TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

Granada is known to strongly advocate the tapas culture and it is said that for every alcoholic drink you order, it is customary that you get a free tapa. Well, we didn’t seem to get any free tapa with our drinks in La Hacienda Tapas on Plaza Nueva (translation: New Square but actually the oldest square in Granada), unlike when Blondine and I were in Verona, Italy, on Piazza Bra , we had loads of free aperitivos that after our second drink our stuffed bellies surrendered and opted to skip dinner totally. Plaza Nueva by the way is located at the foot of the Alhambra in Albayzin and is considered by many, in terms of ‘going out’ as the center of Granada. It’s very lively here in the evenings. A must stop indeed. Pan con Tomate y Jamon Iberico for light dinner in Plaza Nueva, Albaicin, Granada. Anyhow, Dutchman and I were still full from our late afternoon snack in Plaza de Bib-Rambla so to go with our drinks I decided to just order a plate of Jamon Iberico otherwise known ...

Also known as Albaicin, and together with the infamous Alhambra, the district sits on top of a hill in Granada and is a UNESCO world heritage site. For those who don’t know, the Andalusian region, basically the south of Spain was for a time under the Islamic empire (7th century to the 12th century) resulting in Spain inheriting many beautiful structures with Mudejar-Moorish architectural influences. I took this foto of Albayzin from the Alhambra, from a vantage point facing the San Nicholas Church where a lot of tourists go to view the Alhambra. When I am visiting a place for the first time, I usually let my sensory glands rule my first impressions, and it always have something to do with seeing beautiful pieces of architecture (the older and complicated they are, the better), feeling that lively ‘gezellig’ ambience in the air (oftentimes this translates to seeing happy-looking people on well-maintained streets) and of course the advantage of the place having a compact center w...

So finally I am inside the grounds of the Alhambra—hallelujah! The uphill journey with my high heel wedges on unpaved road felt like eternity but I never learn. You know, those days really exist when you don’t want to question vanity at all, even if there is a consequence. Now I need to get to the ticket office ASAP but I have no idea where it is. In my Spain travel guide it says the Alhambra is open until 20:30, so that is good. While scanning the grounds, I saw this girl helping a couple, she has a name tag, and they were pouring over a map, obviously she works for the tourist office. The couple thanked her and left. Finally, it’s my turn. “Hi, can you help me find the ticket office please?” “Its right down there; follow that road and you will see the ticket office.” “Thanks!” I replied and turned away, hurriedly following the direction she just gave me. “Sorry, wait! The ticket office is now closed. It is open until 19:00 only. You can come back tomorrow.” Have you ever seen somethi...

If it was all up to me, I would have taken those white Alhambra mini-buses that ply the city center of Granada (they go without delay to the Alhambra!) but Dutchman insists we are taking the car. Quite honestly, I was a bit annoyed because we have to find our way to the Alhambra by driving through the narrow and meandering cobblestone streets. As you might be aware of, there is this EU government conspiracy to make city centers impossible for cars, especially in Amsterdam where one-way and no entry signs proliferate at break-neck speed and parking is €5 per hour—I am not kidding. As time was running out and I was not in the mood to argue, I yielded. In the evening, this area beside the Alhambra is really nice, what with the outdoor terraces and the view to the lighted Alhambra. Exactly as I had predicted, we lost time finding our way because firstly, there were major road works going on, and secondly, the GPS couldn’t function well in between the buildings, it is losing satellite conne...