Credits: Papers by Scrapmuss Design; label and border element by Splendid Fiins; Suede Alpha by MissBhaving
Outside of (the little I know of) the Alhambra, I know close to nothing about Granada. After all, I didn’t plan to venture out this far from Seville. So expectation was kept to a minimum.
The NH Hotel at Puerta Real, the crossroad of the city’s shopping zone.
Crossing Calle Puerto Real on our way to lunch, the beautiful bourgeois architecture instantly left an impression.
Although we passed some streets that seemed desolate, we soon found ourselves in the heart of the city where the Cathedral and the Alcaiceria, the Moorish Silk market of way back, impressed once more.
Lunch, arranged by the Noval brothers (our guide and driver), was at the Restaurante Sevilla—a stone throw away from the Cathedral, at the fringe of the Alcaiceria.
In a small, old style Spanish bar, we were served yet another excellent meal of tapas.
Quite in keeping with the cuisine’s good repute. Andalusian cuisine has yet to disappoint.
The best way to experience the city’s old yet vibrant center is to walk it.
So after that fulfilling lunch, we inched our way out of the Alcaiceria to the busy Plaza Nueva, which despite the name, is the oldest square.
Lively cafes and bars, along with Moorish and Renaissance monuments and landmarks scatter around here.
A short distance on the east, right where the Carrera de Darro begins, the Rio Darro emerges from underground.
Here too lies one of the best remaining churches of Mudejar architecture, the 16th century Iglesia de San Gil y Santa Ana.
It was strolling along the Carrera de Darro that Granada called to me. “One day,” I told Anton, “we will sit and absorb the pulse of the city in one of these cafes.”
To assimilate with the carefree students and free-spirited artists that fill the streets for even just a few days would be pretty cool.
Follow the river and you will come across Paseo de los Tristes.
A picturesque street with a river running along it, the Alhambra keeping watch from atop.
Granada has an unmistakable Moorish soul, most likely because it was the last city to be reconquered by the Catholic Monarchs.
Lying at the confluence of 4 rivers—the Beiro, Darro, Genil, and the Monachit, separated by the gorge of the Rio Darro. The city is set between 2 outlying hills, the Alhambra hill on the south and the Albaicin, on the north.
Albaicin, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the old Moorish quarter of Granada.
Walking through its narrow and winding cobbled streets will take you back over 1500 years. It holds a vast amount of Granada’s historic buildings and plazas.
Although a residential district on the whole, it is host to many restaurants, bars as well as guesthouses oozing with classic Andalusian charm.
Above all, this beautiful residential neighborhood delivers some incredible view of the Alhambra and much of the city.
my adventure odyssey 
my heart is captured by these sights. there is something about all these spanish towns that beckons one’s soul to visit. and of course the fact that i love tapas added to the inducement.
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