We arrived in Granada before dawn. Our bus dropped us off in the main part of town and we ran through the plaza and up several long hills to get in line for our Alhambra tickets. The Alhambra is a collection of Moorish palaces, the remains of the longstanding Arabic influence in Spain. Granada was the last Moorish stronghold. The city was purged of the Moors in 1492 when the Catholic Kings, Fernando and Isabel, rode in and overtook Granada. Now the Alhambra stands as a network of seven palaces with amazing mozarabe artwork...and they only let a limited number of people in per day, hence our running towards the gates.
We spent several hours roaming aimlessly around the Alhambra, taking in everything from the aritectqure to the Generalife gardens. After our siesta, which we greatly needed, we did a tapas crawl for dinner. Because there are so many hours between a traditional Spanish lunch and dinner, most bars have little snacks called tapas, coming from the verb "tapar" which means "to cover" as they used to be used to cover drinks to keep out the bugs. Granada has one of the last neighborhoods that serve tapas free with a drink. So we had everything from tortilla patatas, to a plate of green olives to a small biscuit topped with ham and oregano. Tapas can be anything from seafood to vegetables but it's always just a taste.
Tarea:
1. Research the history of the Alhambra. Write 2-3 pages on the history, the important people and the artwork.
2. Research tapas recipes. Bring in at least three.
To see what kind of dance is most popular in Granada, watch the video below.
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