When I started looking at visiting Spain, the two immediate candidates were the obvious ones – Barcelona and Madrid. I knew I wanted to see “old Spain” as opposed to a more modern city, and at the recommendation of several friends I decided on Granada. I couldn’t be more happy that I did.

Granada is a small city in southern Spain – it’s hard to compare it in size to an American city (because there aren’t any tall buildings of any sort) but I’d guess it’s most similar in size to say, Providence, Rhode Island. The city certainly looks very “old Spain” in terms of architecture, with incredibly narrow cobblestone streets winding through the hills. The Sierra Nevada mountains provide the backdrop of the city, and a Muslim palace that was built in the 10th century sits atop a hill overlooking the city proper. It’s certainly nothing if not a pleasant setting.

Where to stay

I stayed at the Melia Granada, a four star hotel in a fantastic central location. This hotel does not drip with Spanish charm, but  it is very nice, very clean, and located near everything you’d want to see in Granada. It’s a 5-minute walk to Plaza Nueva, the central point of the city sitting at the feet of the Alhambra. It’s just as close to the Albaicin, a Muslim neighborhood within the city filled with twisting streets, hookah bars, and general madness. If I went back, I’d happily stay here again.

Paragliding

One of the highlights of my trip, no doubt, was paragliding. I knew heading into my Spain trip that I wanted to do something out of the ordinary, and this was certainly it. I found the company Andaventor online, and exchanged a series of emails with the guys who run the operation, Romain and Neftali. They spoke English, and generally did a good job of addressing my concerns about running and jumping off a 5,000 foot mountain with two guys I didn’t know and my girlfriend. For that, I owe them a lot.

These guys are both French – come to find out, paragliding is a big deal in France and is growing like crazy in Granada. They moved to Granada about 10 years ago to start an adventure sports company, one that dabbles in nearly any adventure sport that doesn’t require a motor. As Romain put it, “I spent a long time trying to find the best way to fly. Then I found paragliding.” Romain would prove to be a wise man – he spends his days paragliding, skiing, and generally doing anything but what I consider to be “work.” As he put it, “I’m more concerned with living the good life while I’m here than being the richest man in the grave.” A wise man. That could just as easily be the motto of the city of Granada.

Anyways, when my flight from Ibiza landed in Granada, I already had a knot in my stomach – I was scheduled to paraglide the following day, and it was certainly already front and center in my mind. Romain came and picked us up the following day in downtown Granada, and we drove out into the mountains. We stopped at the base of the mountain to wait for Romain’s partner, and when I looked up I could see 30-40 paragliders already flying around thousands of feet up in the air. I was shocked – I just assumed we’d be the only people up there.

As I watched one yellow paraglider who was particularly high up there, I noticed that he appeared to be having trouble with his paraglider. Rather that being fully caught in the wind, it began to ruffle in the breeze and suddenly the man attached to it began to free fall. I’m talking all out, this guy is falling from the sky. An accident! A certain death – not the way to settle your own stomach before jumping off a big-ass mountain. Come to find out this freak was a friend of Romain and Neftali, and is considered the preminent paralgider in the world – he was described to me as the Tony Hawk of the sport. On this particular day he had decided to fly as high as he could, then detach from his paraglider and free fall while wearing what I’d describe as a flying squirrel suit. Shortly before he reached the ground he pulled a reserve shoot and landed safely – he’d go find his abandoned paraglider later – just another day at the office.

Long story short, I was pretty damn nervous until I got to the top of the mountain and started to get ready. At that point I saw how much fun the other paragliders were having up there – a calm swept over me, and I was really just excited to get after it. You fly in tandem your first time around, so I basically had Romain strapped to my back along with the paraglider. As Romain put it, “now just run off the edge of the mountain, but whatever you do just keep on running even after your feet leave the ground.” While this may have felt silly, the translation is if you stop running too soon the paraglider may not catch the wind and you’ll just fall off a cliff.

Once you get off the ground, you basically fly in circles looking for a thermal – two gusts of winds that hit one another and cause and upward draft, pulling you higher and higher into the sky. The flight lasted for about 40 minutes, and felt sort of like parasailing just without a rope and while being much higher up. And the views of the Sierra Nevada’s were spectacular throughout.

