Vamos Ir de Tapas!!!

Note the sign. Free tapas.

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Some things in Granada take a little getting used to.  Scooters that take traffic lights as suggestions.  45 degree afternoons.  A very lax poop and scoop law. 

But Granada does have one amazing tradition, unique to only a few Spanish cities, that we've grown to love dearly.  Free food.  Yes.  Free tapas to be exact.  And we're not talking a communal bowl of dirty peanuts.  We're talking about real Spanish dishes of cured ham, octopus, shrimps, sandwiches, potatoes... the whole lot.

And how does one get a free dish of tapas?  To our delight, you just have to order a drink.  Really. 

In our first night in Granada, a Spanish teacher, Alajandro, took some of us on a tour of the city.  The tour included a couple of his favorite tapas bars.  Everytime he ordered drinks for us we got a little side of free food.  We thought that Alajandro just knew the bar owners really well and that they were being very generous.  We found out a few days later that tapas are free in Granada everytime you order a drink.  We were floored.

Tapas plate of jamon.

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Needless to say, we've done our fair share of "going for tapas" (see the above title for spanish translation).  But don't get the wrong impression.  A night of tapas bar hopping rarely ends up in a drunken stupor.  There are two reasons for this.  First, the drinks in Granada are really small.  The beer comes either in a canya (a wine glass) or a tubo (a half pint).  A lot of bars don't even serve full pints (a few classmates from England have tried asking for a pint glass and got very weird looks at the bar).  Second, as you're drinking, you're always eating tapas. By the end of 3 canyas of beer and three plates of tapas, you're practically done for the night because you're so stuffed.  Then you leave the bar to wander the city for a little while, work up an appetite again and then stop off at another tapas bar.

Tapas. Free.

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For about $2 a drink it´s a great way to eat your way through the city.  The tapas bars are a great way to experience local Spanish culture and we've even gotten friendly with our neighbourhood tapas bar owner, Cecilio. 

Sadly, we're nearing the last few days of our stay in Granada.   We´ve been very good in seeking out new tapas places but the sad fact is we can't do them all.  Jenn and I are defintely going to miss our tapas night outs.

Hasta La Vista Amigos,

Lenny and Jenn

PS.  No joke.  When we finish writing this blog we're heading to the tapas bars.  See ya.