Granada, Spain
Known for: The last Moorish state to be reconquered by the Spanish, the super impressive Alhambra, getting free tapas with your drinks!
How to get there
To get to Granada from Malaga it is a short 1.5 hour bus ride away from Malaga and will set you back roughly €13 one way. The bus stop is a little out of town, however one can either get into town by catching a bus (I think costs €2 or thereabouts) or taking cab like I did which will set you back another €13.
A quick history lesson…
Something that I did not know prior to visiting Granada is that much of southern Spain have been influenced heavily by the Moors as they inhabited much of the Iberian coast prior to the reconquistion of Spain in the 15th century. The Emirate of Granada was the last state to be reconquered by the Christians, during the Granada war.
As a result of the Moorish rule, Granda’s iconic Alhambra was built during this time and is today one of the most famous palaces in the world (and the most visited sight in Spain). It was recently a finalist in the New 7 wonders of the world. The grounds are vast, and is split into two main areas…. The royal palace… the nazri palace and generalife (the summer retreat for the royals).
The word Alhambra in Arabic means “the red fortress”. Now this references the clay surrounding the building. Additionally it was said that during the night when torches were lit within the Alhambra it would give the palace a red glow to those looking at the palace from afar.
What makes it so special….
The detail inside is unlike any other palace I have seen before. Firstly, the architecture is very different to other castles/palaces I’ve seen in continental Europe. Obviously being built during Moorish rule, the architecture is Arabic influenced and I think officially known as Nazrid architecture.
There is what I think to be Arabic scripture beautifully carved into one of the many rooms. The decorative arches and windows found all throughout the palace gives in a very ‘aladain style feel to it’. In fact when I first saw it, all I could think about was the prince of Persia game I used to play as a child lol.
There are many interior courtyards with water features and perfectly kept gardens found throughout the royal side of the palace. During the summer, a pop up concert hall is erected within the grounds of the Alhambra and classical concerts performed in the amazing surrounds. I wish I had a little more time and maybe could have experience the concert as it would have been simply spectacular listening to a live concert and have the sunset and Alhambra in the background!
I think instead of boring you with Wikipedia facts it might be more appropriate to show you just how stunning the inside is.
Useful tip on booking……
Now because this attraction is so popular with tourists it is highly recommended to book well in advance. You can only visit the Nazri palace based on pre specified time. The way I went about it was using Spain’s ticketmaster website. The Spanish (as well as being gifted with guitar skills and salsa abilities) have come up with a way whereby if you purchase tickets using a any European bankcard, you can pick up tickets from a number of ATM/cashpoint machines around the city. This is especially useful when you are always running late (guilty!).
Nearby neighbourhoods
Sacromonte
The nearby neighbourhood of Sacromonte is home to the gypsy community in Granada. The area is most famous for the gypsy style flamenco which incorporates traditional flamenco with some less traditional elements such as belly dancing.
Now Granada during the summer can reach temperatures of 40 degrees for days on end. With the extreme heat (and lack of sea breeze) as Granada is set up in the mountains, gypsy families dug caves within the mountains. This way they could deal with the heat by retiring to a natural cool room! Pretty neat huh
To get to Sacromonte I would suggest either cabbing or going on a bike tour ebike tours which can be found on Tripadvisor. The guide we had was so knowledgable and friendly and is to date the best bike tour I’ve been on. It may have something to do with the fact that electronic bikes makes it so easy to cover ground!
As I passed through the street of sacromonte on my ever so easy ebike I noticed that some house had plates on the walls of the houses. It is said the more plates that a house has, the wealthier they are. I guess this lady must be the richest lass in town!
Same Same but different
One of the unique customs in Granada surrounds the humble tapas. Now previously I wrote that san Sebstastian has the best tapas (pinxtos) I have tasted… that still remains, but unlike san Sebastian and like the rest of Spain in Granada, tapas come free everytime you buy drinks!
That’s right people, if you order a round of drinks, don’t be surprised if you find that you’ve scored a decent dinner as well! Though I don’t think the tapas will win any awards… still decent for a €2 beer and a few sides to boot
What better way to finish an epic day in Granada by visting two of the most happening places.
Bellagio
A new chic bar serving up delicious cocktails. Entry is €10 but includes a drink… not bad value if you ask me. If you are planning to bust a move probably not the best place to do it, however I can suggest…
Mae West
Rocking nightclub for the young and free. Two big rooms, various terrace areas rocking party anthems and Spanish pop songs. Good fun! And also includes a free drink on entry.
Accommodation
Granada had some of the cheapest 4 star accommodation I’ve seen… ever. £38/night twin share!? I could have been lucky and scored a sale but that’s insanely cheap! The place I stayed at was the Senator hotel, which was slightly out of town (about a €5 cab ride into the centre square. Not the newest hotel going around but has everything you need in terms of facilities. Be warned though the pool is not included in the price and unavailable during siesta time 2-5pm!
