Adventuring in the Albacìn

Que tal, chicos? After a long blog entry last time, this entry shouldn´t be too bad, I hope!

Starting from.. yesterday evening! For our Granada adventure yesterday, we met at 8:00 PM at Correos, where Inma and Jaime were waiting for us to begin our trip into exploring the Albacin in Granada!

The Albacin Quarter in Granada is famous for being the ´Arab Quarter´. This part of town managed to evade the total change the rest of the city saw in the reconquest of Granada, and it´s old Moorish roots, street side vendors, and seveal tea houses gives a look into what Granada looked like before Catholic Spain torched and took it back from the Moors.

We started the familiar path into the Albacin (As we had been to the earlier part of the Quarter before- the blog concerning the tea house.) but as soon as we arrived we walked past the small array of tea houses and stores, opting instead to climb the long, winding alleway straight into the heart of the Albacin. It was definately a workout for the legs hiking up all those winding stairs!

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These narrow, winding alleyways made me think we weren´t even in Granada anymore, but somehow a couple hundreds years back in time. I wouldn´t have been the least bit surprised to see a horse tied up in front of a home! The Albacin does have a reputation for being disorientating, and it´s not without truth!

After walking through the alleyways, we stopped a brief moment to look upon some very large, Moorish influenced houses. These houses were apparently the homes of the richer families in the Albacin, and peering at the gated archways, one could see why!

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After touring the richer houses, we walked not a few feet away to see a small altar embedded in the wall. Jaime explained to us that in older days, people might not just go to the church to repent or pay respects, they could walk over to a nearby altar to accomplish the same holy mission. The one we saw was out of use, but a nice arrangement of flowers inside indicated it wasn´t forgotten.

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After walking a bit more through the Albacin, we then came upon the Mirador de San Nicolás, a church with a spectacular view of the Alhambra. Dozens of people littered the outcropping in front of the church, to view what former President Clinton called the most beautiful sight in the world:

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(many more on my photobucket!)

After looking upon the magnificient view of the Alhambra, we then walked into the center of the Albacin to have a quick tapas, and we walked over to one of the most popular restaurants in the Albacin. We sat down at an outdoor table, and ordered our drinks, waiting for the snack that always comes with drink orders. Little did we know what the tapas in the Albacin were.. but we we soon found out what they were when they were placed on the table... a delicacy I common associate with the French.. snails!

Yes, snails. You read correctly.

Needless to say, the surprise on our faces at our evening snack was priceless. They are cooked in a delicious sauce, and are perfectly fine to eat, but the look of it did make my stomach do a bit of a flipflop:

(Warning: these pictures are of escargo! (cooked snails) If this will make you queasy, be forewarned!)

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However, being Natalie D. West, adventurer, I certaintly couldn´t just say no to eating snails. Scott was of the same mind, and while he went at it with a smile, I couldn´t help but sport a hesitant grin at the camera:

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We bravely plucked out the snails from their shells, and munched on the scary looking snack. But as most things that don´t look good at first, they were surprisingly pretty good! We ate another helping of snail, my roommate Stephanie watching in hesitant interest. But she couldn´t be outdone, and with our combined encouragement (and eating one along with her!) she ate one!

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We are proud to we are the first group of Americans that have eaten snails with Jaime and Inma! Hurrah for us Abroadco kids!

(the pictures of the snails will end here, but there are more on my photobucket.. look at them if you dare!)

After enjoying snails, and some calamari and honey fried zucinni, we headed back to look upon the Alhambra in the light of the moon. Only about two hours later from our first glance, and the now full moon shining on the Alhambra was gorgeous:

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(lots more on my photobucket!)

After watching the Alhambra´s evening glow, we finally made our long walk back to town. A small group of bats darted through the alleyway as we left the old Moorish quarter, as almost if saying farwell to the small group of Spaniards and Americans. It was definately a night to remember, and I´m certain this won´t be my last adventure into the ancient past of Granada.