Trip to Granada

This past weekend we went to Granada, one of the most culturally rich cities in Andalucía. We arrived Friday evening with enough time to unpack and go straight to our tour of "El Albaicín Bajo," the lower part of a beautiful neighborhood that goes up the mountain. From that moment, our chavales (a word we use often in Spain to describe young people) were immediately sold. The architecture and façades of the buildings and the life in it were nothing but charming.  Another amazing thing about Granada that everyone talked about is that, with each drink you order, they will give you a tapa for free. This makes the experience even more exciting because with a couple of drinks (a coke, a juice, or beer and wine for adults, etc.) and not a lot of money you can eat well. Moreover, on the next day (Saturday) we woke up early in the morning to go to La Alhambra, an ensamle of Nasrid palaces, gardens, and fortresses located on the mountain over the city. This place is absolutely wonderful: the way it's been perserved after hundreds of years and the history surrounding it are simply breathtaking. No trip to Granada is complete without a visit to the Alhambra. That evening, the chavales were divided in groups for different activities, which we their program leaders planned. Some went to a famous Arab tetería (or tea shop) to share some tea and Morrocan sweets, others went on a walk to see a "Carmen" (or Spanish garden at the entrance of an old house), and others went to a well-known lookout. On the last day we went to "El Albaicín Alto," the higher part of the neighborhood from Friday. Even though el Albaicín is a neighborhood, it has the essence of a romatic village full of flamenco, a big gitano (Spanish Romani people) comunity and crazy views of the Alhambra—a privilage nonetheless. With that, our weekend adventure ended, and honestly I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to come back.