So Here’s the Lowdown on Granada: For Erasmus students and humble tourists alike

Taking a sidestep from my usual accounts of all things in the life of Chloë on a Year Abroad, here I’m going to denote the important things to know about Granada. After living here for 10 months (frightening), I think I’ve got a pretty good grasp on the city and all its ins and outs.

I’m also led to believe that because my title has the words ‘Granada’ and ‘Erasmus’ in, it could very well come up on a Google search of those keywords, so if you’re here because you’re not my mum or Grandma and you really do want to know about Granada, welcome!! Hopefully this post might offer you some insight, for both students and tourists who want to know more about this beautiful city.

Hellooo

Granada, the city 

Every time I leave Granada for another city, whether it be Valencia, Sevilla, Barcelona, I always find my way back happier than ever that I chose Granada for my year abroad. It’s not too big and not too small; I can walk everywhere in almost 15 minutes, and my gosh, it is beautiful.

The three main areas of Granada are ‘Centro‘, ‘Albaycin‘ and the ‘Realejo‘. There’s also the Plaza de Toros, but that’s really a subsection of Centro. The Centro is pretty much what it says in the name – the centre of Granada. Here you’ll find shops (lots of shops), restaurants and many, many people. The main road Reyes Catolicas runs into Calle Recogidas where you’ll come across the staples of Granada: Zara, Pull and Bear, H+M, Stradivarius, Kiko, Mango and of course Sephora. Off the joining point of the two streets is a road leading to El Corte Ingles, Spain’s famous department store. Don’t make the same mistake I did and trot off down there asking where the plates are to be told this one is strictly clothes and makeup.

The homewear El Corte is down off Camino de Ronda, which is also where I did my weekly food shop (more on this later).

Reyes Catolicas

The Albaicyn and Realejo are Granada’s older quarters. Though the whole city has beautiful architecture, here’s where most of the older influences are more obvious. The Albaicyn has clear Moorish influences, where you’ll find most of the Flamenco performances, beautiful hiking opportunities and a club which overlooks the Alhambra palace (El Camborio). The palace itself is up in the Albaicyn, along with beautiful Miradors (San Nicolas and San Miguel Alto) offering stunning views of the Alhambra, particularly at night. It is possible to get to the Alhambra on foot, but you might prefer using a hop-on-hop-off city train (8€ for the day) or the C1/C2/C3 bus which leaves from Plaza Isabel la Catolica (at the end of Gran Via, top of Reyes Catolicas, entrance to the Realejo, below Plaza Nueva –  a pretty central Plaza).

Plaza Isabel la Catolica

At Plaza Nueva (you could call it the gateway to the Albaicyn) you’ll find wonderful tetarias offering authentic Moroccan cuisine, tea and shisha pipes. All the teterias are pretty much the same and are a great place to just go and chill out if you’re not in the mood for shots with every other Erasmus student. Here’s where you’ll also find the Hammam Arabic Baths, which are an even better way to relax (especially in winter) where you can get a soothing soak and an amazing massage for the student price of 25€. Top Tip: go early morning or during siesta, as it tends to get busy in the evenings.

Plaza Nueva – central meeting point for Erasmus students early on.

The Realejo is the old Jewish quarter, with two Sephardi museums buried with history. Today, you’ll find some lovely restaurants up here both expensive and cheaper, because this is a common Erasmus haunt as it is where the Centro de Lenguas Modernas is located (more on CLM later). Up in the Realejo there is a wonderful Mexican called Ranchito Mexicano, a great English restaurant – Casa Lopez – where they serve a roast dinner every Sunday (book in advance) and Carmela which overlooks Plaza Isabel and is a fine dining experience.  There’s also Pad Thai Wok (or PTW, as we lovingly called it) which should be your go-to noodle joint.

Where to Live

Many apologies to the tourists out there, this is probably not useful to you. Though when my parents visited they stayed in the NH Victoria on Calle Recogidas, which is a gorgeous hotel in a perfect location. Maybe I am useful.

For students, Granada is your oyster. Whether you choose to find a flat before you come, look for one on Facebook, or turn up with only a hostel booked and a palm full of flyers found on lampposts, you will find a flat. I found mine on Idealista.com (actually, Emily’s buddy found it for us) and it ended up being in the most ideal location. Other websites to find flats include EasyPiso and also ThirdYearAbroad.com is good for advice. My street was directly connected to Calle Recogidas and just walking along it I came out at Zara. I also had a number of supermarkets, fruit markets and bars of my choosing, was close to the bus stop and within 15 minutes walk to the park.

Real life image of my apartment building. pssh.

