tapas. In Madrid I spent many hours trying to find the best tapas for the best price (free). In most places in Spain, you will be served a little snack with your beer. Some places would give you olives, others would give you toast with a piece of meat on it. In Granada, they gave you almost a full meal with your beer.
On the tapas tour we went to 3 or 4 different places where you would be given a menu that you could pick something and it would come with your beer. One place had Thai food which was pretty good. Another place had snails which were not so good. They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and I fell in love with Granada, hard!
I also went on a pub crawl with the hostel. Generally, I'm very much against group activities, but I decided to step out of my comfort zone a little bit and do the crawl. It helped that there were some rowdy Aussies that did an excellent job of making everyone feel included.
I was in Granada during the 4th of July. To celebrate my country's independence, me and the other American in the group forced ourselves to drink American beer.
The memories of the pub crawl are a little hazy, but I do remember one thing. At one of the bars the Aussies ordered some shots of liquor. Some of the liquor spilled on the bar. Without any hesitation, one of the Aussies leaned over the bar and snorted the spilled liquor up his nose. Is that a thing in Australia?
The city of Granada is gorgeous and it seemed particularly beautiful at night. Unfortunately, my phone was particularly bad at taking low light photos.
I was told by everyone that I had to see Alhambra while I was in town. Generally, I'm not very interested in tourist attractions, but this one seemed worth the effort. Everyone said that I needed tickets in advance. And that if I just tried to show up, I'd wait in line for hours. Luckily someone else told me that if I went early enough, I shouldn't have too much trouble getting in.
I set my alarm and walked up to the entrance of Alhambra and there was only one person in front of me in line. I was able to get in with ease.
Alhambra was definitely worth the price of admission! The place was huge and there were a million different details and curiosities to get lost in.
According to wikipedia:
Alhambra was originally constructed as a small fortress in 889 CE on the remains of Roman fortifications, and then largely ignored until its ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the mid-13th century by the Arab Nasrid emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Emirate of Granada, who built its current palace and walls. It was converted into a royal palace in 1333 by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada. After the conclusion of the Christian Reconquista in 1492, the site became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella (where Christopher Columbus received royal endorsement for his expedition), and the palaces were partially altered in the Renaissance style.
The views from the fortress were spectacular and made me long for a better camera.
As cool and impressive as the fortress is, the most enthralling part of Alhambra is the palace and gardens.
The gardens and palace have a maze-like quality and it's great for wandering and getting lost in your own thoughts and wonder. Every turn reveals something new to marvel at. In some places, there would be hundreds of other tourists. In other places, if felt like I had the whole castle to myself.
I desperately tried to capture some of the details that really bring this palace to life. The Arabic style is incredibly intricate and mesmerizing. Unfortunately, my phone really struggled with this task.
The scale and intricacy of Alhambra are something that must be experienced. Cameras just can't capture room after room, building after building, of intricate detail on every surface. It was incredible to explore.
I don't know if Peakd has a limit on how many photos I can have in a post, but I feel like I'm going to double their hosting bill with this post. I think I'll end the post here before I break the site.
If you ever get the opportunity to visit Granada, definitely enjoy the tapas. I don't drink beer any more so I'm not sure how it would work if I went back, but I'm willing to find out. And definitely, definitely see Alhambra. It is truly a wonder to behold. I can't remember the price of admission, but I don't think it was too high. I think I spent about 4-5 hours wandering the site. Bring snacks!
