However challenging things may sometimes get, wherever we live, there are always things that can make us smile if we take a moment to look around us. We’re all so busy at times that we tend not to, but it’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing as it has often inspired me and these are just a few things that I’ve noticed that have made me smile over the last few weeks and months wandering around Granada:

• A man (a ham seller I would imagine/hope or perhaps a very slow ham thief)) trying to pack a full size jamon in between his legs to carry on his Vespa

• At a recent flamenco concert by Vicente Amigo, I experienced flamenco Tourette’s for the first time. I’ve got used to people shouting ‘olé’ when they feel ‘duende’, however I had never heard what sounded like ‘agua’ before and certainly not seemingly every 30 seconds or so of the concert! Maybe the man sitting next to me was just really thirsty and was trying to catch the attention of one of the ushers…

• A friend who has lived in the Albayzin for many years recently showed me around the area. Although I’ve been here more than a year now, I still hadn’t really explored it other than the usual tourist spots, so I was amazed to see the view from San Miguel Alto which was stunning. Lovely still being surprised by this city (You can see a panoramic image of Granada from San Miguel Alto in the header of this post)

• A young girl in a red black spotted flamenco dress with a brolly up walking down the street and with her mother walking alongside holding up the bottom of her coat trying not to get her dress wet. I guess I’d never thought of flamenco dresses and rain together…

• A red Fiat 500 parked in the reception area of a local photocopy shop. A creative solution to parking difficulties in Granada!

• Snow on the mountains in the sunshine at the end of every street is still a beautiful thing no matter how many times I see it

• The smell of incense walking past my local religious artefact shop takes me back to my childhood as an alter boy ringing the bell at Mass. I also like the very concept of a religious artefact shop where you can buy yourself a bit of religion if it takes your fancy, like a football memorabilia shop perhaps, though I imagine it would be difficult getting anything autographed…

• Men of a certain age with (very) often jet black dyed hair bursting into flamenco song as they walk down the street (or maybe that’s just in the square outside my flat)

• A man making screechy  bird sounds as he walks around Granada. At first I thought that he may be mute and that it may have been his sole form of communication, however I then heard him chatting about football with his mates when he wasn’t popping out of the bar for a quick ciggie and a bird-sound making break

• A woman doing the sign of the cross as she leaves her apartment block to go to the cafe next door. Is the coffee not very good?

These are just a few things that have made me smile over the past few weeks while living in Granada. What have you noticed that makes you smile while getting around where you live?