If I could recommend one thing, I would definitely say choose location wisely. It is far more important than the apartment itself. I personally think I live in a bit of a dump and I haven’t spoken to anyone in my flat since Emily and Cherelle left for China in February, but I am in the best location and have no regrets. Some people prefer to live in the Plaza de Toros (apparently there’s lots of bars around here, but I’ve not experienced any) and then you can walk to Cartuja campus. However, my preference was to live right in the Centro and get the bus to uni. This way I was right in the centre (the name gives that away) and in the middle of the more important things. Studying is only 40% of your year: shopping, eating and socialising is 60% and this is more easily accessible from Centro. I would advise this, but it’s something you’ll need to think about carefully.

As a resident, I felt incredibly safe walking around Granada alone from day to night. I never felt threatened or unsafe, especially if I walked with purpose. I carried an emergency alarm for security but really walking alone was never an issue. Maybe after a night out at 5/6am it would be advisable to walk with a friend, but at 10/11/12 at night, the city is still alive enough for you to feel safe.

University

I studied at Cartuja campus in the Facultad de Filosofia y Letras, so I can really only discuss that here. However some general advice would be to pick subjects and modules that you will enjoy rather than those that you think will help your Spanish. I took some language and linguistics modules in first semester that I grew to hate and in no way did they help my Spanish.

Filosofia y Letras. And yes, it is this beautiful in summer.

Organisation is, as standard in Spain, lacking. The International Office opens from 9am-2pm every day, and you’ll get what you need eventually, but it may take a few trips and attempts. In terms of the office staff, if you’re lucky you’ll get a helpful worker who will cater to your needs, and if you’re unlucky you’ll be shoved out the door. Hope for the guy in the back right hand corner.

You have to organise your timetable yourself by looking at the Horarios (Timetable) on the faculty website and put it together, then submit it to the IO. There’s enough time at the start of term to change things around if you change your mind about modules, though this does mean you’ll have missed a few weeks of class of whatever you change to. In my opinion, whether you’re in my position and your exam results count, or whether you’re in the lucky majority that doesn’t even need to pass the year, it’s better to just decide beforehand and stick to your guns. Chances are you won’t really enjoy many of the classes, since the education system is, for lack of a better word, flawed.

Each class is worth 6 ETCS and meets for 2 hours, twice a week. It’s tough, especially as an Arts student coming from 8-10 contact hours per week, but this does mean that you’re pretty much spoon-fed what you need for the exams.

The best advice in terms of studying would be to take a Language class at the Centro de Lenguas Modernas (CLM). The class you’d be looking for is called CELE and also counts for 6 ETCS. They do cost a significant amount (150€ or 375€) depending on your level and meet for 3 hours, twice a week, so they can be tricky to schedule. To determine your level you will be required to take a fairly simple level test at the start of the semester, and after first semester you get automatically moved up to the next level. These will be the most important classes during your year, so do anything possible to arrange your Faculty classes around them. For me, it was the only class I felt truly comfortable in and where I felt my Spanish was improving. It’s also quite easy to do well in them, getting lower than a 2.1 is rare (whereas this is rather common in Faculty classes). The CLM classes also finish about 3/4 weeks before term ends so you have significant time to revise for your Faculty exams as well.

CLM building

As I said before, studying is only 40% of the year and I learnt the hard way not to stress myself out about results and exams that would eventually have little repercussions on my year. Do what makes you happy and try not get too overwhelmed by the university.

Tourism

Though not as big as Madrid, Barcelona or Sevilla, and certainly less well known, Granada has its value as a prime tourist location. Trust me, once it got to May and the weather warmed up, it became nearly impossible to walk up Calle Recogidas without playing my favourite game of ‘Spot the Tourists’. Key signs: Shorts when everyone else is wearing jeans, rucksacks, a map in hand and a confused expression.

What’s good for us residents, though, is that a lot of the key touristy hotspots are actually outside of the Centro. Up in the Albaicyn you’ll find: the Miradors – look for San Nicolas and San Miguel Alto, though the latter is not for the unfit as it is quite a hike, though it makes for some beautiful views.

Sunrise at San Miguel Alto. You can see the Alhambra palace to the left.

For those less inclined to hike, San Nicolas also has some stunning views, though this is a much more touristy hotspot so fighting for a good spot is necessary. You can get a bus to San Nicolas if you don’t fancy the walk, though there are a number of stairs to climb.

With Mummy at San Nicolas, my first weekend in Granada.

As for the Alhambra palace itself, I would recommend doing this pretty early on in your stay so that it’s not something you feel you have to do and struggle to fit it in. Plus doing it in the sunshine is much more enjoyable than the rain. I would also recommend choosing a Sunday to go and visit it, as it’s a well known fact that nothing opens on a Sunday in Spain and there’s nothing to do, so visiting the Alhambra is a perfect way to spend your day. It does take a few hours to do, so wear comfy clothes and sturdy shoes. I wore the above maxi dress and was perfectly comfy all day.

