Visiting Granada for a long weekend with my long distance partner

When I decided to move abroad, one of the most difficult decisions I had to make was leaving my partner of two years and doing long distance with him while living abroad. He lives in San Francisco, and while we have been able to stay connected during my first two months in Spain, the 5,786 miles and 9 hour time difference are at times difficult to navigate. 

I have learned two things so far during the first two months of long distance. If I had to offer advice to another couple, my two biggest pieces of wisdom on long distance relationships would be these: first, communicate as much as possible, and second, make sure that you have things planned in the future to get through the time spent apart. When you have an exciting trip to see each other planned, it makes the days apart much easier with time together to look forward to. 

For that reason, I eagerly awaited my partner's first trip to visit me in my new home. With a week to spend together, I wanted to make his first trip to Spain a special experience. As I considered what sights I should take him to see in Madrid, I also considered where we could travel during my three day weekend. I settled on planning a weekend trip to Granada, so we could both experience a new part of Spain together. 

I could not recommend visiting Granada more to any couple looking for a romantic weekend trip outside of Madrid. It is a picturesque city, with cobbled streets beautifully framed with stone walls covered in climbing flowers. The city has many bars and cafeterias in beautiful squares and atop hills overlooking the splendor of the Alhambra, a 13th century Moorish fortress within the city. 

Granada boasts a bounty of different tapas - you can find tapas bars on nearly every street corner. Most bars will give you free tapas with a drink purchase, so it is very fun to walk around in the evening, trying tapas with vermouth or cervezas. 

My partner and I took the train to Granada, but there are many options for traveling from Madrid. While the buses are slightly cheaper, he and I opted to take the train route, as it was his first time in Spain and we wanted to take a train ride through the countryside. We took an early train, and it was quite sweet to sip our morning coffee together as the sun rose through our train window. 

We arrived on our first day in Granada midday, and after breakfast, took to exploring the city. In the two days we spent there, we thoroughly explored El Albaicín, the oldest neighborhood in the city, where we stayed. Our airbnb was a 500 year old property with a beautiful courtyard with stone tiling, citrus trees, and a cozy room with stone floors and carved wooden doors. 

One of my favorite moments of the trip happened on Saturday night - he and I had been walking the city for the entire day, the sun had set, and we were looking for some place to sit and have a nice dinner to end the day. However, it started to get later and later, and as we struggled to find somewhere to eat, it began to rain. Cold, hungry, and now soaking wet, we couldn’t do much more than laugh at our situation as we hiked up a hill in Albacín to find somewhere closer to our Airbnb. 

When we reached the top of the hill, we were startled by the beautiful visa that we had stumbled upon - the hilltop overlooked the entire city below, with an incredible view of the Alhambra. And as if placed perfectly in our path, there was a beautiful restaurant with a covered outdoor patio overlooking the stunning view.

There, we sheltered from the rain next to heat lamps, and enjoyed the view of the city as we had dinner, before heading back to our Airbnb for a peaceful night listening to the rain. 

Granada is quite a perfect city for lovers. It was the perfect place for my partner and I to explore together after our time apart - it offered the perfect mix of exploration, beauty, and romance for us to share as we caught each other up on everything that we had missed in our time apart. I would recommend the city to anyone with loved ones visiting from home. 

One of the biggest challenges of moving abroad can be adjusting to long distance with our families, friends, partners, and support systems. Although the distance from my partner has been a challenge, getting to share travels together really helps us to feel close during our time apart.