Googling at Granada

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Day 23. 11^thFeb (Tuesday)

Got up quite late. Walked to a cafe about 10mins away and had croissant & coffee for breakfast. Michael talked me into going to Granada for the day. I stopped at an ATM and withdrew €100 which I gave to Mike for various hotels he hadn’t stayed in and ones he had paid cash for upon arrival etc. during our travels. We popped back to his house and grabbed a few things, then headed for the bus which was due (every 45mins) but was often off-schedule. This time it was on time and we saw it at the junction as we approached, luckily a van was holding it up on a corner which allowed us to catch it up.

We got off at the terminus in town, which is to the South of Granada, and walked in to the centre through a warren of plaza’s which each contained a statue of some sort (see pics). We stopped in a cafe down a side street and had a snack with orange juice – I had goat’s cheese on toast with strawberry jam and walnuts sprinkled on top. Very slow but extremely pleasant service.

Then we wandered into the Moroccan quarter with streets very like those seen in Morocco, but with less pushy proprietors. We waited a while for the tourist bus to take us up the mountain but eventually hailed a cab which drove us down some very narrow streets, packed with tourists, and around seemingly impossible corners, all the while going higher and higher up steep cobbled alleys until we reached the top (€5). Here we had fantastic views of the snow-covered High Sierra Nervada’s and also of the Alhambra Palace on the hill opposite and the city below. You need to book a month in advance to get into the Alhambra so this was the nearest we could get. Lots of fly-pitch stalls around, one taking up a rare bench seat, one guy was playing a guitar, another painting the view.

We sat there a while, soaking up the panoramic view, then moved to a slightly lower cafe with the same view. We had a glass of lager each and, whilst Mike was on the loo, I spoke with the couple on the next table who asked me to guess where they were from, I said North American but they were Canadian (so nearly right).

We climbed down the narrow lanes back to the Moroccan quarter, then went looking for a meal. Nothing was really suitable; either non-vegetarian, or too expensive. We ended up in a posh tapas bar and ordered a few beers (which came with free tapas) and then ordering a few more tapas’s at €2.50 each. Quite small tapas though so we weren’t full. Mike went to the loo and came back with a glowing report. I had to try too so went before we left; the ladies & gents were marked La Bella & Le Beast, but each had state of the art fittings, including a large square thick-glass sink on a marble plinth which had a tap with a button which flashed red when pressed but no water was emitted. But in the communal area between the loos were 2 lion heads mounted on the wall with taps that made water flow from their mouths into the green onyx sink below. All extremely elaborate and totally over the top, must have cost a fortune.

We then made our way to the bus stop and waited 10mins for our bus back home. Mike light the fire and we soon warmed up and had a slice of toast with butter & honey. We went to bed around midnight.

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Photos

Statue in Plaza
We were sure these were up to something risquee

Comments

[Amy Friedman]

All Hambra, all the time
Sorry to hear you can't just wander into the Alhambra. Many years ago we did; no queue, just get a ticket and wander around. I left it wondering why we don't do more with tiles in our home decor.