Activities? First and Foremost, Strolling

In Granada this is el paseo, the local custom por excelencia, and includes a myriad of interesting things to do, daytime, night time and in between: sightseeing; eating and drinking, both inside and at sidewalk cafes; shopping at street vendors and outdoor markets (and of course in the shops and department stores); enjoying the outdoor entertainment, from buskers and impromptu jam sessions to the festive little parades, a combination of music and theater, called “pasacalles” which wind through the streets and plazas of the city on feast days.

If you like shopping you’ll be pleased to know that Granada is one of the least expensive cities in Spain. You don’t need to wait for the sales to get a bargain! And don’t forget Granada’s stellar array of tapas bars, a local way of life in themselves. Depending upon the time of year you’re apt to run across puppet shows, Christmas markets, concerts and recitals, or a full-blown “procesión” celebrating the reconquest of Granada in 1492, complete with the city government “en pleno” dressed in their ceremonial best.

Prefer something more structured?

The Granada Festival of Music and Dance

Every summer for the past 60 years the Festival de Música y Danza has been the highlight of Granada’s summer activities.  The events are scheduled normally during the last week of June and the first half of July, and include world-class artists orchestras, dance troupes and artists. A recent agreement with Daniel Barenboim assures his presence in the festival every year for at least one concert. Pictured above, ballet performance in the Generalife Gardens of the Alhambra.

The City of Granada Orchestra

At the beginning of the 1990s Granada decided it would be nice to have a symphony orchestra, so they rounded up classical musicians mainly from Eastern Europe and the United States and, bingo, instand orchestra.

Today the OCG, as it is known locally, has a busy schedule made up of its regular concert season, and other appearances in the province of Granada, around Andalusia and the rest of Spain, as well as abroad. Their performance itineraries have included: Festival Internacional de Música y Danza de Granada, Festival Grec de Barcelona, Festival Internacional de Música de Segovia, Festival Internacional de Música Castell de Peralada, Festival Internacional de Música de Santander, Teatro de la Maestranza de Sevilla, Auditorio Nacional de Música de Madrid, Palau de la Música y L’Auditori de Barcelona, Festival de Otoño de Madrid, etc. Su presencia internacional la ha llevado a Suiza (Festival Gstaad), Italia (Teatro alla Scala de Milán), Portugal (Festival Internacional de Música de Coimbra), Austria, as well as tours around France (1998), Germany (2001 y 2004) and Britain (2005).

Links to my other sites on the web:

• Pomegranate Editions on Print Workshop Central
• Granada Studio Visits
• Print Workshop Central, Pomegranate Editions
• Printmaking Master Classes (video downloads)

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.The Lorca Museum in the Huerta de San Vicente

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Our Local Health Club/Spa

Mike and I have been swimming for many years and when our indoor pool closed last year we changed to a new health club with more offerings,  including gym, heated saltwater pool and spa with a warmer pool, water jets, etc., as well as sauna and Turkish bath. We go every other day at 7:00 a.m.  We have invited a few of our guests to accompany us, and they have gone wild for it, so it occurred to us to include it here as one of our activities. We love it, and call it “the fountain of youth.”

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Skiing in Sierra Nevada

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Granada’s Mediterranean Coast

Just a 45-minute drive from Maureen’s studio is the Mediterranean beach at Motril, with its little golf club and beach front restaurant. From there, travelling a few miles in either direction you will find other fishing,  agricultural and tourist towns, places like Salobreña–originally a Moorish fortress built on the sides of a curious mountain outcrop near the sea.

Or Almuñecar, whose Roman name, believe it or not, was “Sexi.” They have excavated the old Roman fish-paste (“garum”) factory there and built a gracious sub-tropical park around it, where jazz festivals are held each autumn. In the other direction you will find one of the least “developed” villages on this coast, Cala Honda (Deep Cove) with a protected stony beach and a local-style beach-front restaurant. In the old days these  chiringuitos were made from cane and esparto rope and loaded with authentic local flavor and charm, but today they’re brick and concrete. Progress.

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The Surrounding Villages

The pueblos of Granada are a source of unending delight. Whether you’re interested in gastronomy and the local wines (and don’t forget the tapas!), the village architecture, the quaint customs or the hiking trails, there’s alway something to tickle your fancy.  In the picture at left: Maureen in Güéjar Sierra, the next village up from her studio, just eight kilometers up the mountain road which passes her house.