first 24 hours in granada

jojo:
what do i like?
-graffiti.  have yet to see too much by way of foot but i saw alley upon alley during our bus ride into the city center.  they even have areas marked off on guide maps.  i’ve come across multiple blogs that rave about this city being a mecca for street art.  super excited to see what i can find in the next few days

-food.  tapas served free with drinks; heard this was how it was always supposed to be but this was not the standard in barcelona and madrid.  also, prices are cheaper than barcelona as well

-the overall characteristic of the city.  small, quaint, extremely accessible by foot.  no aggressive hawkers trying to sell you useless crap (aside from umbrellas for 5euro)
-moroccan influence.  i was hoping to make it to morocco on this trip but it’s not looking favourable at this point.  looks like there’s a healthy dose of moroccan culture and food in granada

what do i dislike?
-the rain.  intermittent.  heavy.  insane downpours.  barcelona was cold.  madrid was mildly cold and wet.  our first full day in granada was like walking through a car wash without a ticket for the hot wax dry package

what do you like/dislike about the new accomodations?

it might not be that central but with the size of granada, it doesn’t really matter.  our first dinner destination looked to be on the east side of the city so we left quite early to get there with plenty of time to spare.  10 minutes later we realized we already overshot it 🙂  other than that, the airbnb is very well furnished and stocked with supplies; heaters in every room (even the bathroom), strong shower pressure, good separation of space between the rooms, VERY comfortable bed (top 3 so far on our trip), fully stocked kitchen with teas and cooking supplies and most importantly, enough toilet paper to go around.  score!

biggest adjustments from the previous stop?
being energized to get up early and hit the city to explore.  we laid low, did some housekeeping and enjoyed the comfort of our home away from home in madrid.  our new place is comfortable but since the city is small, getting out for a few hours then popping in for a small rest will be a nice change.  we haven’t had a place so accessible since our first location in taipei

what was our first meal?
tapas & wine at botilleria; mostly wine for me thanks to four of the complimentary tapas orders consisting of shrimp.  but i had white jamon and enough red wine to keep me a happy camper!  total bill for 5 wines, 6 tapas and a half order of decent (not iberico) ham came to 23euro.  i don’t miss vancouver dining with their tip & tax bs in the least.

overall impressions?
madrid was very low key for us but we’ll likely treat the city in the same manner; hit a few points of interest and stroll the rest of the time.  i’m stoked to see what the casual eating is like here.  the whole city is very accessible by foot so i’d imagine that we can walk across the whole city in the two full days we have left

 

haha:
what do i like?

Granada is very compact and walkable. Our Airbnb is very central and close to Alhambra. The city has been the prettiest so far, lots of beautiful architecture and fragrant flowers and trees. There are orange trees in bloom everywhere and they smell amazing.

what do i dislike?

Rain and thundershowers since we got here. Our summer wardrobe continues to be inadequate and on top of it, our shoes are drenched from the rain.

what do you like/dislike about the new accomodations?

Our Granada Airbnb is lovely. The place is very quaint with the nicest comfy bed ever. The bathroom has a heater which was much appreciated. The only thing missing was shampoo and we had to make hot water with a pot instead of the kettle. The kettle has crudy stuff on the bottom.

biggest adjustments from the previous stop?

People eat even later here, restaurants are packed around 10pm. Eating later means sleeping later and it has been hard to wake up early in the morning.

what was our first meal?

Tapas consisting of white cured ham, garlic shrimp swimming in butter, potato mash with tuna and shrimp, mini beef burgers with fries, lots of olives and two glasses of wine. I’m training to become a wino. Gotta build up my tolerance.

overall impressions?

I really like Granada. It is such an interesting city with lots of Moorish history. The city feels old with its narrow streets and pavements. There are also lots of cats just hanging everywhere. Any place with cute felines, free tapas, cheap wine, lots of greenery and an ancient fortress gets high marks in my books.