Granada
Unfortunately, we had really bad weather in Granada. Fortunately, it was an absolutely adorable city. Granada is a smaller city in southern Spain. It was the first time I travelled somewhere and I could have pictured myself studying there. The locals were so friendly, the food was so great, everything was relatively inexpensive, and the scenery was beautiful. We stayed at a small, cheap hostel called "Funky Granada". The guys that worked there were so helpful and really made us feel welcome. The hostel hosted walking tours, Flamenco dancing, and a bunch of other great options to tour the city. However, U of I has a really big program in Granada- so we had our friends to lead us around!
We were only in Granada for two days, but we were all really glad to be there. Our hostel was the cutest place we have stayed yet. It was a tiny hole in the wall and definitely "funky". It was almost all outdoors except for the little rooms. We had a room of 6 bunk beds and then a tiny kitchen. We got lucky here because we did not have to share a room with any random people.
The best part of Granada is the way their tapas work. Tapas are a typical Spanish dish, served in small portions. They can be any type of food. Some of the tapas we had were pineapple and pork skewers, chickpea salad, croquettes, and even an omelette. Tapas were created so that people would not get too drunk while out at the bars. Now, it is a great way to go to a restaurant and sample many small plates for almost no cost! Granada is one of the only places in Spain that give you free Tapas with a purchase of a drink. You go into a restaurant and pick out something to drink and then they give you some food to go with it. So, you can eat dinner for around 2 euro- that is unbeatable! Someone needs to open up a tapas place in Oak Forest- I promise it will be a success.
Its safe to say that maybe one of the biggest reasons we loved Granada is because of this cheap way to eat. For our first dinner, we went to the Futbol Cafe and ordered tons of real plates of food and got tapas with that as well. Then, we had to try the Granada speciality of Churros with chocolate. Remember, European food is much different than American food. The best way for me to explain it is to say that it is bland, but it still is delicious. There are just less preservatives and less sugar in the food, so it is not as sweet as the deserts at home. Everything is fresher, cleaner, Regardless, the churros were basically fried dough, not sugar coated, and then you dip them in a cup of hot chocolate- delicious.
As I mentioned in my Madrid page, the waiters will warn you not to order something if they know it is not a typical American meal. Remember- my Spanish is limited and people don't know English here. We were at a restaurant and I finally saw "omelette" on the menu. Omelettes are basically the only thing I eat and aren't too popular in Europe, so when I finally saw it I had to order it. When I told the waiter that is what I wanted, he was immediately like "NO NO NO NO!". He tried to explain it to me, but his Spanish was too fast. I tried "Mas despacio" (more slowly) and then I could hear him but I didn't understand the words that he was using. He was pointing to his head and saying something. My friends at the table were trying so hard to think what an omelette had to do with a head. I asked him random questions in Spanish and finally I figured it out. He was pointing to his head- I said "cabeza"? and he said "SI! SI!". I said "la carne de la cabeza"? He said "SI!!!". This means I almost ordered a "head meat omelette". I thought this was bad enough, but I went home and googled what I tried to order and it was a lamb brain omelette. Thank God he warned me.
One of the nights we met up with all of our friends from U of I. I got to see my roommate from freshman year of college, Lindsey Bohlen, and this was so great. We loved catching up, but mostly we loved talking about everything we have learned so far. She lives with a host mom, who she loves, and is getting so much better at Spanish. We talked a lot about what Spaniards think of Americans- fast food, guns, MTV. It was cool to have her teach me some things she has learned so far, after gaining the perspective of living in Granada for a couple of months.
The best part of Granada is the way their tapas work. Tapas are a typical Spanish dish, served in small portions. They can be any type of food. Some of the tapas we had were pineapple and pork skewers, chickpea salad, croquettes, and even an omelette. Tapas were created so that people would not get too drunk while out at the bars. Now, it is a great way to go to a restaurant and sample many small plates for almost no cost! Granada is one of the only places in Spain that give you free Tapas with a purchase of a drink. You go into a restaurant and pick out something to drink and then they give you some food to go with it. So, you can eat dinner for around 2 euro- that is unbeatable! Someone needs to open up a tapas place in Oak Forest- I promise it will be a success.