I was wearing a helmet cam, and I’ll upload that video later – for now, the video below gives you a sense of what flying over Granada is like.

Eat at El Huerto de Jaun Ranas

It may sound silly, but in my opinion the single best thing you can do in Granada is go to El Huerto de Jaun Ranas – a

View from El Huerto de Jaun Ranas, Granada, Spain

restaurant on top of a hill that looks directly across a river valley at the Alhambra. The Sierra Nevadas sit in the background, and you’re high enough up to see birds flying above the tops of the trees. This place has great spanish food and drinks (sangria and mojitos, in particular), but it’s really just all about the view. Everyday when I woke up, this is where I wanted to go. It’s certainly one of the most relaxing places I’ve ever been, and one of the most beautiful. If I lived in Granada, I’d come here to do all of my best thinking. An absolute must see in Granada.

Flamenco

Flamenco shows are very popular in Granada, as I’d imagine they are throughout most of Spain. The lady in my life was hot on the idea of checking one out, and I figured when in Spain, why not?

Flamenco is basically a form of tap dancing done in conjunction with clapping and Hispanic sounding acoustic guitar music. Romain had recommended that we check out the show at Jardines De Zoraya, and I’m happy we heeded his advice. A fantastic atmosphere, great tapas and other food (fried brie topped with strawberries, good lord), and generally a fantastic date spot.

Tapas

Before heading to Granada, all I heard was “Granada is the home of tapas!” Yes, I was primarily concerned with what I’d be

A tapas restaurant & bar in Granada

eating prior to leaving. But come to find out, I didn’t really understand what tapas is. To me, tapas was supposed to be what I’m used to getting at tapas restaurants here in the US – small plates, of which you order many in order to sample as many dishes as possible. Not in Granada.

Tapas in Granada is everywhere, and it’s really a very simple system. For every drink that you order, alcoholic or otherwise, the restaurant is required to give you a plate of tapas. The more drinks you order, the more tapas you get – you have no say over what you’re brought, and it’s really up to you whether you eat it or not. While this may not be great for picky eaters, it certainly makes things very simple and keeps you very full.

The typical tapas plate might be fried eggplant or seafood of some variety, cold cured meats (ham in particular), or cheeses – it all really depends where you’re at, and each place specializes in different types of tapas. It’s pretty great, and my general advice would simply be to ask around for the best places near you – everyone has an opinion.

All in all, I think Granada is a fantastic place – prior to my trip it was as hyped up as could be, and it lived up to my expectations. It’s certainly a laid-back city with a bit of a hippy vibe, stuck in an old Spanish town with beautiful scenery. The people and the location could not complement each other more, and I look forward to going back.

We’re going to be going on a brief hiatus for a while, as I’ll be heading over to Spain to check out Ibiza and Granada. Look for the next installment of howiGit travel post-trip, somewhere in the vicinity of October 12.

In the meantime, you should all be plenty entertained by this Sunday’s Patriots – Broncos game. Remember that old Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning thing, mano y mano? It’s produced some of the most exciting football I’ve ever seen in the past, and you know Peyton wants this one even more than ever before. It’ll certainly be a good indication of how many cobwebs are still left on that right shoulder of his.

Let’s go Orioles!

By Jimmy Cunningham, howiGit New York Writer, Manhattan, NY

I am not the globetrotter that our editor-in-chief is but I recently tricked a beautiful woman into getting married and that allowed me to get out of New York City and onto the beautiful beaches of Turks and Caicos. We ate like pigs, started drinking at noon, napped on the beach, and generally lived the life of luxury for 10 days. I highly recommend getting married if you enjoy any of those things.

Accommodations
We stayed at the Gansevoort Turks and Caicos located on Grace Bay. The hotel was recently named one of the top ten trendiest resorts in the world and Grace Bay a top ten beach by MSN. The room was great, bigger than my old studio apartment, and overlooked the ocean which was impossibly blue. The staff was always friendly and I quickly became friends with many of the bartenders and waiters. A not-so-little-known fact about me; if you give me food and booze I will love you forever. One of the staff members discovered that I was a Giants fan. Every time I saw him following our initial meeting, he had a trade to propose that would end up with the Dolphin’s receiving Eli. We couldn’t work out a deal. But even on an island in the Caribbean they know Eli is the man.

