We had signed up for a walking and tapas tour for our first night in Granada. It was another up hill hike (at least we weren't hauling our luggage this time) to meet our guide Armando and, it turns out, two other American couples, both of whom had even more difficult times than we did with the blackout.
(Don't worry, I'm not going to recount their woes here, but suffice it to say, we had it easier than they did, and, as you may have already seen on the blog, we had it rough!)
We met up at the Mirador de San Cristobal, which afforded impressive views of Alhambra and much of Granada.
The Albayzin has been referred to Spain's best old Moorish quarter, and it's easy to see why. When I followed Rick Steves' advice in his Spain book to take a tapa-hop for dinner with Gayle's Granada Tapas Tours, I looked at the options and booked the Moorish Albayzin Route, which promised an hour long tour through those winding narrow streets downhill to the flat part of town, and then stops at three different tapas bars for food and drink.
Armando proved to be a fabulous guide, and I would highly reinforce Rick Steves' suggest of Gayle's Granada Tapas Tours. We walked quiet scenic streets with occasional views of the Alhambra, going past beautiful plazas, small lanes, decorated houses, and more.
Carol and I also had a great time chatting not only with Armando, but also the other two couples on the tour.
At the bottom of the hill, in the flat part of town, we went to three tapas bars. All the food was excellent, and a lot of what we were served were very different than what we would order, so that was great too.
We also enjoyed the local wines, much more than I expected to. I told Armando I was surprised that there were red wines in Andalusia, because the region is noted for its white wines. His point is that the higher ground around Granada provide great temperatures for red wines. (There was still snow on the mountains visible from Granada.)
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