A City of Tapas and Kings

The Alhambra

To sum up my first overnight trip abroad: absolutely wonderful. This past weekend I went to Granada with the entire USAC program. It was basically an extended field trip because the costs of lodging and of travelling had already been paid in my program fees. It was all planned for us. And what a treat it was!

The Sierra Nevadas and the Alhambra.

My journey began at 10am on Friday morning, and the only thing standing between me and my destination was a four-and-a-half hour bus ride. Filled with coffee and cornflakes, I boarded the bus, and the ride turned out to be rather beautiful with lots of spanning countryside. After arriving in Granada, we took a walking tour of the city. One of my favorite stops on this tour was El Mirador de San Nicolas, where you could see almost all of Granda-- complete with a view of the stunning Alhambra (more to come on this place later). Granada is nestled beneath the Sierra Nevada mountains of Spain, and this was fun for me since it reminded me of the Sierra Nevada mountains from home. Even after travelling thousands of miles, I guess home still does mean Nevada.

Anyway, after the walking tour, we were set free on the city of Granada, which translated to tapas time! After re-grouping, a bunch of us went out to tapas because Granada is well-known for its superior tapas. (For those of you who don't know what tapas are, I'll quickly explain. Tapas are appetizers that come with drinks, usually at little bar restaurants. They are delicious and cheap!) Friday night was a good learning experience because by Saturday night, we were tapas pros. We already had a favorite place in mind called the Minotaur, so we made a dinner of it. For just 2 euro (about $2.60) you can order a drink, as in beer or wine, and get a tapa for "free." At Minotaur, the tapa was a hearty sandwich with chips. Best deal ever! I'm pretty sure that you can't even get a drink alone for that price in the US. So needless to say, that was one of the highlights of the Granada trip.

Friday night was also completed with an unintentional and impromptu walking tour of most of Granada. After tapas and bar hopping, a few of us were ready to hit the hay in our super nice hotel because we had an early morning the next day. My directional abilities have always been less than desirable, but for some reason my friend and I were convinced that we knew the exact way home. Well, to make a long story short, we didn't. The good news: we made it back. The extension of this news: we made it back in an hour when it probably should have only took us fifteen minutes. Lesson learned, and I actually quite enjoyed seeing some new parts of the city. As most of you know, I'm always willing to have an adventure (within reason, of course).

A beautiful scene at the Alhambra.

The next day began with a guided tour of the Alhambra (see pictures), which was SO GORGEOUS! The Alhambra is seeped with history because it dates back to times of Arab kings in Spain. Another fun fact: Christopher Columbus and Bill Clinton have both been there. It took us about 3 hours to see the whole thing, and it was well worth the trip. I opted for the mostly Spanish-speaking tour guide, so I got to practice my Spanish as well. After experiencing the Alhambra, I wandered down the hill through a gypsy-influenced neighborhood with some friends. There were so many interesting tea and trinket shops. At this point, we were quite hungry and opted for the traditional Spanish menu del dia. The menu del dia gives you two plates of food and a dessert for a relative cheap price-- 10 euro (about $13). The sun was shining as we enjoyed our delicious Spanish cuisine. Then after lunch it was time for the most important Spanish tradition-- the siesta. We took a rest (and in my case, the best hot shower of my life) before getting ready to have tapas. And you know the rest from there. The only other notable experience: a scrumptious batch of chocolate and churros at a hopping specialty place. I'm seriously getting addicted to that treat!

On Sunday, we returned to Alicante, and it was neat to experience the feeling of coming "home" after a trip. It solidified in my mind the fact that Alicante is my home for the next few months. I've been here a month now, and in this short time, I've had experiences and realizations that will last me a lifetime. I can't wait to see what the upcoming months bring!