Sunday 31 May 2009

Granada

One of the reasons for my recent absence was a holiday to Spain. Many moons ago, I studied Spanish and had the joy of living in Granada in Andalucia for a year. During this time, I became fluent in Spanish, learnt to dance Sevillanas, visited the Alhambra on a weekly basis, became obsessed with Spanish food (tapas in particular), developed more than a liking for vino tinto and hence managed to put on at least a stone before coming home to finish my degree...

I hadn't been back to Granada for over 20 years and unfortunately had no imminent plans to, until getting back in touch with a very good friend last year. Suzanne and I went to the same school and college, and spent our year in Granada together. After nearly 20 years of no contact, last year we discovered we were living in the same town and a revisit to Granada was one of the first things we talked about. The holiday became a bit of a road trip, with six like-minded girls driving from Alicante to Granada for Las Cruces festival. Suzanne had booked fantastic apartments in the Albaicin, which had views of the Alhambra and the snow-capped Sierra Nevada. We revisited old haunts, enjoyed delicious tapas, danced Sevillanas and decided that we would definitely be back next year.

Whilst much of the juerga* has moved on, one of the mainstays of the traditional tapas scene is the Trastienda. This gorgeous place looks like typical shop from the front, with legs of ham hanging in front of the counter, but behind the scenes is the cutest little tapas bar with tiled walls and low tables. Nice to see it mentioned here. We enjoyed a plate of aged pata negra ham and some tapas, before heading here for lunch, where we had traditional Moroccan food and the most beautiful views of the Alhambra.

Photos to follow...

* juerga = the good time (ir de juerga = to go out on the town)

7 comments:

  1. Sounds lovely, I love tapas...

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  2. Welcome back! Your trip sounds absolutely divine. I can't wait to see pictures! Regarding my "southern foods" post, I too want to visit the 100 best restaurants in the south. I've lived here for over two decades and I've only eaten at a couple of restaurants on the list. I love food being the jumping off point for planning a road trip!

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  3. I am so jealous and envious!!! I love Spain! Your trip sounds so adventurous and fun; and with all the fun places to eat in Spain, there is always a place to go. One of my favorite things about Spain is the time clock they run on - breakfast is late, lunch and dinner are much later than what Americans are used to. It works for me.:) I am glad you had a great time, and hope you get to go back soon. Welcome back!

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  4. AO - happy to meet ANY time for tapas! :)

    CC and S&ABM - thank you both for the warm welcome back! I need to find more time for my blog. Have been keeping up with my reading (especially both of your blogs) but no time to get creative recently. My next trip is to France so that should help inspire me!

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  5. Welcome back! Your holiday sounds amazing, like something out of a chick flick. Can't wait to hear all about it IN PERSON!!! I agree.. where do the days go...? xxx

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  6. Ooh, how lovely, I adore Granada. SO beautiful and laid back, too. I still dream of Bodegas Castaneda, with it's syrupy sweet Pedro Ximenez straight from the barrel, the bar propped up by elderly Spanish gentlemen.

    I look forward to the piccies.

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  7. Hey ! A fellow cupcake !!!!

    Hi, I just wanted to leave a comment to say how much I've enjoyed reading your posts.

    Your photographs are AMAZING and I really like your writing.

    Best wishes and thank you for sharing it !

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