Friday 7th September 2018
I was in a deep sleep when our alarm clock rang, rudely waking us just four hours after we had checked into an airport hotel in Malaga. We arrived here at 2.30am after two flights from our home in Crete, Greece.
After a quick breakfast we walked to the nearby bus stop for the 8am bus back to the airport.
We easily located the ALSA bus stop outside the terminal building, where buses departed for Granada. The Andalusian city is first on our list of our self-made tour of ‘Classical Spain’.
While waiting for the bus we chatted to a young lady who was from Granada. She warned us that the temperature would be considerably cooler in the evenings than during the day due to the city being surrounded by mountains.
We were fortunate to get the front seats on the bus and therefore we had an excellent view. The first stop was the central bus station in Malaga and we knew that we had made the correct decision to get the bus from the airport, (rather than travelling into the city where there are apparently more buses leaving for Andalusia) when we saw the long queue snaking its way around the station.
Dave and I relaxed and enjoyed the two and a half hour journey which headed inland climbing steadily towards the Andalusian city. Although we were mainly travelling on the motorway, there were plenty of pleasant scenes; we saw crops growing, olive groves, craggy rocky hills and the occasional white painted village.
The bus came to its final stop at a bus station on the outskirts of the city; we then had to take another bus for a 15 minute ride into the city. We found the information centre where we had to collect our ‘Granada Pass’ which we had purchased online. Buying the three day pass was the only way that we could guarantee visiting the Alhambra. We had attempted to buy tickets solely for the Alhambra, but the one day tickets to the well known ‘Red Fort’ were sold out for the dates we are here. Many companies offered guided tours at expensive prices, some 5 or 6 times the cost of the daily ticket. So, the Granada Pass was the best option; the passes include entrance to the city’s cathedral and various other places as well as a ticket for a ‘city tour’ and bus tickets for local journeys.
Our hotel, Hotel Navas, was just steps away from the information centre. As it was before midday our room wasn’t ready, so we left our luggage and decided to walk to the Albaicin district. However, after a few minutes we saw the ‘city tour’ vehicle so we quickly changed our minds and hopped on the small windowless bus. Although there were no windows there was a roof to shade its passengers from the sun.
The ride took us around the historic city. It was interesting but as the vehicle was so low down it wasn’t ideal for seeing some of the fascinating architecture that we passed.
It did give us an idea of distances though and we got a general view of the area. The ‘tour’ also had a commentary available in various languages giving information on the different sights.
We decided on tapas for lunch; the traditional Spanish tapas are small portions of a large variety of Spanish food. They can be hot or cold and a selection of them make a tasty meal and are an excellent way to try different dishes. After a while meandering and looking at the different options we finally chose a small place in a narrow street where there were half a dozen eateries all next to each other.
After ordering a couple of beers we looked at the menu. A small plate of paella arrived with the drinks. We ordered a variety of six tapas – fried calamari, potato salad, meatballs, green beans with ham, meat with sauce and ham croquettes. They were all served on a huge tray accompanied with a basket of bread.
Locals with their dogs were sat at a nearby table, taking advantage of the ‘complimentary surprise tapas’ with every drink. Suddenly, from one of the eateries a young Spaniard appeared with his teal-coloured guitar and holding it vertically close to his face, he proceeded to play flamenco – wow!
He was awesome! What a treat!!
After our lunch we returned to our hotel.
A couple of hours later, dressed more warmly and carrying lightweight fleeces in preparation for the expected temperature drop we set off walking to the Mirador de San Nicholas which promised views of the Alhambra.
We stopped to admire some of the architecture and to snap a couple of photographs; a church with an interesting blue & white decoration on its bell tower and an official looking building flying both the Spanish and Andalusian flags.
We walked upwards along the ‘Carrero Del Darro’, this narrow cobbled road that runs along the side of the Darro River is one of the oldest streets in Granada.
According to one of the guide books it is also Spain’s most romantic walk. We followed a small group of smartly dressed suited men, two of which were carrying fans made from straw; I thought that perhaps they were a singing group.
The walk was pretty with small stone bridges crossing the extremely narrow waterway. However, we constantly had to stop to allow a convoy of taxis drive up the hill; so our experience wasn’t at all romantic!
Later, we saw that most of the taxis’ passengers were attending a wedding as were the smart guys carrying the fans.
The walk became steeper as we got closer to the narrow cobbled streets of the Albaicin district. A couple struggled to get their small moped up the steep road. After numerous attempts they admitted defeat and the young female pillion passenger made her way up on foot.
There were lots of people at the mirador; the adjacent church of the same name was shrouded by scaffolding. A few buskers were playing a tune on their instruments or singing a song but none of them were good enough to hold our attention.
Standing and staring at the Alhambra we tried to absorb and commit to memory the amazing view of the magnificent edifice.
We walked a few steps to the nearby mosque gardens where we had heard that everyone was welcome and the views were excellent. If one was fortunate, a traditional tea was offered in a small ornate glass and for a nominal charge the ornate glass could be kept. The mosque’s pretty gardens were much less crowded; just a few folk were visiting the mosque and photographing the view. However tea was not being offered on this particular evening.
So, in need of refreshment after the steep hike up, we went into a bar cum restaurant. We sat on the terrace on a deep cushioned comfortable sofa and admired the uninterrupted view of the Alhambra.
There were people still visiting the fort, we could see them on one of the turreted towers in the Alcazaba. The fortress is the oldest part of the complex of buildings which combine palaces and a fort. The neighbouring Generalife country estate was a peaceful retreat for the monarchs.
As the sun slowly sank and the bright blue sky changed to the shades of dusk, the colours of the Alhambra altered too. We spotted a couple of remnants of snow on the Sierra Nevada Mountains which are part of the stunning background of this remarkable structure.
Eventually, we pulled ourselves away from the incredible view. While we had been sat there, Dave had downloaded GPS navigation on his mobile and learnt that we were 2500 kilometres from our home in Crete.
As we walked to a nearby bus stop we saw a bride and bridegroom in an open topped classic car. The beautiful bride was a ball of white lace; we shouted ‘congratulations’ as we passed by.
We walked through the cathedral’s courtyard and saw the stunning stonework; we noticed the script carved delicately into the masonry. The decorative crockets on the perimeter of the roof were as intricate as lace.
The courtyard led us into a pretty square surrounded by eateries. They looked tempting but we decided to stick with our original plan and eat at a place just a few steps away from our hotel. The bar offered tempting dishes, Argentinian black angus steak, amongst others. It was very busy when we arrived but the friendly waiter managed to find us a tall table and a couple of stools. We ordered a goat’s cheese salad and a couple of steaks which were served with a few chips and a tiny dish of rock salt. Along with the salad and the drinks that we ordered, we were served a complimentary tapas of bite size pieces of steak. We both agreed that the meal was the best that we had tasted for quite some time.
There was a cheerful atmosphere and the place was bustling. A young lady sat behind me chatting animatedly with her friends while rocking her tiny baby in its pram. We realised that we were perhaps the oldest people in the bar.
The evening’s temperature had remained warm and our fleeces were not needed.
lindaruddstravels.com 