Week one - done!

I can’t believe how fast the days go here in Granada. Since I’ve arrived I’ve been out every evening. It’s good exercise though, if I want to walk into the central area to meet people it takes about 20-30 minutes. It’s a nice walk though and there are still always loads of people about. I could take the bus but it's probably confusing and they look packed. 

One of the things I read about Granada was how it is one of the remaining areas in Spain where the tradition of free tapas with a drink is still going. I had forgotten all about this until I met up with some friends (they're all Spanish students from Lancaster uni). When they said we were going out for tapas I assumed we would order our drinks along with what tapas we wanted. Instead, we just order our beers and see what delight they bring out! We’ve had all sorts. We even went to a Chinese tapas bar, for €2 you get a beer and then you can choose from a selection of tapas. Some is Chinese and some is Spanish. The portions are pretty generous and for €2 you can’t really go wrong. One evening we visited one last bar in the hope of some tapas, given that it was about 11:30 we thought we may be pushing it, we got given our drinks and after about 20 minutes we decided that we probably weren’t going to be getting anything. Then, the waiter comes round the corner with the 3 bagels with Serrano ham and cheese, patatas bravas and a pasta salad. Amazing! We were so happy. 

The only trouble with living a bit further out is getting home. Given that I’m still finding my bearings and trying to get to know the city I’ve been getting taxis home. They usually cost €5 which isn’t too bad. The first night I had a great taxi driver called Pepe who complimented me on my Spanish but then told me we can't be friends because of what's happening in Gibraltar. I guess that as the year goes on I’ll meet more people who live near me that I can walk with. I did walk home last night at about 12 and there were still so many people about as it was a Saturday night, the night just begins at 12. The good thing is that I can walk to uni. Google maps have told me it takes about 20 minutes although I’ve heard there’s a big hill. There’s just no escaping the hills up to uni, I had to basically hike to uni in Canterbury every day last year. Hopefully all this walking will burn off the beer and tapas I’ve been eating.

On Thursday Ailish, Alli and I went to the Albayzin. I’ve heard it’s really cool with Arabic markets and stuff. I don’t think we actually went to the right place, looking back on google maps its spread over a huge area and I think we went to the wrong bit, however it wasn’t all unsuccessful. To start with we had to climb a huge hill,  it really was so steep and in nearly 30 degree heat it was a struggle. We made it, and treated ourselves to a nice cold drink . We ordered our drinks first, 5 minutes later our free tapas came out (of course) we got some olives and I think langoustines (the ones that you have to rip the head off). They were really nice but slightly messy and  attracted wasps. In the square where we were sat was a traditional Spanish musicians. There were two guitarists one of which was also singing. It was amazing and so surreal; it felt like we were in a film. I’m not sure what type of music it was, perhaps flamenco. I would say traditional southern Spain. While we were sat I realised we were probably quite close to the Mirador San Nicolas. This is where everyone comes to takes photos of the view of the Alhambra. We got a bit lost but we found it and that steep hill really was worth it. I’ve seen so many photos on the internet but they really do it no justice, it was so beautiful.  I’m sure I’ll be going back there with any visitors I have.

That night I went out for dinner with Carmen, one of my flatmates, and 2 friends from her course. It was nice to finally hear some Spanish, the Andalucian accent is definitely gonna take some getting used to though. I couldn't really join in on the conversation because I was concentrating on understanding what they were saying. But, poco a poco eh?

On Friday we attempted our first proper Spanish night out. (I say attempt because our night ended at 3am not the standard 8am finish here in Spain). There was a big party held for Erasmus students but we thought we’d get there a bit later than 10pm this time! We did some pre drinking in Ailish’s flat with everyone and some of their new flatmates, one of which was German. I told her how I was born in Rinteln and we lived in Celle. She looked very shocked when I told her as she lives there and it's a tiny place. Small world. We were invited to someone else’s flat which was strange and full of funky hippy Spanish people (and a few English) and strong smells of weed. I found a sombrero though so not all bad. When we got to the bar it was heaving it took us ages to get a drink but for 4 beers and 4 shots it came to €8! Crazy, it’d cost at least £20 in somewhere like that in England. Unfortunately the shot was horrendous, god knows what it was but I thought my throat was going to burn away! 

Tomorrow I register properly to the uni and get all my bits and bobs signed to send back to Kent. Although, from the tales I’ve been reading from other Kent students around Spain it’s not set to be a simple and organised procedure. We shall see!

I have so much more I could say but I think I’ve already written enough! I can't add any photos to my blog due to the wifi I'm using but they will follow.

Besos

P.S. to anyone who was wondering, visitors are more than welcome provided they come with PG tips and a good book or two.