Drink
There are two local beers on the island, Turks Head Pilsner and Turks Head Lager, known to the locals as Turks Head Dark and Turks Head Light. The beer is pretty good for an island beer, and much better than Presidente seen at a lot of resorts. A tip from the locals is to add a little grenadine, but I didn’t test that out as I had developed a steady routine of three Corona buckets a day. I do not believe Turk’s Head is available outside of Turks and Caicos, but if you’re lucky enough to find yourself there, give it a try.

Food
It was no surprise that I consumed a fair amount of seafood on an island vacation, but even I was surprised by the final tally; I had fish everyday that I was there and consumed no less than 10 different varieties. Conch is the specialty on Turks and Caicos and was the favorite for sure.

The food at the Gansevoort was great. Weirdly the restaurant at the hotel was Italian, but that didn’t stop us from eating fabulous dinners there. We also did some extensive research of the beach bar menu, having lunch and a “snack” (fourth meal) every day. When we did leave the resort, we had nothing but success.

Somewhere – The name of this bar caused a lot of Abbot and Costello-esque situations when trying to talk about what to do with dinner or when you pass the place accidentally and have to ask someone who does not speak much English how to get to “Somewhere”. When we finally found “Somewhere” we were met with great mexican-style beach fare –  you can’t beat a fish taco and a margarita overlooking the ocean after a long day of tanning and boozing.

Anacaona – on the fancier side, Anacaona is an outside restaurant lit entirely by candles and located on a string of boardwalks. The ambiance was great, but the food was even better. I mentioned that conch is the local specialty, and I had an appetizer of conch 4 ways, and as if that wasn’t good enough, I followed it up with a pot pie. A lobster pot pie, more specifically. I don’t think I need to say any more.

Coco Bistro – our last dinner outside of the Gansevoort was definitely the best and my most highly recommended. We had heard about Coco Bistro prior to arriving and were unable to get a reservation all week – they were booked almost 2 weeks in advance. On the recommendation of the concierge, we went early and took a chance, and were so glad we did. For all the hype, Coco Bistro has a totally unassuming exterior, and we were pretty sure we’d be let down. Wrong. They seat you in a garden behind the actual building that is totally canopied by trees. Not that you notice the surroundings when you are eating like a caveman. The food was outstanding. I started with tuna sashimi and followed that with penne with lobster, shrimp, and scallops. From somewhere deep in our food comas we managed to verbalize that we would try to power through dessert. For research purposes only, we battled through coconut pie and banana fritters. We had to be rolled home.

Overall the trip was amazing, no meal was bad and it rained for a total of about 3 hours in 10 days. After having the best night of my life at the wedding (I will never hear the song Shout again without getting goose bumps) it was followed by the best ten days I have ever had. If you want to eat, drink, and relax then Turks and Caicos is the place for you.

When thinking of Tampa, Florida, my mind always conjured up images of spring training baseball, old people, and strip clubs. While these images may not be totally incorrect, I feel like I got to know the place having spent the last week there. It’s a bit of an unremarkable place, but it’s also one that I grew quite fond of.

In general, Tampa feels like one of those towns that exists solely to host conferences – alas, I was in fact there for a conference. There’s a ton of hotels, but there’s generally no one and nothing going on downtown. Sure, there’s a few skyscrapers, but there’s an abundant lack of restaurants, bars, people… quite bizarre. I came to learn that these things do exist in Tampa, just not downtown.

The water in the picture above is not Tampa Bay, and yes, it is abnormally green (it was dyed this way for St. Patrick’s day). Tampa Bay, as I’ve always known the city, has fallen out of favor – in the name of the town’s baseball team (formerly the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, now the Tampa Rays) and in general use. Tampa Bay is in fact a part of the city, the swanky wealthy part in fact, but it doesn’t accurately capture the rest of the city. OK then, Tampa it is.