Other must-do tourism includes the earlier mentioned hop-on-hop-off bus, easily found by its distinct green roof, the Hammam Arabic baths, and a general wander around the Albaicyn. Wandering around the Realejo is also beautiful but there isn’t anything specific to see here. Other things to see could include the Parque de Lorca, off Camino de Ronda – not a park in the strictest sense, as there isn’t actually any grass, but this is a go-to place for reading and sunbathing and was once owned by Lorca himself. You might also want to see the science museum, though I haven’t checked it out and have coped just fine.

Nightlife and the Food Life

Granada is known as one of the main Erasmus hotspots, meaning a good nightlife is guaranteed. Most nights out begin with some tapas or a visit to botelladromo, which is basically a carpark filled with thousands of young adults (students/teenagers blah blah) drinking and chatting (it’s illegal to drink in the streets in Granada, so this carpark space was made for the young community).

The real place to kick off a night out however is Chupiteria 69, on Calle Socrates, where each shot is 1€ from a choice of over a hundred different combinations ranging from hard to soft. With each shot bought you earn a token, which can be collected and exchanged for prizes including mugs, sweatshirts and thongs. My shot of preference was Araña, a hard mix of vodka, gin and kiwi, that basically tastes of Apple Sourz.

A slightly dark picture of my first time at Chupiteria!

Calle Socrates is found off Calle Pedro Antonio de Alarcon, which is the popular hotspot for bars and tapas: a great place to do a tapas bar crawl. Here you’ll also find a wonderful bar called Cafe Amsterdam, where I had my birthday drinks, because cocktails are only 5€ and it’s not really a rowdy Erasmus bar. Perfect for a chilled, sophisticated drink when you want to avoid the other students.

For clubbing the two main clubs to go to are El Camborio and Mae West, on opposite sides of town. El Camborio is up in the Albaicyn and overlooks the Alhambra, offering the most stunning views at night of it all lit up. It plays a mix of English and Spanish music and on Friday nights is sponsored by ESN making entry free or almost free. It is quite a walk, so consider getting a taxi in winter and don’t ever wander up there alone.

View from El Camborio at night.

Camborio on Halloween. Have I spoken to any of these boys since? No.

Mae West is similar, though far more populated by resident Spaniards and a little fancier. ESN sponsor a night on Wednesdays that they call ‘Ladies Night’ which means free entry for the fairer sex. Hey, I’m not complaining, sexism has it’s benefits. Drinks are quite expensive here, but with the money you’ve saved on entrance, you can splash out on a vodka límon. And after botelladromo and Chupiteria as pregames, you should be covered.

Earlier in the term Best Life Experience also offer Wednesday nights out at Granero Pub next to Plaza Isabel, which are usually cheap to enter with cheaper drinks and make for a great precursor to the real deal.

For food, tapas is the name of the game. Granada is one of the only places in Spain that still gives out free tapas with every drinks so you can very easily eat out for under 10 euros, just by buying drinks (soft or alcoholic). Plaza Einstein is probably one of the best places for tapas because it’s not in the touristy areas and it’s very chilled to sit out and have a drink. However, below I’m going to bullet point all the best tapas places and where they are.

• Garden: on Calle Gonzalo Gallas Garden is probably the cheapest place to eat in Granada. For the cost of a drink (maybe 2€) you can get the drink, a salad, a sandwich and chips.
• Marmita: on Calle Carril del Picon, their aubergines with honey (a typical tapas dish, and my favourite, don’t knock it) are probably the best in Granada and as it was opposite my apartment, when Emily was here we used to go quite regularly.
• La Sitarilla: on Calle San Miguel Alta (not in the Albaicyn, don’t be fooled), they don’t offer you a choice here, though there’s a great atmosphere, so if you’re veggie like me make sure you tell them!
• Poë: on Calle Paz off Calle Puentezuelas, it’s run by an English couple and has some of the nicest tapas I’ve had in Granada, you can’t go wrong with whatever you pick from the 9 options.
• Ceveceria Cruz Blanca: in Plaza Einstein, they do a great smoked salmon and cream cheese baguette.
• Brasilia: in Plaza San Lazaro, where tapas can range from your regular aubergines or patatas bravas, all the way to a sandwich or a pizza.
• Babel: on Calle Elvira, they do a great guacamole.
• Anywhere on Pedro Antonio or Calle Elvira

Yet, tapas is so common, you could pretty much walk down any street in Granada and find somewhere great to eat. Watch out around Plaza Bib-Ramblas though, as this is tourist central, they do charge for tapas here.

Now turning to actual real life meals, there are some great places to eat in Granada.

