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Chocolate con churros

 The last few days have been spent lazing around on the beach, swimming in the ocean, and enjoying the sunshine.

But yesterday, we got back into travel mode to visit to beautiful city of Granada. Granada is rich with Islamic architecture and history as the Moors lived in this city up until 1492, when the catholic kings took over. 

After a 2.5 hour drive, we started off our morning in Granada with a snack to fuel us for the rest of the day: chocolate con churros. These classic Spanish churros are not what you classically think of as churros, with sugar and cinnamon, but rather are plain fried dough. Served with them is a thick cup of drinking chocolate for dipping the churros… absolutely delicious and very filling! 

Chocolate con churros from the Churreria Cafeteria Alhambra

Next, we went to visit the Granada Cathedral, which was built in 1563 and was the first renaissance style building to be built in all of Spain. 

Outside of the Granada Cathedral

It is also known as the “Cathedral of Light” due to its many windows which illuminate its white interior. 

Inside the cathedral

We continued to meander through narrow streets, and decided to try the classic pastry of Granada, the pionono. This is a sponge cake soaked in rum and filled with custard… it was a very unique taste! 

Wandering through Granada streets

Trying a pionono

But that wasn’t enough food for us, so we stopped at Bar Casa Julio for some classic tapas. In Granada, you get a free tapas when you order drinks, so we got some beer and our tapas was a fried cod plate! It was quite good. You eat standing up, and then you continue on your way throughout the city. 

Bar Casa Julio

Tapas and beer

Before heading to the famous Alhambra,  we walked up to the Mirador de San Nicolás. This plaza is on a hill directly opposite the hill that the Alhambra is on, so it offers stunning views of the complex and the city below. 

View of the Alhambra from afar

More views!

As I mentioned, the Alhambra is also on a hill, so we had to go down one hill and up another! It was 30 degrees out and by the end of this walk I was panting and sweating. But we made it to the Alhambra, the most visited monument in all of Spain. 

Trudging uphill

The Alhambra was built between the 13th and 14th century by the Islamic Nasrid Dynasty. It was a citadel, meaning that it was essentially a little city. The whole complex contains gardens, multiple palaces, a watchtower, barracks, irrigation, and space where common people would have lived. 

We started our visit here by walking through the Generalife gardens.

In the gardens

The Generalife Palace

Open air irrigation in the gardens

Next, we visited the Nasarid Palace, which is an incredible display of Islamic architecture. The intricate carvings along the walls were my favourite part of this palace. As per Islamic law, there are no representations of animals or humans in any of this art, rather there are plants and lines from the Quran.

Pool in the Nasrid Palace


Intricate details in the palace


Views of the palace ceiling

In this palace is also where, in 1942, Christopher Columbus received royal support for his exhibition to the Americas.

Lastly, we went to visit the Alcazaba fortress. This is the oldest surviving part of the Alhambra and would have been used as a display of military power and might. 

View into the barracks at the Alcazaba fortress

We ended our busy day with some traditional Nasrid Cuisine for dinner. Granada was so lovely and unique! I’m so glad we got to spend a day exploring this wonderful city. 

Nasrid Style Chicken



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