Its safe to say that maybe one of the biggest reasons we loved Granada is because of this cheap way to eat. For our first dinner, we went to the Futbol Cafe and ordered tons of real plates of food and got tapas with that as well. Then, we had to try the Granada speciality of Churros with chocolate. Remember, European food is much different than American food. The best way for me to explain it is to say that it is bland, but it still is delicious. There are just less preservatives and less sugar in the food, so it is not as sweet as the deserts at home. Everything is fresher, cleaner, Regardless, the churros were basically fried dough, not sugar coated, and then you dip them in a cup of hot chocolate- delicious.
As I mentioned in my Madrid page, the waiters will warn you not to order something if they know it is not a typical American meal. Remember- my Spanish is limited and people don't know English here. We were at a restaurant and I finally saw "omelette" on the menu. Omelettes are basically the only thing I eat and aren't too popular in Europe, so when I finally saw it I had to order it. When I told the waiter that is what I wanted, he was immediately like "NO NO NO NO!". He tried to explain it to me, but his Spanish was too fast. I tried "Mas despacio" (more slowly) and then I could hear him but I didn't understand the words that he was using. He was pointing to his head and saying something. My friends at the table were trying so hard to think what an omelette had to do with a head. I asked him random questions in Spanish and finally I figured it out. He was pointing to his head- I said "cabeza"? and he said "SI! SI!". I said "la carne de la cabeza"? He said "SI!!!". This means I almost ordered a "head meat omelette". I thought this was bad enough, but I went home and googled what I tried to order and it was a lamb brain omelette. Thank God he warned me.
One of the nights we met up with all of our friends from U of I. I got to see my roommate from freshman year of college, Lindsey Bohlen, and this was so great. We loved catching up, but mostly we loved talking about everything we have learned so far. She lives with a host mom, who she loves, and is getting so much better at Spanish. We talked a lot about what Spaniards think of Americans- fast food, guns, MTV. It was cool to have her teach me some things she has learned so far, after gaining the perspective of living in Granada for a couple of months.
The Alhambra
One of the days, Kristi, Abby, Lucas, Claire, Kyle and myself booked a tour to go see the Alhambra. The Alhambra is a palace in the Andalusia region of Spain. It consists of four structures clumped together at the top of a hill. It is the reason most tourists come to Granada. The four sites include the gardens, the two palaces, and the Alcazaba (fort with a tower). It was originally built as a fortress in the year 889 and was eventually converted to a royal palace in 1333.
Getting up to the Alhambra was quite the hike. It took us about 30 minutes to walk up it because it was so steep- workout of the week. You can take a taxi or a bus, but we didn't know this and we didn't think it would be as bad as it was. Bad is a relative term while studying abroad. Yes, hiking up a steep mountain is exhausting and you want a gallon of water poured on you at all times but- you are climbing up a mountain. The view was unbelievable and completely worth every drop of sweat.
The Alhambra was built for the Muslim Emirs of Spain and the Nasrid dynasty. The first historical documents about the Alhambra, dated from the 9th century, talk about Sawwar ben Hamdun who sought refuge in Alcazaba (fortress) and had to repair it because of the fights that were destroying it. Later on, the Ziri kings established their kingdom on the same hill.
Getting up to the Alhambra was quite the hike. It took us about 30 minutes to walk up it because it was so steep- workout of the week. You can take a taxi or a bus, but we didn't know this and we didn't think it would be as bad as it was. Bad is a relative term while studying abroad. Yes, hiking up a steep mountain is exhausting and you want a gallon of water poured on you at all times but- you are climbing up a mountain. The view was unbelievable and completely worth every drop of sweat.
The Alhambra was built for the Muslim Emirs of Spain and the Nasrid dynasty. The first historical documents about the Alhambra, dated from the 9th century, talk about Sawwar ben Hamdun who sought refuge in Alcazaba (fortress) and had to repair it because of the fights that were destroying it. Later on, the Ziri kings established their kingdom on the same hill.