May Bank holiday weekend Destination: Granada, Espana
In order to escape the depressing wet UK bank holiday weather: I escaped with three other girls (my sis included) to Granada which is part of the Andalucian region in southern Spain. We started our journey on Saturday morning flying with BA which has to be the most inefficient self check in service I have experienced. Their airline service wasn't that great either: I don't think they have really understood what it means service with a smile. It is no surprise Malaysian Airlines & Singapore Airlines have been voted one of the best airline staff in the world when we see the standard of other airlines. After a stopover in Madrid for an hr we arrived in Granada in the evening. Fortunately due to the summer weather the sun was still shining down brightly on us when we arrived.
The airport was situated as if it was in the middle of the desert overlooking the Sierra Nevada mountains...breathtaking views...;) In order to reach the city centre of Granada there is a shuttle bus which departs from the airport about 30mins after each flight lands at the airport for 3 euros which is reasonable. It takes approximately 30 mins to reach the centre (traffic permitting)
Our Hotel Arroyo (more like a hostel) was near the Gran via de colon. For 30 euros per person we had a twin room ensuite which is comfortable for our trip and catered for our basic needs. We were greeted to our hotel with the cutest spanish guy but couldn't speak english nevertheless smiling as always and replying with "Si... Si"..
The hotel advertised a flamenco dance show at the Sacromonte caves which we were interested to go and see as part of our Saturday night entertainment. These flamenco shows are not widely advertised along the streets of Granada but exclusively handled by the hotels and hostels around Granada. Our flamenco night included a tour around the Albayzin quarter, view of Alhambra palace from Mirador St Nicholas point. The area is known to be the old Muslim quarter and gypsy area where the flamenco shows flourished. The show lasted for about an hour which was entertaining especially the footwork which is the Spanish version of tapdancing!
The next day we dedicated the whole day to visit the Alhambra palace. Alhambra palace is one of the last remnant building of the Arab occupation which was at its strongest during the Ottoman Empire. I have seen pictures of Alhambra in books and internet but nothing could compare to seeing the place up close. It is a huge compound divided into three categories: a) The Nasrid Palace b) The Alcazaba c) The Generalife The Alhambra Palace had been awarded the UNESCO World Heritage site so there is a limit to the number of people allowed in the Nasrid Palace at any one time. Our time slot was 2.30pm so we had the whole morning to explore the outside area of Alhambra palace. We did a bit of souvenir shopping purchasing the mosaic-type craftwork which Granada is famous for. If you do intend to visit the palace, I would recommend bringing your own mineral water and food because there are not any cafes around. There are a couple of hotel restaurants in the vicinity of the palace but these tend to be overpriced. By the time the afternoon came we were geared up to explore the inside of the Alhambra palaces.
In Europe, I have visited a few palaces and castles e.g. the Versailles palace, Buckingham Palace, Vatican (does this count as a palace?apologies if it is not), Edinburgh Castle. In my opinion, nothing compared to the intricacy of the design and the artwork designs displayed all around the walls, ceilings, doors, arches of Alhambra. In compliance with Islam the majority of the artwork did not have sculptures of people or animals and yet it still had elegance and beauty ..even more so in fact. The Generalife gardens were filled with wonderful roses and wysteria with a variety of different colours and decorated along wonderful water fountains adorned along the pathways of the gardens. The Alcazaba was the least prettiest building out of Alhambra but it wasn't built with the intention of looking pretty but a fortress in order to keep a lookout for any unwanted visitors. I think it took us about five hours to cover the whole area but it was definitely worth it. It has to be one of the greatest sites I have been privileged to see in my lifetime.
The next day was souvenir shopping day before heading back to London. One thing I noticed was that some of the souvenir shops owners were actually local Granada people unlike the souvenir shops in Barcelona. It was pleasant for once to talk with the shop-owners rather than being hounded to buy the souvenirs. For people who have travelled with me, they will know that I am not a collector of any particular souvenirs but I will buy stuff which I think represents what each country I visit represent and will remind me of my visit from each place. In Granada, there are just so many different craft work on offer and also the mosaic designs inspired by Alhambra were items which attracted me. I'm not a shopa-aholic but I loved the mosaic designs and wanted to buy items for family and friends which can bring a little of Granada with me and hopefully get people to visit this wonderful place. I have yet to visit the other parts of Andalucian region like Seville, Malaga and Cordoba... I guess this will have to be for another trip... Until then ...Adios! :) 
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