Woke up this AM looking forward to getting on to Granada. While being able to see the Palm Sunday processions through Córdoba was nice, two days and two nights there was a little much for a lone traveler touring city four of seven total.
Woke up around 8:30, showered and repacked and was out of the hotel just after 10am. Trekked the 3-4 blocks up to the city bus station and had a pastry y cafe con leche at the walkup cafe inside the station. Finished just in time to get out to the bus just pulling up. Boarded and was on my way for the just over 2 hour ride down to Granada.
Glad I opted to do the bus... it was cheap (under 15 euros) and I got to see a lot of the Andalucian countryside. The bus stopped in a few small whitewalled towns on the way too -- very cool to see.
No huge highways through Andalucia apparently... our bus twisted and turned and sloped up and down through the remote countryside on the two- lane highway. Ever seen a full size bus pass on the left (into oncoming traffic) before? Yeah, that happened lol.
The bus also had WiFi (weefee) -- sweet. We arrived at the Granada bus station before I knew it and I headed out to catch the autobus into town. So did quite a few other people. It was a straight shot into the center of town, which is where my hotel was. Just a few blocks up and up a paseo and I was there. Got checked in and the hotel staff were extra helpful in telling me about Granada -- where to go, what to avoid, what places have the free tapas for drinking there, they helped me book my Alhambra visit on the spot, etc. The lady put two huge Xs through the major tourist spots with all the eateries, telling me that they'll charge way too much for just a beer. And we were conversing totalmente en espanol, which was awesome.
As it turned out, my hotel is literally steps from one of the entrances to the Alhambra. Awesome.
After getting situated in the room, decided to take care of Alhambra biz right away y recoger mi boleto de la taquilla en frente de la Alhambra (if you buy ahead they still require you to pick up your ticket (and show ID). Did that and picked up a brochure to acquaint myself with what the Alhambra is all about before I visit.
Ended up taking the backside pathway around the Alhambra as a means to enter Albaicin, the district of Granada set on the opposing hill to the Alhambra and consisting of narrow-narrow street and walkways.
Saw this as the sole item of graffiti as I was leaving the Alhambra grounds:
Quoting a move from the 90's here... #MESSAGE!
I ended up not taking on the full-on Albaicin walk-around, and instead headed back down into the center of town. Ended up touring the cathedral of Granada -- did the audio tour and got a lot of history on Granada.
Couldn't even get a clean shot of the full building because everything is built up around it (as in other buildings that are also hundreds of years old). Again (a recurring theme with this trip, the fact that all of this was built up 400-500 years ago (separate from Alhambra, which dates back way further)) is really grounding.
Shame on me -- they said no pics and I did a mirror selfie in the Sacristia.
Ended up taking in a Semana Santa procession on the way back to the hotel -- the tall pointy white hats of the (what I now know to be) "capuchinos" still make the American in me do a double-take.
On my way back out to check out the Albaicin at night, I took in another procession. Took a little video. The paso (or "float") is being carried by men underneath, and a marching band is behind the paso playing the music to which the paso marches forward to.
I headed up through the Albaicin to reach the Mirador de San Nicolas, which I was told has amazing views of the Alhambra. I was told right.
So this was well after 11pm, and there had to have been at least 50 people up there taking in this view. With more people coming and going minute by minute. People of ALL ages. Walking up through the narrow dark streets/alleyways I was trailing/passing people of the third age (as they call it here in Spain, haha)... SUCH a different nighttime experience in general here than in the US. At any rate, I succeeded in getting full-on lost in the Albaicin after midnight trying to find my way back, haha. I made back to the hotel though, unscathed and looking forward to another day in Granada.
The bus also had WiFi (weefee) -- sweet. We arrived at the Granada bus station before I knew it and I headed out to catch the autobus into town. So did quite a few other people. It was a straight shot into the center of town, which is where my hotel was. Just a few blocks up and up a paseo and I was there. Got checked in and the hotel staff were extra helpful in telling me about Granada -- where to go, what to avoid, what places have the free tapas for drinking there, they helped me book my Alhambra visit on the spot, etc. The lady put two huge Xs through the major tourist spots with all the eateries, telling me that they'll charge way too much for just a beer. And we were conversing totalmente en espanol, which was awesome.
As it turned out, my hotel is literally steps from one of the entrances to the Alhambra. Awesome.
After getting situated in the room, decided to take care of Alhambra biz right away y recoger mi boleto de la taquilla en frente de la Alhambra (if you buy ahead they still require you to pick up your ticket (and show ID). Did that and picked up a brochure to acquaint myself with what the Alhambra is all about before I visit.
Ended up taking the backside pathway around the Alhambra as a means to enter Albaicin, the district of Granada set on the opposing hill to the Alhambra and consisting of narrow-narrow street and walkways.
Saw this as the sole item of graffiti as I was leaving the Alhambra grounds:
Quoting a move from the 90's here... #MESSAGE!
I ended up not taking on the full-on Albaicin walk-around, and instead headed back down into the center of town. Ended up touring the cathedral of Granada -- did the audio tour and got a lot of history on Granada.
Couldn't even get a clean shot of the full building because everything is built up around it (as in other buildings that are also hundreds of years old). Again (a recurring theme with this trip, the fact that all of this was built up 400-500 years ago (separate from Alhambra, which dates back way further)) is really grounding.
Shame on me -- they said no pics and I did a mirror selfie in the Sacristia.
Ended up taking in a Semana Santa procession on the way back to the hotel -- the tall pointy white hats of the (what I now know to be) "capuchinos" still make the American in me do a double-take.
On my way back out to check out the Albaicin at night, I took in another procession. Took a little video. The paso (or "float") is being carried by men underneath, and a marching band is behind the paso playing the music to which the paso marches forward to.
I headed up through the Albaicin to reach the Mirador de San Nicolas, which I was told has amazing views of the Alhambra. I was told right.
So this was well after 11pm, and there had to have been at least 50 people up there taking in this view. With more people coming and going minute by minute. People of ALL ages. Walking up through the narrow dark streets/alleyways I was trailing/passing people of the third age (as they call it here in Spain, haha)... SUCH a different nighttime experience in general here than in the US. At any rate, I succeeded in getting full-on lost in the Albaicin after midnight trying to find my way back, haha. I made back to the hotel though, unscathed and looking forward to another day in Granada.
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