When I got to the hotel I asked my parents if they ate already, like they were supposed to, but my mom said no because she wanted to wait for me. So we went to Cafe & Te and got breakfast. The cafe was all out of napolitanas because it was at about 10 am and that's late, so we had a xocu (I think that is what they are called) and something else that was chocolatey. The xocu was like a croissant covered in chocolate. My dad was amazed that there was a cigarette machine in the cafe!
After breakfast we began adventuring around Granada. First we took pictures of the hotel that my parents were staying at, Hotel Reino de Granada and then my parents were astonished that there are orange trees growing in Granada. They just had to take a picture and strike a pose!
We continued on our walk up Recogidas to the San Nicolas Mirador in the Albaicin, one of our stops of the day. Along the way we window shopped because nothing was open.
Our first stop was the Coal Corral and these pictures are of the ceiling as you walked in and the entrance.
The next stop was all the little shops along the way. We went into pretty much everyone and didn't buy anything. Eventually I found an elephant shot glass that is absolutely adorable and I had to buy it for myself! We also got gifts for two people who I cannot name or say what we got them. The next stop was the Cathedral but it was closed, so we went in where the service was taking place and walked around. They had a float from the parade from the night before being displayed, as well as everything else that is usually there.
After doing some more shopping, and browsing, we went to Shwarma King and got shawarmas and my mom got something else, called a durham. I thought that this was a very cultural place to take my parents because of the Arabic food as well as the atmosphere of the location.
Here is an example of what the streets looked like on our way up to the San Nicolas Mirador. We walked up through the entrance near Plaza Nueva where there are all of the shops and along the way my dad met two girls from the states who are living in Paris. One is teaching English and the other is working as a designer, and of course my dad would say something to them when he heard them speaking English. We talked with them for a bit and I told them about the mirador to see the Alhambra and then we went our separate ways.
The views from the San Nicolas Mirador.
Views from the walk down, by Camborio. We ended up making a complete circle with our walking.
When we got to this plaza, we sat down on a bench and soaked up the amazing views of the Alhambra. Eventually we heard a bunch of cheering and clapping and a crowd of people and we assumed it was another parade but it wasn't. It was a street band playing music and people just having a good time!
After walking back to Plaza Nueva, we did some more shopping. My mom got a shirt that had the Arabic alphabet jumbled up on it; very cute! We then got some ice cream cones and sat on a bench and enjoyed our food. We have officially made a complete circle. After finishing and relaxing, we went shopping again. This picture below is of a shop that sold a bunch of really pretty and cool lamps and another shop.
When we were done shopping we went back to the hotel to rest up and take a little siesta. When we were right across the street from the hotel, someone said my name, a man I did not recognize and it was Rachael's dad. We had randomly run into them on the side of the road, so chatted it up a little bit. Then we went our separate ways and went to the hotel. We all rested and I also blogged a little bit and uploaded all of my pictures to Facebook. (Check them out!)
Dinner time rolled around and tonight we were going out for tapas! There were a few places that I knew for sure that I wanted to take my parents to and two of them were near school. We walked up Recogidas (took the wrong way on accident) and then we passed the Fuente de Batallas.
Little did I know that we would be running into another parade, we had to wait and weave in and out of people to get up towards CLM. When we got there, the parade was on the street that we needed to walk on and I thought that we were doomed! Here are the pictures from the parade on Friday night!
Soon enough there was a gap in the parade, the end of it! We squeezed through everyone and we made it to the restaurant that I wanted to go to! I had been at this restaurant with my class for tapas. I was hoping to pick out the snails for my parents to try but because it was Semana Santa and a Friday, we couldn't pick our own tapas.
My mom and I each ordered a tinto de verano and my dad ordered a beer. Our tapas were croquettas with a potato salad and bread. We ate, drank, paid, and left.
We then crossed the street for the next place that I wanted to go, the same place that I was at for the photo contest. My mom and I each had another class of tinto de verano and my dad had another beer. This time the tapa was a Russian crab salad with bread slices. While we were eating my dad realized that we weren't going to be served meat because it was Good Friday. Shoot! All the good tapas were meat filled.
The last tapas bar that we went to was POE. Here we got to order whatever we wanted to for tapas so I ordered us all the pork and pineapple skewers. My dad had another beer and my mom and I had Coke. The Coke in Spain comes in tiny glass bottles. When we were done eating my dad wanted me to take one (which you aren't supposed to do) so I snuck one in my purse, we paid and we were out of there!
After tapas we stopped at La Casita de Pan on our way back to the hotel because my parents wanted something sweet. We tried a Pionono, something that is special to Granada. It was very very sweet and was glazed with sugar. My dad got something that was supposed to be made with honey but you couldn't taste it. I didn't get anything.
We returned to the hotel and I hung out there for a little bit and blogged some more. Then my dad walked me home and I got the rug (for the cottage) from my room and brought it down to him. Just another thing that they had to bring home for me.
When I got back I saw Rachael and were both exhausted and went to bed!
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