Carmen de la Alcubilla del Caracol Granada

... only the lions were gone for restoration, so the courtyard was empty. But the views were incredible.
That night we hiked up through the Albayzin (the moorish quarter) to catch the sunset from St. Nicholas Church. Everyone comes up, hangs their feet over the edge, has a beer (or bottle of wine in our case), and enjoys the sunset.
After all that walking, it was tapas time. Right around the corner from the viewpoint was our first stop at Bar ...

... cellar near our hotel (in the old quarter of town). What strange hours Spain keeps. The show started at 11pm.
Shop hours plus banks/post office open at 9.30, close at 12 30 for a two and a half hour lunch, then stay open until 9pm. Breakfast is about 9am ,Lunch around 2 and supper about 6 then dinner abetween 9pm and 11pm. I seem to be constantly hungry and tired.

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... t.

In the same neighbourhood is an Arab Market – the kind you see in Istanbul, Marrakesh, etc. Small alleys, tons of stuff like silver jewelry, rugs, and hookahs. It’s very sensory, especially passing a stall of incense or spices.

A pre-trip highlight for me was the visit to Alhambra, made famous by the writer, Washington Irving in the 1800’s. (Up to that point, it was ...

... cinnamon on top. I like it a lot.

We then just walked around a bit and went to visit Wiz's old host family. Torcua met us as soon as we came in the door, as did the twins Elena and Maria (12 years old). They were so sweet. I didn't really talk with them much though because they don't speak much English, and I don't speak much Spanish. She made us some dessert called bizcocho. It reminded me of spice cake with powdered ...

... and some tapas (free in Granada with every order!). Afterward we met up with the group at a restaurant where we smoked a few flavors of hookah before calling yet another early night. Hookah has a mellowing effect (similar to chamomile tea) which made me sleep like a baby. I woke up in the morning refreshed and ready to enjoy the heat. We had breakfast, checked out, and took a walking tour of the city guided by Carlos on which we saw the city ...

... while another guy was underneath blowing at them to keep them up in the air and out of the kids reach. It was really beautiful and balmy weather, and there was a street performer playing the guitar next to us, and heaps of people sitting around chatting and drinking. Though we soon got tired and headed back up the maze of streets to bed. We were up early again this morning to start exploring the town. Granada is a maze of beautiful cobblestone streets, and although we ...

... incredible architecture, fountains, and decorations. Then, we walked through the gardens until we reached the Generalife (the Architect's Garden), which is also worth a visit. After our tour of the Alhambra, we walked down the hilly walkways to the downtown area of the city, an eclectic mix of old (i.e. Muslim roots) and newer (i.e.1500-1800 time frame). We went to a quirky area full of street vendors selling jewelry, tea, hookahs, and other random products. It was quaint ...

... the terrace upstairs. To our surprise we managed to start the next day still relatively excited about the prospect of exploring Granada and ventured weary-eyed into town. Our first stop was breakfast, which resulted in another dissappointing meal experience and then a stroll through the streets to the Moorish Quarter where we spent the rest of the day exploring the markets and stopping along the way for some tapas. We tried to drag out the day as much as we ...

... Sc*tt t* Ri*ja. As he is y*ur typical Midlands type *f guy, he had n* idea. The wine was cheap. 9 Eur*s in a bar. Imagine that in Aus *r P*mmie land. It fl*wed d*wn, and then we w**e kicked *ut. Ont* an*th** bar, wh**e we w**e again kicked *ut until the *nly place left was an Irish pub. In we went, and m*re be**s w**e fl*wing. A guy named Raul came *v**, his English was g**d, and he was a Mexican. When I asked what his status was, he ...