Today I moved out of the homestay and into a private apartment in the Albaicín neighborhood of Granada. I’m a stone’s throw away from the San Miguel Alto view point, which has spectacular views of the city and mountains.
The move from the homestay where 2 meals per day were cooked for me to a private apartment where I have to feed myself meant my first real grocery shopping trip in Spain. Fortunately, my new landlady offered to drive me to a supermarket to kick start things.
Spanish supermarkets are substantially similar to American supermarkets, but things are arranged differently, and some commodities come in forms that are less common in the US (e.g. unrefrigerated milk in a tetrapak). One of the differences I found particular interesting is that you weigh your own produce and print out a sticker with its price before you go to the cashier.
The parking garage under the supermarket was also a surprise – the parking stalls have little green/red lights so you can easily tell which stalls are taken and which are not.
Sometimes, when traveling, even the most mundane things become little adventures 🙂
My apartment is a one bedroom ground floor (i.e. no view) apartment in a small complex with a terrace and a swimming pool (not open yet). My apartment backs onto a tennis court and a section of the old town wall. I get quite a lot of natural light and fresh air. As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in the main room with the windows open listening to the birds chirping outside; it’s very peaceful.