We only had two and a half days in Granada but we tried to make the most of it. On the night of our arrival, a fellow writer and her husband took us to their favourite bars for vermouth, wine, and tapas. This is not something we would ever do alone – we’re much more “go and sit down for dinner” types – and we had a great time.

The next day, we went to the Alhambra. (Which involves climbing a hill. Of course). It’s astonishingly, insanely beautiful. I’m very grateful that Ferdinand and Isabella didn’t decide that being Moorish made it evil and therefore should be destroyed. I like to imagine them looking at it and thinking “well, it was made by those pagans, but it’s just so beautiful — let’s keep it. We can put up a picture of a saint or two. That’ll fix it.” The world would be poorer without it.

And there were cats, one of which let me pet it. So that was good.

More hills, on the other side this time, and up to the Albaicin neighbourhood for some excellent views. That night we went (up the hill again) to a flamenco show in the Sacromonte caves. It was an incredible experience. The venue fits about 35 people, and you could reach out and touch the dancers (ok, don’t do that.) There was a guitarist, a singers, and three dancers, all of whom brought passion and nuance to their performances. If you’re ever in Granada, I can highly recommend Cueva Los Parrones.

The next day, we wandered around the town, checking out the Federico Garcia Lorca park, touring his former home, and then heading over to another park by the canal, where we watched a dog romp in the shallow water and a group practice swing dancing in a gazebo.

I thought “this would be a nice place to live” – and then I remembered that the average temperature in the summer is 35 degrees celsius.