My house is a small apartment tucked in the middle between two stores. A cute and colorful Arabic store on one side and Spain's version of fast food on the other. Don't pay attention and you'll pass right by it without noticing. Most of the houses in my neighborhood are similar in this fashion.
I live in the Albacín area, which is the oldest part of Granada. The Arabic influence is much stronger here than other parts of the city. Both features are inherently obvious without knowing the history of this part. Take a walk through my neighborhood and you'll see that the buildings are much closer, the streets narrower. Take one look at a map and see that the roads wind and dip in the style typical of old neighborhoods. My neighborhood is known for bars, restaurants, and little tourist stores, many of which still hold on to Arabic customs and fashions.
Hang out long enough and you might get to see Flamenco dancing in Plaza Nueva. If you're not as lucky as me, you can at least get a great view of some beautiful buildings and a really cool fountain.
Walk down Reyes Catolicos, one of the more major streets in Granada and it turns into Carrera Del Darro and then Paseo De Los Tristes. You'll have to walk by dozens of people who want to sell you something, and be careful not to get hit by one of the taxi drivers because there's probably about two feet on each side of a car to walk. But keep going long enough and you'll get to an amazing view of the Rio Darro and la Alhambra.
The cathedral is pretty close, and you have to go take a look if you haven't yet. It's the most amazing church I've ever seen, and I haven't even been inside yet!
Because my neighborhood is so close to the Alhambra, we get a relatively large portion of the tourists sticking around after their visit. The majority of the people I walk by are still Spanish and Arabic, but there are times I've caught a couple of words in English. We're also pretty close to the caves where the hippies sleep and they like to hang out around here too.
My neighborhood is probably most crowded around dinner time because we have so many restaurants, but trust me. It's always busy. Anyone who tries to tell you different obviously hasn't tried to open their window at four am.
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