So aside from the obvious (the weather), what’s there to love about Tampa? First and foremost, let’s talk sports. This place ain’t Boston, but it’s definitely a town of sports fanatics – love it. The Buccaneers, the Lighting, and the Rays are, in order, where the town’s sporting faith lies. I think it’s awesome that it’s such an avid hockey city, given its southern location. That said, for everything I think of the Rays and the whole spring training baseball ordeal (home of the Yanks), I was disappointed to see the Rays in 3rd place in the hearts and minds of Tampians… er, Tampa citizens.

Aside from professional sports, Tampa is home to both the University of South Florida (USF!) and The University of Tampa. I was staying directly across the street from The University of Tampa, which was described to me countless times as a small private school of snobby rich kids (but they have a great baseball team)! The University of South Florida, on the other hand, has made me a fan. Everyone I met from this school was super nice, super fun, and willing to chat it up with a couple of presumed Boston assholes. They also love their USF sports, and I was sad to see them lose out to Ohio in this year’s NCAA tourney.

As for other things to get excited about, I stumbled across a few solid restaurants:

Hattricks – The shake and bake wings are a can’t miss.

Jackson’s Bistro – I had  carmelized diver scallops and red snapper, black jasmine rice, and red thai curry. It made me happy.

For bars (and St. Patrick’s day festivities), South Howard Ave (SOHO) is where it’s at. The Dubliner or MacDinton’s are both great, and even better is the fact that you can get cabbed around Tampa for $3 per person rather than having the cabbie run the meter.

All in all, Tampa was a much smaller city with a lot less going on than I expected – it makes Boston feel huge. But it’s a great sports town filled with super nice people, great weather, and just enough to do. I’ll be back next year for a spring training trip, and I can’t wait.

Fried yet refreshed, I’ve landed back in Boston following some time spent on St. John and cruising around the British Virgin Islands. Life seems quite grand as you’re sitting on a deserted island (above) while Tom Brady throws 6 touchdown passes back home.

St. John is a small island – about the size of Manhattan – and is home to only 4000 residents and 400 donkeys. There’s no airport, so you need to take a 20-minute ferry ride over from St. Thomas (Jet Blue flies direct Boston to St. Thomas for about $350). The island is basically populated around Cruz Bay, where the ferry drops you off, and otherwise is about 2/3 protected National Park. It’s the US so you don’t need a passport, and in comparison to some other Caribbean Islands, is very safe. Having been around the Caribbean a bit, this place is my winner so far.

Kekoa Sailing Adventures

If you do one thing in St. John, take a ride on the Kekoa – a 50-foot catamaran with a black sail, a bunch of hammocks, and an open bar. The boat was initially meant to be sold to someone on St. John, but was caught in a vicious storm off the coast of South Carolina while being transported down there. The crew hired to transport the boat was forced to call SOS and was rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter, thus abandoning the boat at sea for some time. It was eventually found, albeit with $275,000 in damage, and was fixed by the shipbuilder who decided to move to St. John and start a charter company rather than reselling the boat. In other words, this boat has quite the story. Oh, and it’s also painted with solar paint that makes it glow blue in the dark at night.

My particular adventure took me snorkeling on a coral reef, then to a completely deserted island called Sandy Key, then on to one of the British Virgin Islands – Jost Van Dyke (population 200). Jost Van Dyke is basically a small island where ships pull up and everyone jumps in the water and swims ashore to visit the Soggy Dollar Bar (thus named because you pay with money wet from swimming ashore). You then cruise back to St. John, reggae floating through the air and a fruity concoction in hand. Captain Jamison Witbeck runs this family operation and ensures that everyone has a great time – he was even happy to hand over the reigns of the ship. Far and away the highlight of my trip.

Accommodations

I also hit a homerun on the accommodations front. Aside from a large Westin hotel, there are very few hotel options on the island aside from eco-resorts and various campgrounds. One of the few, the Cruz Bay Boutique Hotel, is an absolute gem. It’s small, clean, and simple – there are only seven rooms altogether. That said, it’s charming, centrally located, and owned by David and Denise – a couple that was married on the island then decided to move back and live the dream. They go out of their way to make sure you’re having a great time – they returned my rental car for me, and even chased me down the street to give me a bottle of aloe vera upon seeing my epic sunburn. Hotel guests also share breakfast each morning on a balcony overlooking the street which adds to the sense of community among the guests staying at the hotel. It’s the little things like this that set this place apart, and when I go back I wouldn’t stay anywhere else.