• Panoramic 360: known as the best restaurant in Granada, it’s not actually as expensive as it seems with a main course costing around 22€. However, compared to usual Granada places, this is fine dining. The restaurant does what it says in the name: it revolves 360 degrees during your meal offering a whole view of Granada as you eat. A great place to go for a special occasion.
• Carmela: in the Realejo just past Plaza Isabel, this dining experience offers fresh food from a beautiful terrace. The stuffed peppers are not to be missed.
• Any of the teterias on Calle Elvira: as I said, they’re all pretty much the same, offering authentic Moroccan cuisine like couscous and tagines. The perfect accompaniment to the tea for which their famous (try the Pakistani) is the varied salad, which is four salads including an aubergine salad, humous and a cucumber salad that only costs around 10€ – perfect for sharing.
• Fresco: a cheap option for students on a budget and food for everyone, this is a self serve buffet for under 10€. On Gran Via.
• Il Gondiliere: props go to my mother for finding this on TripAdvisor, it’s a fabulous Italian off Plaza de Gracia, where locals go for a fancy meal, but realistically all the mains are under 10€. Perfect place to bring your family, especially in winter because it’s all enclosed.
• Gallio: in Plaza Bib-Ramblas, I’ve been here probably about 6/7 times in the whole year because it’s cheap, it’s yummy and there’s something for everyone. Definitely one to put on your list.
• For something sweeter: Cafe Bohemia. Yes it looks like a run down little shack from the outside, and yes, you’ll probably think you’re going to a meth den before you go inside, but once the doors open, they open into a time warp of a 60s jazz cafe, with the walls adorned with old memorabilia, which will have you staring around at everything for the entirety of your stay. Their tea, hot chocolates and ice cream are particularly fabulous – don’t miss out, track it down. It’s in Plaza Los Lobos.
• And don’t forget Smooy. There are two in Granada and they’re the best froyos ever.

Plaza Bib-Rambla: central tourist eating spot.

The Practicalities of Life

Now we all know a year abroad isn’t just about studying and clubbing, there’s the whole experience (which I’ll detail further below), which comes with practicalities.

Like money, cooking for yourself once in a while, and dealing with the joys of being a resident in Spain.

Residency

In order to be a resident, which is a requirement of the year abroad, you must pay a 10.50€ tax to get a residential permit called a NIE. This involves the fun experience of the Spanish Foreign Office, where queues can be long and sorting anything properly can be a huge hassle. You don’t need to have your NIE until three months into the experience, so I would recommend leaving it as late as possible if you don’t need it for opening a bank account or purchasing internet or anything; that way you can avoid the queues.

The whole experience of becoming a resident involves filling out a form at the Foreign Office (I believe I was sent one by UoB, so had it filled out before), presenting a photocopy and the hard copy of your passport and having your details processed. Then you have to go to the bank to pay the tax and then return the receipt to the Foreign Office. (I think, I am dragging these memories up from way back in November). The banks themselves open at bonkers times (this is Spain after all) and I believe you can only pay taxes in the morning until 12pm, or something like that. So go and sort this early in the day.

In all my time here, I’ve not once needed my NIE or got any use from it, but hey I contributed to Spain’s failing economy and I get a nice piece of paper for my memory box.

Oficina de Extranjeros

Money

In terms of money itself, I stayed away from opening a Spanish bank account. I know some people had success with a Santander and I even think with a UK Santander you can withdraw for free from any Santander ATM. I opened a traveller card with Thomas Cook back at home, which I think was the easiest thing. All I had to do was top it up every so often with my UK card and I could withdraw money from any ATM (for a 2€ charge, so I withdrew in chunks) and I could use it for free in any store or restaurant that accepted card (lots of places in Spain still don’t). When shopping, you can be asked for photo ID when paying with card (tarjeta), so keep this handy. Overall it’s incredibly cheap to live here and I haven’t wanted for anything. Just remember you’ve got a weight limit when you go into Bershka and the sale’s on!! (I would also recommend this mode of money holding for tourists, my mum used her TC Cashcard both times she was here and it saves carrying around large wads of cash – or in Spanish ‘efectivo‘)

NB: this is not my actual card. I just pulled this image from Google.

Transport

Getting around Granada is extremely easy: you can walk pretty much anywhere – I even managed to get Grandma to walk most of it (with regular stops) in lieu of getting taxis. Should you need them (such as to Panoramic 360 or the bus station with luggage) taxis are not expensive, usually under 10€.

The bus system is also incredibly easy to use; I’ve only need two bus lines: the U2 which took me up to campus and the SN1/2 which both go to the bus station. Each bus ticket is 1.20€ regardless of where you’re going, but you can opt to open up a bus card. There is a student one where each ride costs 60 cents, but the forms to purchase it were so complicated, I just opted to open the regular bus card where each ride was 80 cents. The card itself costs maybe 5€? I can’t quite remember but it’s very similar to London’s Oyster Card, where you tap in each time you get on the bus and it flashes up your credit and when you’re running low, just top up with the driver.

