Mi Visita a Granada

Last weekend, I went on an overnight bus trip to Granada, the ancient city in which the Muslims discovered almost 1,300 years ago. When the Muslims arrived to this city in Southern Andalucía, they thought that it was the most beautiful sight that they had ever seen, and especially after they saw the breathtaking Sierra Nevada mountain range, they decided that they wanted to settle there. They built the Alhambra in the late 800s, the huge castle and surrounding gardens that is the most visited tourist attraction in all of Spain. So, on Saturday we took a trip with WeLoveSpain to check out this world renowned masterpiece that still remains almost perfectly in tact.

My friend Dan and I left at 9 that morning from Sevilla and embarked on the three hour bus ride southeast of the city to Granada. When we arrived, we grabbed some lunch at a nearby tapas bar, got checked into our hotel, and immediately headed towards the Alhambra. Granada is not nearly as flat as Sevilla, so the incline up the mountain to tour the Alhambra was quite the workout! Once we finally got inside the palace, we were able to look out at the magnificent views of the city and view the snow covered Sierra Nevada off in the distance... talk about a beautiful sight! 

We toured the ins and outs of the castle and gardens, and although it was raining that day, it was still so incredible to see! When we finished up with our tour in the gardens, we went on a small walking tour with our group to see a few of the different neighborhoods in the city. We stopped for a coffee, I did some shopping within the small shops, and we explored the city a bit more before dinner. The amount of Arabic influence within the streets was so evident as many of the shops contained many traditional handmade Arabic trinkets, jewelry, tapestries, etc. Continuing our little Arabic experience, we went out for dinner that night to a Moroccan restaurant and had roasted lamb, couscous, and other delicacies. After dinner, our guides took us to a club in the caves back up the mountain; it was such a unique experience to say the least.

The next morning, we woke up and got ready for the day. Unfortunately, it was still raining, but we didn’t let that stop us. Dan and I enjoyed a bountiful English breakfast with some of our new friends. Present at breakfast that morning, there were two Americans (Dan & I), two British girls, two Canadians, and one Finnish girl - much diversity to say the least! After breakfast, our two Canadian friends, Steph and Harris, went with Dan and I to see the tombs of their Royal Majesties Ferdinand and Isabella. We walked through the Cathedral and took a look through their immaculate museum before walking downstairs to view their actual tombs. I was disappointed that we were unable to take any pictures inside the Cathedral, but it was so surreal to have a glimpse at their tombs that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget it anyway! 

After we left the museum, it was almost time to meet the bus and head back to Sevilla. We walked through the streets one last time, I got a Subway sub for lunch (I was in all of my glory at that point in time!), and we said our farewells to the ancient city. It was a great little trip, despite all the rain, but now the only thing I can think about is my family coming to visit at the end of the month!! :)