Inside the Alhambra

In the scorching cauldron of Andalucia, the Sierra Nevada mountains rise up to tickle the skies and gather enough snow to cover the peaks for most of the year. Beneath them, amidst rolling countryside of rust-coloured paths, cypress trees and white-washed towns, the city of Granada gets on with life.

On its steepest slope sits the Alhambra.

The name comes from the Arabic “al hamra,” the red one. Its stocky outside walls wear the standard European fortress look, albeit with an unexpected glimpse of charisma at sunset, when they glow a soft copper-red against the lilac night sky.

Inside, however, reveals a completely different world.

Like many castles in Europe, work on the Alhambra began seven or so centuries ago. Unlike most of the others, this work took place at the request of the Moorish Sultans, kings who used Arabic instead of Latin and who practised Islam instead of Christianity.

Their work and influence live on across the Iberian peninsula, from the architecture of the haunting Mezquita in Cordoba to the expressions of everyday Spanish. Ojalá in Castilian derives from In šāʾ Allāh in Arabic. Both translate to a form of “god be willing” that has taken on more of a “fingers crossed” meaning in more secular times.

Yet, it’s within the vast grounds of the Alhambra that the majesty of the Moorish heritage becomes clear. At the same time as French and English kings sheltered in draughty, damp castles eating turnips and porridge, the Nasrid kings basked among elaborate engravings, elegant courtyards and olive groves, sheltered from the angry sun.

Instead of howling wind and dripping rain, the lyrical chatter of fountains filled the air. Instead of wall to wall mildew, ivory carvings decorated the space.

Ancient History & Myths of Today

Yet for all the delicate beauty of the building, the history of the Alhambra issues another deeper message about today’s myths that link beauty with doing good, and motherhood with kindness.

When the Moors lost this paradise to the reconquest of the Catholic monarchs, the last sultan of the Alhambra sobbed as he watched them enter. In an era devoid of political correctness, his mother turned to him and uttered the phrase that became immortal:          “Do not weep like a woman for what you could not defend as a man.”

Not that the incoming mother, Queen Isabella, offered up a much better alternative. She sent her baby daughter off to marry the King of England, who turned out to be the murderous and maniacal King Henry VIII.

So it was with some trepidation that I walked around the rose-scented gardens of the Alhambra with my own mother, an inspirational woman who has also shown great courage, strength and guidance over the years.

She also tells me the truth.

“I’ve looked at your twitter feed. It’s boring. I don’t see the point.”

Ouch. Fair enough. Back to the drawing board.

And, hey, getting things into perspective, at least I don’t have to marry a tyrant.

Visiting the Alhambra

Unlike most tourist attractions, to get inside the Nasrid Palaces you MUST, MUST, MUST, MUST book in advance. If you turn up on the day, you are likely to gain admission to the rest of the (stunning) grounds but you may miss out on the intricate Nasrid Palaces.

“Beauty, Brutality & Motherhood – The Alhambra” by ABI  www.insidethetravellab.com

Get all the info, program, tickets…on www.alhambra.org

If you are visiting Granada to see its fabled Alhambra and you don’t linger, you are missing a trick. It is one of the last places in Spain where tapas are served for free with your drink. Robin Graham points out 10 bars where you may encounter fellow tourists but you will never outnumber the locals.

EL TAPEO IS one of the most convivial ways to spend an evening, and there is nowhere better to experience it than Granada. That said, if you don’t take a step away from the tourist hotspots, you could find yourself fobbed off with a packet of crisps. It won’t happen in any of these places, though.

1. Casa Torcuato

Casa Torcuato has been a fixture on its pretty plaza in the Albayzin Alto for years. This is a no nonsense place where classic tapas are served in generous portions. The pescaíto, or fried fish, is particularly good and comes with pasta salad. Weather permitting, and mostly it does, tables are set up in the square for some idyllic al fresco dining. Quintessentially Spanish, Granadino and wonderful.

31 Calle Pagés , Albayzin Alto, 958 20 28 18

2. Bar Casa Julio

Casa Julio is good at fish, which is obvious as soon as you walk in. There are tapas of gambas (shrimp), rape en adobe (marinated monkfish), calamares (squid) and berenjenas (deep fried aubergines). The boquerónes (deep fried anchovies) arrive in batter spiced with cumin. A firm favourite with the locals and you can smell why.

