Festivities
By Laurel
It was a night filled with passion, thrills, and excitement — no, not our second honeymoon but, rather, another evening of flamenco! We attended a scheduled show at a local venue and then, while strolling back to our neighbourhood afterward, we were pleased to chance upon public performances which were occurring in city squares. Our visit to Granada has coincided with a Spanish public holiday on May 1 (Labour Day, as well as the Day of the Cross - Dia de la Cruz) and the beginning of the annual Cruces de Mayo Festival. We didn’t see much going on for Labour Day except that most stores and businesses were closed, but in honour of the Dia de la Cruz, many attractive displays had been set up with obvious care and effort in courtyards, squares, and church fronts. Women and girls of all ages were dressed in traditional finery, as they strolled along the sidewalks and sat in cafes — a beautiful and colourful sight.
Now to back up and fill in the morning’s activities: Jim and I went exploring in the Albayzin neighbourhood, which is the oldest part of Granada. It had been the original home of the Moorish emirs, before they built their palaces at the Alhambra site, but little evidence of them remains there today except the occasional keyhole-shaped doorway or window. The area is a labyrinth of narrow cobblestone streets winding back and forth and up and down. A couple of high viewpoints provided us with magnificent photos of the Alhambra across the river.
While in Granada, we ate tasty food. Every bar gives patrons free tapas with each drink ordered — what a concept! The ones we sampled ranged from salted almonds, to a baked potato with toppings, to morsels of lightly battered and fried fresh fish. The fish was so yummy that we went there twice. One afternoon, we happened by an older bar/restaurant called Las Tinajas and, after reading the menu and seeing framed photos on the wall of the Spanish king and queen dining there (surely a good recommendation?), we decided to return for supper at 8:00 pm. They specialize in traditional Andalusian cuisine; we ate hearty portions of oxtail stew and pork cheeks, both served with copious gravy. Very delicious and
filling!
Unbelievable colour! It appears that women of all ages can dance the flamingo! Never too late Laurel. I have expected that Jim would be dancing the flamingo in the photo of him following all the colourful dancers. A bit of a disappointment Jim.
ReplyDeleteI did all of my dancing when I found out that the Leafs have made it to the second round of the playoffs
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