Granada

Granada is a lovely melting pot of the Catholics, Muslims, and Spanish influences. The catholic kings tended to alter Muslim buildings and convert them into churches whilst still maintaining the Arabic nature of the buildings.

We arrived at noon from Malaga, and headed straight to Papa Elvira's for lunch. It is a tiny cafe that seats only 6-8 people. Food is amazing. Simple home cooked, cous cous, empinadas, and tea with delicious desert cakes and tortas.

We had booked for the night entry into Alhambra but silly me overlooked the fact that tickets needed to be printed. So at the very last minute, I was chasing around trying to find a photo copy shop. I finally managed to print the tickets at a pharmacy near by. The pharmacist was so kind, she didn't even take money for the printing. After a super quick dinner at a Syrian restaurant called Puerta Syria, we hurried up the hill to the Alhambra.

The Alhambra at night was simply unimaginably beautiful. It was stunning. Quite different to see the Nazrid Palace lit up. An architectural marvel. Even the photos we took does not do it justice.

Choo arrived with 3 friends from UK and Gibraltar. The whole group were a real nice bunch of people. They were very generous and would not let us pay for meals while they were with us. Choo stayed with Ruby and I while Jian, Jack and Hanky went snow shoeing with the girls. Ruby, Choo and I did the historic walking tour and the Sacromonte tour while the young ones besides snow shoeing did a tapas crawl.

We loved the Albyacin area which is the Muslim area of Granada. There you find a great lookout from San Nicolas mirador, and yummy teterias where you have teas in what looks like a Persian dens. There is even a mosque there now.

We also managed to catch up with Victoria and her daughter Lupe on our last night in Granada. Victoria is the mountain guide for Sierra Nevada that we met 2 years ago, who was also the girls snowshoeing guide. Victoria does not only run tours, either hiking or skiing or snowshoeing but she is also a professional cross country skier and a ski rescue worker. She knows everything and everyone on Sierra Nevada.

We have had the good fortune of meeting some lovely people here. Granada is turning out to be one of my favourite places in Spain.Read more