5 Calle Hermosa, a side street where Calle Elvira meets Plaza Nueva

3. Bodega Espadafor

This place has been here since early last century and probably hasn’t seen a lick of paint since. Cavernous, with an elegant bar and the ubiquitous fluorescent strip lighting; the walls are covered with ceramic tiles interspersed with hand painted depictions of Andalusian life. Interior decorating with the baking heat of the summer in mind. More than Andalusian or Spanish; this is the South.
I have pisto (a ratatouille-like vegetable stew) topped with a quail’s egg. Cute and tasty, and since I go back for more, albóndigas de carne (meatballs) served with fries.
A good selection of sherries from the barrel; we choose the bone dry Fino. If you have a sweet tooth, go for Moscatel.

59 Calle Gran Vía de Colón at Calle Tinajilla, 958 20 21 38

4. Casa de Todos

Everything is a sandwich. Tapas of stewed pork and tortilla with spinach arrive in pulguitas (tiny bread rolls). The place is feet from the intersection of Calle Elvira and Plaza Nueva, is small, warm, nicely cramped and friendly. The kitchen is more of a cupboard. This is salt-of-the-earth territory. I never see it closed, or quiet.

Calle Elvira, just off Plaza Nueva, 958 22 80 62

5. Los Diamantes

Calle Navas, an upscale equivalent to Calle Elvira, is lined with tapas bars and Los Diamantes, not at all upscale, is the star attraction. It looks unpromising and I’m disappointed when I’m handed fries for my first tapa, but they turn out to be batons of deep fried courgette (zucchini). Yummy. The place is strip lit, loud and cramped, and is deservedly a favourite amongst Granadinos for its fish specialities. I wonder if there’s rivalry with Casa Julio, a similar operation.

26 Calle Navas, 958 22 70 70

6. Páprika

At the shabbier end of Calle Elvira, there is nothing shabby about Páprika, with its smart, canopied terrace and beatnik interior. It looks too posh for tapas, but it isn’t. I get some vegetable paella with a glass of local wine. The place is also a sharp restaurant, though for that you pay. The paella is packed with flavour, and the food here is largely vegetarian and very good.

3 Cuesta de Abarqueros, near the old city gate at the other end of Calle Elvira, 958 80 47 85

7. Taberna El 22

In the Albayzin, this pretty place has a popular terrace. I have habas con jamon – broad beans with ham, a local classic. The youthful staff exude cool. I bet they listen to difficult jazz. The tapas are great, but even if there were no such thing, this is one of Granada’s nicest bars. A reward for walking up the Calderería, the steep Moroccan souk that leads here.

22 Cuesta de San Gregorio, where the Caldereria Nueva ends and the Cuesta begins in the Albayzin

8. Café om Kalsum

A fantastic tapas bar, named for Egypt’s great singer and specialising in tapas with a North African twist. As in many of Granada’s bars, impressive food emerges from an unfeasibly small kitchen. They do a plato degustación, or tasting platter, for €12. Order it if you are hungry and there are at least four of you, otherwise go with the ample and tasty tapas that will come with your drinks. They are accommodating for vegetarians.

17 Calle Jardines

9. Bar La Trastienda

Is it a bar with a chacinería (pork butcher’s shop) at the entrance or a chacinería with a bar at the back? Either way, you need to duck beneath the hanging chorizos and salchichónes, squeeze past the till and behind the counter to find yourself in this cosy, surprisingly chic little place. Trastienda translates as “behind the shop”, I discover later. The tapa, unsurprisingly, is a nice bit of salchichón.

11 Calle de los Cuchilleros, just off Plaza Nueva

10. Café Bar Elvira

A decent selection of beers and you get to select your tapa. This only happens in a handful of bars; in most places the tapa will be dictated by the house. Open from 1pm on a Sunday and otherwise from 7pm. Impromptu flamenco sessions erupt here in the evenings, I’m told. Good choice for a locale if you’re in Granada for a while because of it’s relaxed, no fuss atmosphere.

85 Calle Elvira

Remind you  that in the White Nest Hostels we organize you a big Tapas Tour ( info at the reception ).

Top 10 tapas places in Granada by ROBIN GRAHAM –  www.matadortravel.com

In Caves and lairs around Granada, Flamneco still thrives in its natural habitat.

