Flamenco dances and the beauties while travelling in Granada.

Road View from Malaga from Granada

The morning started off with a slow start. I was still a bit exhausted from the day before of feeling unwell. Luckily, the day I had to recover helped greatly with getting me prepared for the day’s hustle and bustle of traveling from beautiful city to the next. Malaga was a vibrant city with a lot of architectural reminiscents of Morocco. Although I had just a simple hotel breakfast, it was easily one of the best things I’ve tasted; puff pastries, fresh fruit, and strawberry marmalade spread on toast. 10/10. After a smooth check out of Malaga we were on the road. The narrow roads were hugged by greenery and mountain ridges along the highway to Granada. I stayed awake through the ride there with the accompaniment of my earbuds. They unfortunately only work on one side, but that’s more than enough to provide me comfort throughout the ride. After probably the shortest drive of our trip, we checked into our hotel and after a much needed relaxation period we were to head for dinner at a local cafe. It was my first time eating tapas and paella. I don’t drink too much soda at home, but since being at my home-stay I’ve developed an unfortunate habit of having it beside my plate every meal. I had naranja (orange) flavored fanta. Everything was definitely an experience to eat and I am glad to take new dishes with me in memoriam since not many places near campus carry many global or ethnic dishes.

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1/2 of arm cuffs bought from the market in Albaicín

After dinner, we got on our bus and headed towards the square Mirador de San Nicolás, located in the heart of the Albaicín neighborhood. Our tour wasn’t guided like usual, more of a free walk—which i found myself enjoying a lot more. I was able to go at my own pace and not have to digest loads of information at one time. Knowledge is power, but knowledge also requires adequate space. There happened to be a market going with different handcrafted items. After some deliberation (but little to no convincing), I decided on two arm cuffs. Others may have found it pricey, but for me there is no price on being able to say, “I’m sorry, I got these from Spain.” Hoping it’s more cool than pretentious.

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Dancer at Flamenco show

To end our planned activities off, we went to a Flamenco show! Flamenco is a style of both dance and music. It’s categorized as folklore and originated in the south of Spain. There were 6 different dancers who all showcased various skills. It was unbelievable to watch. They did toe taps, singing, and use of castanets. Castanets are a percussion instrument that dancers use that makes the ‘clacking’ sound. The show was like unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. The vocals carried, the dancing seemed intimate and almost as if the moves came to them naturally. A dancer would interact with the crowd or even with the objects on a nearby table. After the Flamenco dance, I went with several other scholars to get Kebab nearby. I know I have a habit of saying this a lot, but it was without a doubt the one of the best things I’ve tasted.

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Thank you for spending some time with me!

Me with the view from the square (Mirador de San Nicolás)

Me’Andre!