Saturday: Exploring Granada
Today we are off to spend the weekend in Granada, one of the most beautiful cities in Spain. Our three hour drive through the countryside of Andalucía showed us more of the real Spain with its unique beauty and its intriguing and inviting mix of old and new, field after field of sunflowers in bloom and groves of ancient silver olive trees juxtaposed against great modern windmills and fields of the high tech solar panels that would have spurred don Quixote on to new adventure.
As we approached Granada the snow on the peaks of the Sierra glistened against the blue summer sky, our signal that we were about to enter the city of Fernando and Isabel and the last stronghold of Islamic reign on the peninsula.
After checking into our hotel, a small renaissance palace built in 1503 and located right in the historic Albaicín section of the city, we oriented ourselves to the city center and learned how the different styles of architecture that we encountered could begin to tell us the story of Granada. Our visit to the Royal Chapel of Fernando and Isabel, where the Catholic monarchs are buried and which houses many of their personal belongings, was a solemn end to our mid-day Paseo.
After some free time we all left the hotel for a special dinner hosted by our partners in Spain. Croquetas, verduras a la parrilla, queso and tortilla española, followed by ensalada mixta and pollo asado and of course sobremesa, an authentic Spanish meal under the stars.
After dinner we set out again to La Casa del Arte Flamenco to get a taste of real Spanish dance. It was noisy, dramatic, fast paced and full of duende, that special something found only in authentic Flamenco. From the enthusiastic comments as we walked back to our hotel, it was a hit with our group. But to our surprise the dancing was not quite over.
As we approached the Plaza Nueva, we came upon the square filled with Spaniards from 9 to 90 dancing the night away to an open air stage show and DJ. Our Spanish souls ignited by the music, lights and camaraderie, we all joined right in. Needless to say, we eventually reached our hotel ready to rest and refresh.
