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From Valencia I carried on to Granada. I took the bus again and arrived at my destination again late in the evening. Which meant that information desks would be closed and I would only have the tiny map from my guidebook to go by. The bus station is quite a ways from the city centre, although I still considered walking. When I came out of the bus station there were two city buses out front and EVERYONE who didn't have a car waiting was jumping on the first bus. Without any real idea of where I was going I asked the driver if the bus went downtown. Yes it did, and conveniently stopped only a couple of blocks from my hostel. It probably would have stopped closer, but it was oddly crowded for the time of night and I knew my hostel was close to the Cathedral so when I saw it I jumped out and walked the rest of the way. My hostel had a very arabic feel to it and was super cute. I was happy to have a hostel that was cozy and not as cold feeling as the last one. When you arrive somewhere at night a
friendly atmosphere does wonders for your emotional well being!
The two key tourist attractions in Granada are the Cathedral, which I skipped and the Alhambra. I had one full day in Granada and I spent the majority of it exploring the Alhambra. It covers a huge area and is at the top of a hill...so wear comfortable shoes! I was a bit confused over ticket/entry times. You can only enter the Palace section of it at certain times, but from the main entrance its a ten minute walk. I didn't realize you could enter the complex before the time on your ticket so I waited around for half an hour when really I could have been exploring other areas all along! I don't always get audio guides when I'm exploring sites, but I did for this one and I'm glad I did. I didn't really know any of the history or the significance of the fortress so the guide for me was informative and useful. I spent a bit of time wandering the gardens as well, even though it was only April they were still beautiful with lots of flowers already in bloom.
Unfortunately in Granada I caught a wicked cold and spent most of the time coughing and generally feeling disgusting. I caught a train to Cordoba the day after exploring Granada and felt like death the whole way there. Not too mention the only train to Cordoba was at 6 pm so it was again night time when I arrived at my destination. (Since I had already checked out of my hostel and walked to the train station I was stuck killing time with my backpack again....planning! It saves you this kind of hastle!)
Arriving in Cordoba wasn't so bad at first. It was still light out, and I thought I was going the right way. Only to realize I was going the wrong way a few blocks into my walk and had to backtrack. Arg. Once on the right track I made my way easily enough to the old part of town, where I promptly got lost. The streets in the historic part of Cordoba area maze, and once again I arrived to late in the evening to get a map from the train stations information. I had saved a map offline on my tablet this time...but it wasn't detailed enough to be very useful. Instead I followed a couple of tourists for a bit. The streets were so quiet, but then suddenly I would round a corner into a pocket of the light and sound of a busy restaurant or hotel. None of the street names seemed familiar to what I had seen on my map so I wandered until I came across a sign that said "Mezquita" with an arrow underneath. Excellent! From there I knew where to go, so I followed the signs until I arrived there and from that point I knew the directions well enough to find my way.
On arriving at my hostel (Backpacker Al-Katre) the very friendly owner and her daughter welcomed me with enthusiasm. They were worried something had happened to me and were waiting for me to get there. I thought maybe it was because I was the last person to check in for the night, but as it turns out I was the ONLY person staying there that night. The hostel is apparently brand new and had only opened two weeks before. They didn't have a lot of clientele yet, but it was probably the friendliest most comfortable hostel I stayed in on the whole trip. It was also literally a block from the Mezquita. I was happy enough to be alone in the dorm since I was so sick, and its never fun to be sick in a shared room. Breakfast was fabulous. Even though it was just me they didn't deny me anything.
I slept late and sleep made me feel a world better. I didn't know what was in Cordoba other than the Mezquita, so I wasn't worried about getting a late start to the day. Another girl arrived as I was getting ready to go out so she joined me on my exploration of the city. We actually skipped the Mezquita the first day, because she informed me that if we went between 8 and 9 am it would be free so it would be better to wait. Instead we went on a tour of 'patios' (courtyards) and wandered the streets at random. We went to the Alcazar which we could have skipped, but from its towers we could see into the stables where they were training show horses. In the evening we decided to go see the horse show which was a bit tacky but it was fun anyway.
The next morning we explored the Mezquita. Its such an unusual place. Its very definitely a mosque when you think of the architecture and the decoration, but it is also very much a cathedral when you see the altars and christian additions. Its much bigger than it looks and is quite beautiful. Its worth a trip to Cordoba just to see it.
My time in Spain was coming rapidly to a close so I was unable to linger any longer in Cordoba. Another girl I'd met at the hostel was going my direction and offered me a ride to Seville. She was french and we struggled a bit to communicate, but I took her up on the offer and had a very pleasant drive to my next destination.
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