Beaches

In typical tourist-question-asking fashion, I asked numerous locals which beach they thought was the best on the island. The resounding response, “They’re all great,” frustrated me at first but was actually spot on. St. John’s beaches are among the best in the Caribbean, and you really can’t miss. Trunk Bay is the most spectacular but also the most touristy (meaning there may be 30 people on the beach max), but Honeymoon Beach provided a completely desolate option for those looking for more privacy. In general, adventure around and check out as many beaches as you can – you can’t miss. The best snorkeling was in Francis Bay. 

Food

In general, it’s super cheap to drink on St. John and very expensive to eat. We’re talking $15 cheeseburgers, and $30-$45 entrees at the nicer places. There are some awesome restaurants – if you’re looking for a great meal, check out any of the following.

Asolare
Waterfront Bistro
La Tapa
Zozo’s
Da Livio Italian Restorante
Lime Inn

You absolutely cannot miss with any of these places. I had the crabmeat crepes followed by the Caribbean lobster tail in pink peppercorn butter over spinach ravioli at Waterfront Bistro, which was a huge hit. Asolare is the place to go for a view. At some point you will find yourself drinking painkillers, a concoction of dark rum, coconut milk, OJ, pineapple juice, and freshly shaved nutmeg. These babies are quite addictive -repeat if desired.

In general, St. John is a spectacular, very comfortable island with plenty to do. I had probably the most relaxing vacation I’ve ever had, and I will be back. For those looking for the anti-Cancun crowd, this is your island.

Much like the New England Patriots the past couple of years, I’ve chosen to take the first round of the NFL playoffs off. Last year I watched the Patriots lose to the Jets at a bar in Miami. This year, similarly scared and unable to bare the thought of being in New England, I’ll watch the Patriots try to quell Tebow-Time for the second time this season from St. John in the US Virgin Islands.

That’s right folks, it’s vacation time once again. It seems like a perfectly opportune time to go off the grid, and if the Patriots do lose to Mr. Tebow, good luck finding me somewhere in St. John or the British Virgin Islands. I’ll have no access to the internet, so rant away.

I’ll be sailing around on this boat until next Wednesday, but I’d never be so cruel as to leave you without my NFL playoff picks. Here we go:

Saints vs 49ers – Saints win. Drew Brees lights up the 49ers offense, and this game isn’t particularly close.

Patriots vs Broncos – Patriots win, despite a scare. Tim Tebow’s season is still a great story and should be appreciated as one.

Texans vs Ravens – Ravens win. They are just scarier.

Giants vs Packers – Giants win. I don’t think I’ve ever picked the Giants to win before, let alone against a 15-1 team. I don’t think they are the championship team that the Packers are, but I think their defense will play great and Eli will be good enough. They eek out the win. Yes I want a Patriots-Giants rematch that badly.

Temperature in Boston right now: 31 degrees

Temperature in St. John right now: 82 degrees

Football games? What football games?

Nassau, Bahamas

So every now and again I must leave my precious laptop, turn off my cell phone, and leave you all temporarily without the best blog on the web. Vacation vacation vacation, the word is music to my ears. I went on my first cruise, aboard Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas. I must admit, I was a bit of a skeptic about cruises at first, and many of my hesitations were in fact true. Cruises are a bit tacky, a bit artificial, and the boat was filled with fake gold railings and several chain-smoking seventy-somethings that never left the confines of the bar. That said, there’s not a cooler way I know of to bounce between Caribbean destinations. You’re on a floating palace, fully equipped with bars, hot tubs, all you can eat food, great views, and plenty of fun people looking to have a good time. I’ll break it all down for you, one stop at a time.

Miami, Florida

That’s right ladies and gentlemen, I started my trip by taking my talents to South Beach. I didn’t see Lebron or D-Wade, but I heard they were out on the town looking for me. South Beach, on a whole, was pretty much what I expected except it was a touch less flashy and a touch more dirty. The beach itself is gorgeous, and wasn’t too packed. Oh, and apparently it’s topless? Surprise surprise. The strip on Ocean Drive is awesome. It’s filled with great outdoor restaurants, bars, and clubs. You’ll be harassed by hostesses trying to get you to enter their establishment, and they all seem to be offering “2 for 1″ drinks. Well, here’s what the drinks looked like. Yes, they were big. Yes, you needed to order a 4 drink minimum. And yes, the drinks cost….drumroll please….$25 bucks a pop. Ouch.

