I ain't never met no Paella I didn't like...

Granada was a first for me not just because I had never been there but also because I did it with a large group of people. The granada trip was planned by a group that helps international students travel within Spain. We left Friday at 8:00a.m. with a bus of 50 international students. It takes about four hours to get to Granada and I enjoy listening to my I-pod on bus rides so I settled in for the trip. About an hour later I was really wishing that I had not had coffee that morning because it goes right through me. I thought, "oh well I will just get up and go to the bathroom." Yea..um...guess what? this bus did not have a bathroom. Who rents a bus for four hours without a bathroom???? This group of intelligent people...that is who. Luckily before I literally peed my pants we stopped for a break at a rest stop. All I can say is I was so relieved.

Tip#6: do not drink liquids before bus rides if you do not know if you will have a bathroom...you start contemplating all kinds of things that should never be contemplated...like water bottles and what a girl should never have to do with one ( I will leave the rest to your imagination)

We got to our hostel around noon and the place was wonderful. It felt more like a hotel than any hostel I have ever stayed in. There was a dresser and closet space so I did not have to live out of my backpack for two days...score 1 for Sarah!

Jessica and I in our room

We left the hostel and started meandering around Granada. The city actually reminded me a lot of Flagstaff because there were a lot of hippies. Jessica and I ran into this gelato place at around 3:00p.m. and stopped to try it...

yummy:)

We then headed off to meet everyone to walk up to a viewpoint of the Alhambra. I am not a huge fan of extreme crowds and we were like a giant herd of international students. There were a lot of people because we joined up with a group of students that were studying in Granada...but the view was well worth the crazy horde of people...here are some pics!

I loved the backdrop of the mountains behind the Alhambra

That night Jessica and I went to Tapas to eat. Surprisingly Granada was the first place where I received a free tapa when I ordered a drink. It was nice to just get a drink and not have to think about what to order with it. I enjoy not making decisions and this was the perfect solution.

Jessica and I with drinks and tapas!

That night the group we went with had scheduled us to go to a club and when we were walking past a Chino (chinese store) some fake nails caught my eye...I still don't know why but they called my name and I bought them.

Tip #7: Although they are cheap, and are really fun... buying fake nails is an unnecessary purchase. The reason they are cheap is because they fall off that night, and you can't open anything with them...I know this from experience...heed my knowledge!

Yes they are pretty and can be used as a weapon, but don't be taken in by the beauty... it will not last!

I was still nursing a cold so I didn't last very long at the club and neither did my nails. The next day for breakfast Jessica and I bought some muffins in a grocery store and sat on a park bench to eat breakfast. We then went to the meeting place to begin are tour of the Alhambra. The walk up the hill was intense. If I do not have a great butt after walking up all these hills in Spain I am going to give up because no stair-stepper can compare to these mile long hills.

waterfall on the walk up...

We had a tour guide of the Alhambra and he was wonderful. I felt like I was with a walking, talking book. The Alhambra was everything I wanted it to be. Here comes the history lesson...The Alhambra was a fortress, palace, and a city constructed during the 14th century (Nasrid Dynasty) by Moorish rulers it was later taken over by the catholic monarchs but it was so beautiful they did not change the Islamic building but instead kept it as it was. Here are some photos....

This is a famous photo that has to be taken...you can see the reflection in the water

This was just what some of the walls looked like...I can't imagine the work that must have gone into this.

Amazing!

I don't know that I have ever seen such intricate detail in a building. It was beautiful and the photos don't capture it as well as I would have liked. We were touring the fortress, palace, and surrounding area for around four hours so by the time we were done it was around 6:30ish. We had been handed a flyer the day before about a flamenco show with paella up on the hill across from the Alhambra. Jessica and I were set on going. Best life decision ever!

We walked back up the opposite hill (thats right I want my booty in shape) where the gypsies roam free. I am quite sure we crashed a gypsy party because there were a bunch of hippie looking people in a park, with their dogs, smoking pot. When we walked through everything got just a little quieter. All eyes were on us = awkward. It was a little frightening but I was set on making it to my paella/flamenco show. When we got up to the top it was dark but we managed to find the restaurant that offered the flamenco show and paella for the bargain price of 15 euros!!! It was delicious...I am not exaggerating if I were on death row I might actually have asked for this for my last meal...it was that good! I swear the seafood must have been plucked from the ocean that day, everything was to die for fresh...

Heaven in a pan!

4 girls vs. Paella = we did some serious damage!

I cannot praise that Paella enough. I was in gypsy land, on the top of a hill that overlooks the Alhambra watching flamenco while eating paella....life could not have been better!!!!

That night we went to a club that overlooked the Alhambra, it was the nicest view from a club I have ever seen. I was still a little sick though, and after the massive amounts of paella I had eaten I was ready for bed.

Granada so far holds the record for best paella eaten in Spain...I will let you know if that changes but its going to have to be some darn good paella!!!

signing off xoxoxox Sarah