Real live image of what a bus looks like.

Granada itself isn’t that easy to get to as an Erasmus destination. The only UK airport that flies directly to Granada FGL Airport is London City, which for all us Northerners isn’t the easiest origin airport. That leaves the rest of us to fly into Malaga Airport and make the two hour journey to Granada from there. Her Royal Highness Princess Chloë began her Erasmus experience by getting a taxi to Granada, however from the many times I’ve flown from Malaga, I’m now a frequent customer of ALSA buses – the bus company that offers a regular schedule to and from the airport. For under 30€ return you can get to the airport in two hours or under and the times are usually pretty good.

I usually end up at Malaga an hour earlier than necessary and have ended up waiting at Malaga for 2 hours after I land to get back, but it’s much cheaper getting the bus than getting a taxi! With a good book or catching up with friends after the holidays, two hours pass pretty quickly. The best thing about ALSA buses (apart from their rapid speed) is that most of them are SUPRA buses which mean you can book your seat (and lots of them are single seats), you get free wifi on board and you get a baggie when you board with a bottle of water, cake and headphones. Sometimes there’s even seat-back TVs and plug points, if you’re lucky.

That’s just real luxury – look at those single seats.

Mobile Phone

Easiest thing to do? Take your iPhone with you, pop on down to the Phone House (easily confused with Carphone Warehouse, because their branding is identical) and purchase a sim card. I’m on Orange and I topped my phone up every so often at supermarkets, corner stores, even at uni. With Orange you can top up online, but it can be temperamental. With my sim I get 1GB of data for 30 days and can make the odd call and text. I would definitely recommend this over buying a brand new handset – it’s just unnecessary, and you can keep your WhatsApp on your UK number so your friends back home won’t even know the difference.

If the signs weren’t in Spanish (and if I hadn’t told you), would you really know the difference?

Supermarkets

There are supermarkets and chinos everywhere in Granada. I’m not being racist here, that’s what the little corner shops are called, where you can get all your basic snacks (like Milka chocolate, Kinder Buenos and Ruffles crisps) for a lot cheaper than the supermarkets. There’s one on almost every road, sometimes even two and these are your go-to hotspots for snacks.

For your bigger shops the main supermarkets are Carrefour, Mercadona and Hipercor. There’s only one Hipercor in Granada and it is a definite walk (it took me about 15 minutes from centro) but as part of El Corte Ingles, it’s definitely the superior supermarket. It’s a supermarket within a department store. Imagine Costco but better: with everything English you could possibly need, fresh fruit and veg, a butcher, a fishmonger and authentic Spanish cuisine too. The only thing I haven’t been able to get here was squash. But I’ve coped.

Eating okay isn’t hard here. It’s a culture shock definitely (especially when you don’t have an oven or a kettle like me) and I’ve had to adapt my eating habits. But you do, and you cope, and it just means that pizza is that much more special when you eventually get it.

Go ahead Jules, you tell ’em.

The Experience

Erasmus year is an experience. I’m going to be blunt with you – it might not be the best year of your life. I know that’s the cliché and that’s what they preach, but frankly, that’s not always the case. But oh my gosh it is an experience. THE experience. The once in a lifetime.

So yeah, you might have days huddled up to your heater crying over FaceTime, even though it’s cracking up and Mum and Dad can’t hear you and that just makes you even more upset.

But that? That won’t matter at all when you’re on the beach, or in Marrakech, or even having a glass of white on a terrace as the sun sets.

There are plenty of Erasmus students here and you can definitely feel the international vibe, especially in the clubs on an Erasmus night. There is certainly a difference between Spanish students and Internationals, and like a Gaydar, you’ll soon be able to scout out the other foreigners in your class. Especially us English. It’s nice in class to have someone to bond with over the misery and just how irritating the other students are!

As I’ve said many many times before, don’t let the pains of studying in UGR (in the top 5 in Spain but in my opinion in the dirt education wise) dilute the amazing experience of a year abroad.

In this year alone I have been to Marbella beach twice, been to various cities in Spain including Valencia, Sevilla and Barcelona on inexpensive society trips that usually involve long journeys but plenty of fun, spent Nochevieja (New Years Eve) in Salamanca on a special Nochevieja Universitaria for students just before term ended, been to Cadiz Carnaval, spent a weekend in Marrakech, and of course, the highlight of my year, 5 days in Ibiza.

I really wouldn’t miss out on the ESN Ibiza trip if you’re into partying and clubbing, tickets sell out quickly but it was the best 5 days of my year by far.

And what else is there to say? I have loved Granada and hated UGR and had the most wonderful time in this city. It is so special in so many ways and I completely recommend it to anyone, be you student, tourist, or city-hopper.

