Granada, day 1

We were warmly welcomed in Granada by the hot sun, it’s dry heat and the colorful character of the city. Today is our first day together and for many of us it was our first time in Spain. After checking into our rooms in the late afternoon, we met for orientation. At 6pm, we sat around a large table in the lobby of our hotel and introduced ourselves. It already seems like such a great group!

One of our CWW faculty members, Victor, lived in Granada for two years and made for a fun and excellent tour guide. He studied Flamenco guitar here and made us feel familiar with the city’s best venues for Flamenco shows, tapas joints, and its little idiosyncrasies.

We went to Babel, where we were seduced by the free tapas and friendly atmosphere. Granada is the only place in Spain that offers free tapas with a drink. We were in paradise! Our favorite drinks were sangria and “tinto de verano,” a rose-colored drink known as the tint of summer. Rita Banerjee led a class called “Literary Taboo,” where you can’t use the word written on your card in your writing. Others try guess your word after you read. Some words were: vampire, mulberry bush, rain, and femme fatale.

What a nice first day!  We went back up the hill to our hotel and passed through the beautiful gardens of the Alhambra on the way.  Our hotel room windows look out on olive groves.  There is still so much left to explore in Granada.