Saturday, May 30, 2009

The Streets of Granada

How much can you tell about a city based on its streets? I'm not entirely sure what all of this means, but feel free to interpret for yourself:

Dogs - plentiful, usually small or medium-sized.

Dog poop - common. It appears that some people do pick up after their dogs, but not when they don't feel like it.

Bikes - not too common in the neighborhood where I stayed, commuter, racer, or otherwise. If you head towards the local sierra (mountain range), the Sierra Nevada, you'll see plenty of spandex-clad men. (And two spandex-clad women, other than myself).

Mopeds - all over the place. There were some very large motorcycle/moped parking areas.

Candy - lots of it. Candy stores are common, and even more common is finding a bulk candy section in a small store. The candy is usually of the gummi variety (chocolate, not so much). I'm going to chalk this one up to climate.

Pastelerias/panerias - (bakeries) - Yes, many.

Tapas? - Of course. In certain neighborhoods, there are lots and lots.

Geladerias? - Yes, especially near where tourists congregate. Ice cream bars are also commonly available in every small shop that has any kind of food. I'd chalk this one up to climate as well.

Running - not too common. If I headed to the canal, I would usually see some joggers, especially earlier in the morning, but the per capita number of miles run per year has to be pretty low. I found the streets to be a bit dusty, which seemed to make the sidewalks a bit slicker than I'm used to (it never rained during my two weeks in Granada). The temperatures were so much warmer than I'm used to that running was always a bit less pleasant than I'm used to.

Jaywalking - pretty common. Some people always waited for the little green man, but a lot of people (of all ages) would simply cross the street when it appeared safe to do so.

Jaybiking - all the time. It appears that cyclists aren't expected to obey any kind of traffic lights, which makes cycling in the city more fun and exciting!

Shoe stores - many, but not to the extent that I remember in, say, Mexico.

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