Hopefully this post has been useful and as for me? I’ve got one exam left and only 5 more days as a Granadian. It’ll be your turn next.

Good luck and for any future Erasmus, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me!! I know I would’ve liked some help before I left from someone with experience… I’m always open to answering any questions.

For everyone else, I think that rounds up my in Spain blogging! I’ll be sure to write one again over the next few weeks once I land back on Earth and can gather my thoughts.

Until then….

Good luck! Waldorf out…

 

So The Countdown Begins…

Here in Granada we have begun the countdown to Christmas. At least, us English students have. We can’t wait to be back in England with our families and just not be Spanish for five minutes and not have to deal with the Spanish problems (dodgy internet, I’m looking at you). Though it did rain last night, which made it feel a little closer to an English winter. However, the truth is there is just a distinct lack of Christmas spirit here. Correct me if I’m wrong, but at home the Christmas lights are on and Christmas music is beginning to appear here and there?

Well, the lights are up here but there’s a bit of a debate amongst the students about when they’ll be turned on… I’m thinking it should be now, please, and we wouldn’t mind a Christmas tree dotted about or a spot of festive music.

Ah well, in three weeks I’ll be home for Christmas, snuggled up on the sofa with Mummy watching The Holiday, just how I like it.

No Jude Law, you’re lovely.

I just have to get through two pieces of coursework and an exam in Spanish first. The first piece is just about completed. What was intended to be a five page analysis of publicity ended up as twelve pages of Spanish drivel… I’m so looking forward to my Spanish friends tearing my grammar apart when I ask them to check it for me!

Oh and there’s the plans to bob up to Salamanca for what is apparently the best party of the year. Keep your fingers crossed for me…

I was so lucky last weekend to have my lovely, wonderful best friend Rebecca come and visit me. I know she’s been waiting desperately for a feature in my blog, so darling Rebecca, here you are.

Oh look and here you are again. There, that’s you and me…

It was so good to just not do anything but spend time with each other. We went shopping, we went to the Arabic Baths and we ate (a lot) but more than anything we just caught up and cherished being with each other. I don’t know about Rebecca, but all I wanted to do was see my best friend, have cuddles and spend our time together the way we always do… watching TV in bed (which we did).

We didn’t need to be tourists, see the Alhambra or be active all day every day. We just needed to be together. And I’m so eternally grateful for her for coming out to visit me and I love you so, so much. Another three week countdown until we’re reunited again and you promised to take me for sushi!!

Apologies everyone else, but here’s a little gallery of gifs for you B, of you and me, to show how much I love you.

In other news, my blog would not be complete without another tale of another Erasmus party. On Friday night I went to Soraya’s for a ‘fiesta’, not realising that it would become a full-blown Erasmus carnival. We had been planning to go out afterwards, but when 4am hit and we hadn’t left yet, my feet were sticking to the floor and Soraya was on FaceTime/in bed, I thought it was time to call it a night.

I could probably name about twenty people I knew at that party, but the flat was rammed from wall-to-wall. It was impossible to move for people squished together, there was a pungent smell of smoke and alcohol in the air, and the floor was so slippery and sticky at the same time, that of course I managed to fall down the stairs as I left. Nobody laugh now.

A special mention has to go to the one and only Martin Carroll, smooth criminal, to whom I promised a dedication. Sorry, I couldn’t gather enough material for a full blog post.

Martin Carroll. Not Ryan Reynolds. I swear.

For those of you who don’t know Martin, he’s not a man of many words. As Soraya pointed out, he speaks when he needs to and not if he doesn’t. Unlike Soraya who is happy to keep talking even if no-one is listening. Actually, that’s just like me as well. I suppose that’s why I have this blog as well, because it just lets me ramble on and on, even if no-one’s reading.

Anyway, back to Martin. Some may say this no talking thing is an awkward trait. Some. But no, in fact, reports confirm this is simply another way of showing just how smooth Martin Carroll really is. From his dance moves to his reputation with the ladies, he is the smoothest criminal I know.

And I really do have to thank him for protecting me and my white top from a possible nightmare spillage situation.

This brings me to the end of another blog post, as always featuring food and fiesta. Hopefully I’ll be back again soon with another update, but since we’re nearing the festive season, I think it’s safe to post a gif dedicated to one of the best Christmas movies of all time, (definitely in the top ten).

KEVIN!

So The First Week Has Been Kind Of Mental Already

Last night I said goodbye to Mum and Dad for good. Until I see them in 6 weeks of course, as Mum constantly reminded me when I told her she might never see me again. Who knows?! I might have eloped with a Spaniard called Enrique by then. (More on someone I actually met called Enrique later.)