With roots in the melodies and rhythms of outcast Gypsies, Jews, and Muslims, flamenco is one of Spain’s defining traditions. Madrid may play host to the big names in the business, but Granada – where the Sacromonte caves lay claim to the music’s origins – has a different kind of flamenco community.

Bypass the dozens of tourist tablaos in Sacromonte and head straight to the following bars and clubs where locals, students, aficionados, and most importantly, flamencos themselves can be found taking in a late-night show.

1 –Eshavira Club

Only a name painted on a white wall tells you which dark alley to turn down. The place is a smoky vault of underground chambers, age-old posters of flamenco legends gone by, and fiendishly hot line-ups of musicians and dancers.

The program can be a bit erratic. Unless they advertise a concert, assume you will just have to turn up and hope for the best. They do however keep a closely guarded canon of artists, many of whom spring from the great flamenco families of Granada, and also regularly showcase flamenco fusion.This above any other joint in town is where you’ll rub shoulders with the real deal.

Postigo de la Cuna, 2 (turn left off Calle Elvira), tel. 958 29 41 25

Program varies, flamenco shows most Sunday nights, entry 8€

2 – Peña Flamenca La Platería

It seems almost sacrilegious to give second billing to the oldest flamenco club in Spain. Inaugurated in 1949, the Peña was the first of its kind, a place run by flamenco aficionados with the aim of supporting and nurturing the art rather than making money.

The Peña only throws open its doors on Thursday nights, for an astonishingly reasonable €8 including a bottle of local tipple Manzanilla. The performers are hand-picked from the finest resident or visiting artists, and the show is definitely more serious spectacle than underground fiesta.

Placeta de Toqueros, 7, tel. 958 210 650 (bar), 958 227 712 (office)

Thursday nights only, entry 8€

3 – Huerto del Loro

Across the Darro river, in the shadow of the Alhambra, Huerto del Loro’s out of the way location makes it less hit by tourists. It’s one of the cheaper Flamenco Clubs as well. (Remember that a cheaper cover doesn’t mean a weaker line-up – in fact the opposite: no self-respecting local is going to pay through the nose for a flamenco package deal when they can spend €8 to see the same artists here in a more relaxed environment).

The vaulted theatre is a dingy but warmly lit cave, with a simple lilac flamenco shawl as its backdrop. With a regular program of artists in rotation, some of the best include the seductively named Caramela la Chocolata, and local favorite Pilar Fajardo.

Carrera del Darro, tel. 635 639 567

Flamenco shows every night (except Mondays), entry 8€

4 – Upsetter

The central location means that this narrow whitewashed cave can sometimes get a bit touristy – and the performances tend to sag a little when there are more flashbulbs popping than audience encouragement. Still, Upsetter plays host to some phenomenal resident performers, including Sergio ‘El Colorao’, who last year won the soleá prize at the prestigious annual flamenco festival in La Union, Murcia.

Monday nights are a must for the raucous combination of guitar-fiend Jorge ‘El Pisao’ and young-at-heart veteran cantaor, El Niño de las Almendras, both of whom attract a crowd of local artists to cheer them on.

For those wanting some rub-a-dub styley, Upsetter hosts Reggae nights directly after flamenco.

Carrera del Darro, 7

Flamenco Shows every night (except Tuesdays), entry 12€

5 – Raíz y Duende at Sala Vimaambi

Sala Vimaambi is for those who like their flamenco with a bit of David Lynch. Multimedia projections of leaves floating past the Alhambra, contemporary style movement pieces, and poetry from a formidable throaty-voiced compere named Maam.

For all its weirdness however, the experimental band has a fantastic singer in José Fernández Heredia, plus the talents of dancer Sara Jiménez. They also have a flautist who might, if you are very lucky, chuck a bit of David Bowie into the bulería. Tapas and a drink included with the price of entry.

Sala Vimaambi, Cuesta de San Gregorio, 30, tel. 958 227 334

Flamenco Shows Friday & Saturday night, entry  15€

6 – Teatro Alhambra

Coincide your visit with the annual Viene del Sur  festival which takes place from January to May, and you will be in for a treat. Funded by the Andalusian government as a means of injecting money and support into home-grown flamenco, the festival has some of the biggest names in Andalusia (and Spain) performing on a tour of the region’s main cities.

In Granada, the programme takes place in this bright modern glass fronted theatre, in the residential Realejo district. The 2008 festival kicked off on January 28th with Merche Esmerelda, Belén Maya and Rocío Molina’s piece, Mujeres – now on tour to Sadler’s Wells. The final concert will feature Sevillian dance maestro Javier Barón and takes place on 19th May.

