Granada

ESN Trip to Granada

Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to go on my first trip with ESN (Erasmus Student Network). This organization plans out activities and also some trips for the Erasmus students here at the University. Well, lucky for me this trip to Granada was included in my program for free so I didn’t have to pay anything.

We left on Friday morning from Murcia in several buses as we were a little over a hundred people I believe. This day began a little rough for me to say the least. That night before leaving the lock to our door would not work so lucky me, I was not able to sleep at a friend’s house until four in the morning and I wasn’t sure if my landlord was going to respond to me before leaving for the trip so that I could grab my stuff from the room. However, thankfully he called me at 6:30 in the morning to head to my flat and after about thirty minutes of trying to open the door unsuccessfully he decided to break the lot. So I was able to get in a nice little shower, pack and head off of to the meeting point for the bus at 9:00 to head off for Granada.

                Upon arriving that afternoon we checked into the hostel and we did a tour of the Alhambra. If I heard correctly, this is actually the most visited tourist site in all of Spain. It attracts over several millions of tourists every year. The Alhambra is an Arabic word that translates as red castle. It is a remaining fortress of the Arabic Muslims that was built in the 13^th century. Arabic people had a huge influence in the history of Spain for many years and it is still seen today in the language and in the architecture. Therefore it was really cool to be able to see the Alhambra not only because of that but also because it is an incredible sight.

                The second day we did a city tour of Granada that ended with us going to a view point over the city which was also an incredible view. It overlooked the city with the Alhambra in the middle and the mountains in the background. Also, that night we had a special event in which we went to a flamenco music show. I couldn’t really tell you exactly what flamenco music is but it has an old history in Spain and people still today perform it and it includes dancing as well. It is very different but this was a cool experience as well.

The last day was a free day until the afternoon in which we returned back to Madrid. Also, Friday and Saturday nights there were planned nights out to a bar and a discoteca (dance club?). This was a good time as well.