We had an awesome few days together and I’m unbelievably grateful that they came out with me. At this point I would like to share a gorgeous picture of the three of us at the Alhambra, but unfortunately it’s on Dad’s phone and he’s thousands of feet up in the air at the moment. So I’ll leave you in suspense with that for now.

I’m trying to decide where to start with recounting the past few days, whether chronologically or in categories or what… it’s all just been a bit mental really.

This one’s for you Dad

So the first thing I did was sort out my Spanish SIM. You can so easily do this at The Phone House, which is pretty much exactly the same as Carphone Warehouse (same design scheme and everything). I had heard that lots of people got a Happy Movil SIM, but I went with an Orange Prepago (Prepaid/Pay as You Go) SIM which gives me 1GB data per month and something like texts for 12 cents, which you can top up at any Phone House, Orange Store or even a Tobacco shop. The data was the most important for me, because let’s face it, I wouldn’t survive here without Google Maps.

The apartment itself had some teething problems, but I’m so glad I sorted it beforehand after hearing about some nightmare trawls to find an apartment. It still doesn’t feel like home (even with all my pics of your lovely faces) but I’m sure it will get there eventually.

Spot yourselves

On Friday we went to the Tourist Office which is actually at the Ayuntamiento (City Hall) in a beautiful square off Calle Reyes Catolicos (which is the main street for shopping, featuring at least three different Mangos and two Zaras). We managed to wangle a map of the bus routes, which he wasn’t strictly supposed to give us but yay for us!

From there we walked back to my apartment and practiced the bus route to uni, not knowing exactly where to get off and ending up at the Pharmacy Faculty, which as you know, is not my forté. After painfully asking for directions, we were pointed to the right faculty and I got to see where I’ll be studying for a year. Here in fact:

Facultad de Filosofia y Letras

We wandered the streets for a bit ‘exploring’ until 3pm when we were supposed to meet Federico (my landlord) but obviously he wasn’t there when we went because this is Spain and nothing happens when it’s meant to. The next day he was actually there and turned out to be a really nice man and probably wondered why we had spent so much time bothering him, when we spoke to him for all of 5 minutes because by that time I was satisfied with the apartment and had worked out how to lock my bedroom door.

Siesta time in Spain is between 2-5 and almost everything shuts down for three hours, except maybe the restaurants and the bigger shops like Zara, Pull & Bear and Mango. But come 2pm, for the most part, Granada’s city centre will become infinitely quieter and this is the perfect opportunity for a late lunch, to do a bit of work or to actually have a nap. I’ve never been very good at the latter but I might have to learn.

On Sunday we went up to the Albacin and the Alhambra. By fluke I’d read about the Mirador San Nicolas which gives the most stunning view of the Alhambra so we stopped there to have a look around and wander the old, Moorish streets of the Albacin.

View from the Mirador San Nicolas

The Alhambra itself was stunning and there is a lot of walking to do. If you’re thinking of doing a trip here, give yourself at least 3 hours to do it all and wear comfy shoes. The actual Palace itself is quite small so you have to book an allotted time to go round it, which takes about 45 minutes to an hour. It costs 14€ for a day ticket, which is incredibly cheap for what you get, but do make sure you plan a day around it, not just up and go on a whim.

By the time we were all Alhambra-d out, my friends from Birmingham had arrived at the apartment, and I was to spend my first night there! That night we went out for tapas with Cherelle’s buddy and some other Erasmus which was a nice way to meet people and to ease you into Erasmus life. And above all it’s so cheap. 5€ for two drinks and two lots of tapas? I’ll take that!

The bed in the apartment is not the same as my home bed and I might as well not have windows for the amount of noise they let in but for 197€ I will manage for 9 months.

The next morning we had a Welcome Lecture for all Erasmus students, which was the most pointless 3 hours of my life. It’s times like this when I’m glad I’ve got data on my phone. We then had to push and shove our way through (because queuing doesn’t exist in Spain) to get our student cards, which are basically just laminated pieces of paper.

Whilst waiting for Emily and Cherelle, the aforementioned Enrique (from way way back at the top of this blog post which seems to have gone on for hours – I have so much to say!) approached me and we had this conversation:

Enrique: Hola, were you in the Plaza de Marbella last night?

Me: No, sorry…

Enrique: So you’re not Julia from America?

Me: No, sorry…

Enrique: Okay, well, I’m Enrique.

Me: Chloë

Enrique: It was a pleasure to meet you (complete with two kisses)

Me: You too.

Fab, thanks Enrique.

Come Monday night, I ventured out to one of the Erasmus nights out with Soraya, Martin and their French flatmates (who seem nice enough).  20 minutes of awkward standing around and people hopping followed, where you ask the following five questions before moving on to a new group of people and asking the same five:

1. What’s your name?
2. Where are you from?
3. What are you studying?
4. How long are you here for?
5. Have you found a flat?