Granada has been spoken highly of by many friends and other travellers alike. I couldn’t’ understand the appeal until I experienced it first hand. The beautiful Alhambra with the mountainous backdrop , friendly locals, hot weather, Free tapas with drinks and the laid back Spanish lifestyle pretty hard to come up with a better formula for a weekend getaway! Once again Espana you’ve done it again another city I’d highly recommend.
JD
Stockholm, Sweden
Destination: Stockholm, Sweden
Other names: N/A (or if anyone knows please feel free to comment)
Known for: ABBA, Tennis talent, Good looking people, IKEA, Nudie Jeans, a Swedish House Mafia
Ah Stockholm, legend tells of a city where blond haired, blue eyed GQ and Victoria Secrets Models roam the streets, in a picturesque city and probably one of the world’s most liveable too. This weekend was an excursion to explore unofficial capital Scandinavia!
Attractions
Usually the way I like to approach weekend excursions is to pack the days full of sightseeing and understanding the history of the city. A few people I know often ‘wing it’ and stroll through the city. I have tried this before and while it is very relaxing it does not provide any context to appreciate the historic sights and buildings you pass by. So I try to get on a city tour of some sort at the very least and the best tours are usually the Free walking tours. They are free in that there is no set amount for the tour, but if you think the tour was worthwhile (normally they are very information and fun) a tip will be graciously accepted.
I managed to get onto a walking tour with an excellent guide who explained the history of Sweden, how it territory once included Norway and Finland as well. He went on to speak about the Swedish Royal family throughout the ages including the most recent princess who married her gym instructor!
We were educated about other interesting facts including the concept of ‘Stockholm syndrome’ which refers to a phenomenon where hostages empathise with their captors and take their side. This actually happened in a bank central Stockholm back in the 70’s.
The city itself is extremely clean and sits on a number of islands. It has a charming old town where ‘hole in the wall café’s and souvenir stores can be found on every corner. One of the main attractions in the old town is the Nobel Museum, dedicated to one of Sweden’s most famous personalities, Alfred Nobel (Creator of the Nobel Prize).
I had always heard of the Nobel peace prize and the prize for economics but did not realise that there were 5 prizes in Alfred Nobel’s original will (Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, Peace). Being the inventor of dynamite and unlucky in love he was set to leave a large fortune behind, it wasn’t until his own brother was killed in an explosives accident and a French newspaper mistook his brother for himself, that he realised what the world thought of him. Labelled the “merchant of death” as many lives had been lost through the use of his invention, Alfred wanted to leave his mark on the world for the better, hence the creation of the Nobel prizes which is awarded to those who brought the greatest benefit to mankind. Famous recipients include Marie Curie, Mother Teresa, Martin Luthor King, Albert Einstein just to name a few
The other placed we checked out was Skansen island. Unfortunately the number 1 attraction on trip advisor ‘Vasa museum’ was under renovation so I checked out the open air museum instead, which is HUGE and a great place to spend a Sunday afternoon in the Scandinavian sun.
Nightlife
A quick google search of Stockholm nightlife warned visitors about how difficult it can be to get into nightspots, especially for guys. Glad to say playing it safe and packing an extra pair of shoes and blazer granted us entry into two of the swankiest clubs in town! Ambassadeer Club & Berns Hotel.
Both highly recommended – just an FYI entry is usually £20-£30
Below is a link to pictures from nightspots in Sweden. I can confirm that the girls and guys do look just as good in real life!
Http://stureplan.se/bilder/nattklub/
Swedish Myths & Legends!
MYTH: Everyone is Sweden is good looking and 6ft plus. Women look like Scarlet Johansson and the men look like Thor (Chris Hemsworth – even though he is Australian lol).
RESULT: Fact, on a whole Swedish people are definitely trendier, well groomed and fashion forward. Thier natural beauty are very easy on the eyes. I would say 8/10 people could easily become fashion models in other countries.
Height wise the average height of Swedes is noticeably higher than say Spain or Portugal so yes I’d say that this is fairly accurate (generally speaking). I also noticed the split of brunettes to blondes is roughly 50:50 and not 100:0 as I once thought lol.
MYTH: Sweden is ridiculously expensive.
RESULT: Fiction, I would say it’s slightly more expensive than other “liveable cities”. Alcohol is an exception, as it is highly taxed (a round of top shelf gin and tonics (3 drinks) cost £50/$75), however that was probably more my own fault for buying the most expensive drink in the poshest club in Stockholm. Food is reasonable and of very good quality as well. Swedish designed clothes are apparently cheaper here as well (although to be honest, I had ran out of money by Sunday lol so this could be seen as hypocritical). A Big Mac meal and Mc Flurry cost 80SEK / £8 / $12
Having missed breakfast on our last day, on a count of arriving home at 4am and spontaneously singing Peter Andre’s mysterious girl, there was definitely a feeling of not enough time and unfinished business in Sweden. I’m very sure I’ll be back again! Stay beautiful Stockholm I’ll see you real soon!
JD
The JD Chronicles 