Molinos 56, tel. 958 028 000

Viene del Sur tickets 14€

7 – Soniquete, Peña Flamenca

Opened only two months ago, this discreet bar is through a dark wooden door cut into a larger set of dark wood gates, which go unnoticed when not manned in the evenings. The peña itself has few charms – except that its cornflower blue interior makes you feel like you’re in an Almodóvar film.

The resident Luis Córdoba group plays every Friday and Saturday. Bailaora Almudena Romero, a dancer since the age of 5, has the power to leave her audience scraping their jaws up off the floor night after night – run and hide before the finale because she likes to make her adoring public dance with her.

Carrera del Darro, 51 (follow the Darro river towards Paseo de los Tristes)

Flamenco Shows Friday & Saturday, entry 10€

8 – Tablao Albayzín

Most guide books would these days probably warn you off going to a tablao, their reputation sullied by overpriced shows and overworked performers. Not so for Tablao Albayzín – it’s on good authority from both artists and locals that this cosy cave perched near the Mirador de San Cristóbal always puts on a cracking show.At €28 the entry fee is high however, so it would be worth checking with the locals that there’s a good name on before you roll up.

Mirador de San Cristóbal, tel. 958 80 46 46

Flamenco shows every night, entry 28€  includes walking tour of the Albaicín and first drink.

9 – La Tertulia

La Tertulia tends to attract a hip young crowd of locals which means that when there is a show, the spontaneous audience cameos are fantastic.

This bohemian haunt hosts a variety of music and theatre nights. La Tertulia tends to attract a hip young crowd of locals which means that when there is a show, the spontaneous audience cameos are fantastic. Especially good when Grupo de José Candela is performing.

Calle Pintor López Mezquita, 3, tel. 958 223 879

Varying schedule of flamenco shows, entry varies, from  3€

10 – Café Elvira

Ask an authority on flamenco and they’ll tell you that it can’t be bought, only found. If you want to witness a bulería in its purest form but don’t have time to sit around waiting to be invited to a gypsy wedding, head to Café Elvira where it’s likely that the locals will be whipping up a ramshackle zambra.

They don’t put on official concerts, however the bar is a firm favourite of musicians, hippies, and artists who love to make their own spontaneous spectacles. Be warned, it’s also beloved by Granada’s large hash-smoking community.

Calle Elvira, 85

No official shows, entry free (free tapas with all drinks)

Top 10 flamenco clubs in Granada  by LUCY RIBCHESTER – www. matadornetwork.com

Everybody know them. The Harlem Globetrotters have contributed more innovations to the game of basketball than any other team in history.

They  are the most entertaining basketball team in the world, a magical combination between high-level sports and hilarious comedy.

Their show are a unique spectacle in the world, from over 80 countries filled stadiums around the globe, enjoyed by thousands of spectators each night.

Witness basketball history, and enjoy the show slam-packed with high scores, theatrics, and fun for everyone!

The Harlem Globetrotters on 17 May in Granada at 8:00 p.m. in the Municipal Sports

Day: 17/May/2011

Place: Palacio Municipal de Deportes, Avda. Emperador Carlos V, s/n

Web: www.harlemglobetrotters.com

Altoids Celebrates the Stars on Facebook from Evolution Bureau on Vimeo
All type of facebook user in a single video: the friend likes everything; the lover of letters song; the princes never-stop-auto-photos; the pal always-doing-food-photos; dude sharing everything; lucky guy always travelling; woman living on past…

White Nest 1st anniversary party. Live music, flamenco dancing, free sangría and tapas.

Friday 04/15 7:30 p.m.  at White Nest Hostel Granada.

At calle santísimo, 4 in Albaicín district near Paseo de los Tristes. In front Alhambra.

We expecting you to come!

iSayHello

Have you ever been abroad and wanted to say something in the local language but couldn’t? Well, now you can. Our friends at iSayHello have a travel phrasebook app that’s available for your iPhone, iPod Touch and Android. The app speaks for you!
There are travel apps in 11 languages, including Spanish. Pretty handy for travelling around Granada, right? If you need to find your way around town or want to chat to the locals, just play out the phrases and words on the app.

Andy…always in our heart

Hi every one!!!!!!!

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