Now, I was only going to be in South Beach for one night and got a great deal on a hotel through Expedia. The hotel where I stayed, The Clay Hotel, is no 5 star hotel. We’re talking probably 3 stars, but the room was cheap and the hotel is located on Espanola Way smack in the middle of South Beach. The location is awesome, and Espanola Way is filled with awesome outdoor restaurants that stay open all night. I must admit the hotel knew that I was coming and would be writing them a review on howiGit’s blog, but nonetheless kudos to the folks at the Clay for putting their best foot forward. The staff was very helpful, and they upgraded my room at no cost to a suite. The room was great, far better than I expected, and definitely added to my good time. If you’re looking for a suitable, simple, and inexpensive place to stay in South Beach I’d recommend it. Like I said, the location is awesome.

Key West, Florida

In a sentence, Key West is a bit sleepy but otherwise pretty awesome in all ways. The downtown section is gorgeous, the people are super nice, and there are some spectacular residential streets filled with awesome houses. If you were looking for a great place to own a vacation home simply for the sake of relaxation, this would be a hell of a place to start. As advertised, the Key Lime is a big deal. We went to Kermit’s, and it was pretty damn good.

Nassau, Bahamas

Oh, Nassau. Where do I begin. As I left the boat I decided to rent a moped from a young Bahamian gentlemen was more than a little sketchy. He asked me if “I was a smart dude,” and when I replied in the affirmative he dropped the keys in my hand and off I went. Come to find out, they drive on the opposite site of the road in the Bahamas. Yup. So that was the first obstacle I had to encounter, all the while trying my best not to kill the young lady riding on the back of the moped with me. We cruised up the coast to Arawak Cay, where we had a beach with spectacular water all to ourselves. After a brief swim we

Arawak Cay, Bahamas

decided to leave, and the moped decided to die sporadically and accelerate as it pleased. We broke down several times, but each time a local Bahamian came to our rescue and helped us out. They are some nice people, for sure, when they aren’t harassing you to buy their crap with some scheme or another.

That night, we planned to have dinner then hit up the nightlife downtown. Good plan, right? Wrong. Apparently everything is Nassau shuts down at 6pm. “It’s the island way,” is the explanation we were given. I kid you not, nothing was open. The place was a complete ghost town aside from 2 bars that remained open — Senior Frogs and a local bar, the Green Parrot. In an attempt to be non-touristy, we chose to Green Parrot. Aside from semi-expensive drinks by island standards, it was a great choice.

Let’s talk about the Green Parrot for a moment. As the only local bar open in downtown Nassau, the place was filled with locals who had little else to do for entertainment. There was a highly competitive darts tournament going on, apparently something of a pastime for semi-bored islanders. The owner of the bar, Craig, came over and chatted us up, noting that we were the only non-locals in his establishment. He talked to us for a while and was a good guy, and although we were a bit weary of the lack of nightlife in Nassau at first, we ended up having a great time. His bar gets filled with some all-star alcoholics, but they added to the fun. We left having made several friends, and feeling as though we got a full dose of the local flavor. If you find yourself in Nassau, ditch Senior Frogs and head over to the Green Parrot.

CocoCay, Bahamas

CocoCay is a Royal Caribbean owned island that caters to cruise vacationers. That immediately made the island as lame as possible in my eyes (or as lame as any tropical island could be). When we pulled up to the

CocoCay, Bahamas

island it was as cheesy as I expected, but come to find out, the island was pretty damn huge. We did some snorkeling, seeing a whole bunch of tropical fish, a stingray, and a barracuda, all of which was cool. But then we decided to walk down the beach for quite a ways. Before you knew it, we were essentially on a deserted Caribbean island and it was absolutely spectacular. Very cool, winning CocoCay back in my eyes.

Overall, what can I say, it was vacation and I had a blast. It was 79 degrees and sunny everyday, further reminding me that you can order NESN from just about anywhere in the world if you wish.