Once this painful awkward period was over, we were taken to a tapas bar which we practically invaded. I hope there were no locals hoping for a quiet night. This made life a lot easier. Once the drinks were flowing, tongues were loosened and we began to open up and make some ‘friends’ (I say this lightly, as there are friends and then there are friends). Surprisingly, I found that the more I drank, the better I got at Spanish, though this might be the vodka talking. We met a really lovely Italian boy called Marco (who, poor thing, defies the claim that all Italian men are attractive. Though for his part, he was basing his opinion of English girls on Holly from Geordie Shore:

Classy bird…

Couldn’t decide which gif I liked best, so have two to exemplify the lovely Holly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to Marco. Marco speaks great(ish) English but very poor Spanish, which makes me feel a whole lot better about my Spanish and gave me the opportunity to teach a little bit as well.

I don’t want to encourage any stereotypes, but so far I’ve met a Marco from Italy, an Enrique from Spain and a Ramon from Mexico… and my flatmates are called Antonio, Pedro and Dolores (the latter two yet to be met). This must be what it’s like for foreigners to meet James and John. There are also a surprising number of Tomases.

Yesterday, slightly hungover, I spent a lovely day with Mum and Dad, stocking up on food, having a long lunch and ending the day with a Dominos. Food-centric day you might say, but hey, at least they knew I was being fed. We said goodbye at my apartment and I went straight to distract myself so I wouldn’t get upset. It’s been working so far.

Last night was possibly one of the strangest nights of my life, the kind that probably only happens on Erasmus, so it seems only fitting to recount it here as the end of my first mental week in Granada. (I say that but there’s still a few more day left in the week and I’m going out tonight again… so who knows).

Last night we were meant to go out, the planned event was to a club called CAMPUS but at pre drinks (at 11.30) we found out that most people were going to Mae West. Martin had cleverly gone out earlier to watch footie at a bar without charging his phone, so we had no way to tell him that we weren’t going to CAMPUS. So, we set out to find him. We went to CAMPUS to see if he was there yet, but obviously he wasn’t. We ran into Soraya’s buddy (who is a major keeno) who told us she’d seen Martin at the bar.

We then walked to find the bar (on the other side of Granada round the back of the Plaza Nueva) which was most likely the bar we went to on Monday. But of course Martin wasn’t there either. Someone did say hi to me, but I have no idea if it was Ramon, Enrique or someone entirely different.

So we decided that it was all Martin’s fault that he didn’t have his phone charged and we’d done all we could. We were off to Mae West and we would visit every bar along the way. (There were in fact no bars en route.) By some form of miracle, we happened to bump into Martin on a side street with one of the Tomases (I know him because he always wears a drawstring ruckie, similar to the one I used for swimming in Year 7).

We invited them to join us on our expedition but only Martin came with and I can assure you he was thoroughly told off for not having his phone charged. Mae West was on the other other side of Granada, past the Camino de Ronda, so by the time we got there we were all thoroughly looking forward to a drink.

We arrived at a shopping centre and followed some girls in, as they assured us this was Mae West. In a shopping centre. With bodyguards outside. In a shopping centre. We found ourselves in a Western themed pub that had a club in the back, but as a comedy routine was going on and we didn’t understand a single word, we realised we might have made a huge mistake.

We had a drink in the Western pub and discovered that the real Mae West night doesn’t start until 3.30am and we were about 2 hours too early.

There was really only one solution. TAPAS. 

So we left the Mae West-ern. (Maybe that’s why it’s called Mae West.) And off we went on another adventure, in search of tapas. After wandering round Granada and seeing that only Kebab shops were open, we sought help to discover that there would be no tapas at this late hour, despite the fact that it was too early for the clubs.

So no Tapas. But maybe chips and a kebab (falafel obvs). As we walked past Soraya and Martin’s apartment in search of chips, we heard the predrinks from two hours earlier still in full swing.

RANDOM SPONTANEOUS IDEA – WE THOUGHT! 

What if we actually start out this night all over and go to the predrinks and then go to Mae West, we thought! AMAZING.

So we ventured up to Soraya and Martin’s so Soraya could change her shoes, thinking that our night might finally begin. Within 10 minutes Martin was asleep on the sofa and we just could not be bothered. So I went home, hearing sounds of the Macarena behind me as the predrinks continued to rage.

We shall try again tonight, hopefully with some success! Here’s to more wild Erasmus nights, fingers crossed these will be filled with actually talking to people, actually going to a club and not walking round the whole of Granada. At least I worked off the three course lunch I had.

And on that note, I sign off this blog, wondering what on earth will happen tonight, tomorrow, this weekend when I go to Marbs or next weekend when I explore Seville. Maybe there’s only one word needed for a Year Abroad after all (despite this extensive 3000 word blog post): spontaneous.