Granada, Spain

Granada:

               If only we had known how nice this town was. This was the most beautiful place that we visited while in Spain. We only stayed one night, when we should have stayed at least two, if not more.

Attractions:

              There really is only one main attraction to see while here, but it will take a long time to see. The attraction is called Alhambra. It is a 12^th century Moorish fort that had been built by Islamic invaders. The fort itself sits up on a hill opposite a small river from the city center. From many parts of Granada you can see the fort with snow covered mountains looming in the background.
              If you think La Alhambra is magnificent from the outside, you need to see it from the inside. Each room was intricately decorated. Each room’s designs seemed to surpass the previous room’s in beauty and intestacy.
               The place is not expensive, but you have to book your tickets in advance in order to get a spot. We ordered two slots in case we missed one. One at night and one in the morning. As it turned out we had to miss the morning showing, and only got to go once.    

            

 We did see Alhambra’s gardens in the morning, which was absolutely wonderful.

               One of the best places to see a view of Alhambra is from the Mirador de San Nicolas. Here you get both views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the fort. Here, many vendors congregate to sell their wares to the tourists.

While we were in Granada, we went to the city center, Plaza Nueva. There were tons of places to eat here, and a lot of places to shop.

The Stay:

               My husband surprised me by booking a wonderful bed and breakfast, Montes Claros. This wasn’t just the best place that we stayed at in Spain, it was the best place we ever stayed. The bed was the most comfortable one we had while here. The room itself was beautiful; it was hard pulling ourselves away from this room when it was time to go out. The best thing about this place was the view. From our balcony we could see the entire city scape. We had a perfect view of Alhambra, which was just on the hill across from us. An added bonus to this place is the fabulous breakfast. The owner puts a lot of effort into making sure what he serves is fresh, healthy, and tasty. The highlight was the homemade tomato sauce that he serves on toasted beget. The owner and his brother were some of the best hosts we had while in Spain. They were very helpful and honest when it came to where to go and what to go see. The bed and breakfast itself is tucked away from the road, and the owner’s brother met us at the road so we would not get lost.

Food:

               Prior to our visit, we were told by several people in Spain that the food here would be inexpensive, and that tapas are always served with our drinks. This was largely confirmed by several reviews we read. Ironically, we never got free tapas with any of our drinks in this location, which was odd because we had gotten free tapas in at least one bar for every other major city we visited. I didn’t really notice a difference in the price of the food either. In fact one of the places we ate at was the most expensive meal we ate at in Spain, (though this was due to our own stupidity).

                This was the first place where I ate gazpacho. It was really good. I tried this dish when I got back to the states, and it was worlds different. In Spain, it was creamy, and well blended. In the U.S. it was more like fresh pico de gallo that was eaten without chips. They were both good, but different.