Granada and Alhambra, where cats go to lie in the sun

Thursday,  October 6 (halfway point in trip)

Last we spoke, we were on the train from Madrid.  We had a connection in Antecarra de Santa Ana (or something like that).   But it turned out that there was no train to transfer to, it was a bus.  It took us to the train station, under renovations.  What is it with Spain and renovating train stations.  Oh well, another cab.  We had booked in at Hostel Navas 14.

Back track a bit.  Alisma has been saying to me for days, since Barcelona 'remind me to book Alhambra tickets'.  I have not reminded her and she only remembered as the Nightvale show was about to start.  She couldn't make the site work.  Then we tried again when we got back to the room in Madrid.  Nope.  Turns out it wasn't working because there weren't any tickets left.  Alisma did some research and there was a chance we could still get some when we got to town.

So, we hadn't even checked into our room when I had to have a full conversation in Spanish about how to find Alhambra tickets for forgetful. newly arrived touristas.  First option, find the Corral del Carbon, where they sell tickets.  Second, not good, option, if the Corral is out of tickets, is to line up at the Alhambra at 7am and hope they have some same day tickets.

We dropped out bags and headed to the Corral.  We got a bit lost so we went into a travel agency with Alhambra tickets advertised in the window.  It wasn't the right place.  And the lady there was very discouraging about our chances of getting tickets.  We finally found the Corral and it was this cool old building, I think an old corral.  No pictures, I was too focused on tickets.  The ticket office was just two tickets machines with a human assistant.  Yup, tickets for tomorrow morning, not a problem. 8:30 entrance to the palace.  In and out in less than 5 minutes.  Procrastinators unite!  It will all work out.

Back to our room.  We are right in Centro and our little alley/street is full of restaurants.  So, we just popped downstairs, picked a table and ordered dinner.  I decided to go crazy and have a tapa sample plate.  It was big enough for two but was mostly seafood so Alisma was having none of it.

From bottom left:  creamy suprise (actual name, it was good) tuna & Olive salad, octopus on potatoes,
Prawns, tuna in some sort of sauce, seafood pancakes (?), sardines, sardine croquettes,
sausages (wieners) in sausage (wiener) sauce, red stuff wit an egg and tuna on top. 

Then we wandered around a bit and early to bed.  Alisma is still sick.

Orange tree

Pomegranate tree.  Did you know
that Granada means Pomegranate?

Queen Isobela with Christopher Columbus

The Cathedral.  This is as
close as we got

There is an active night life here.  Dinners don't even start until 8pm

Friday Oct 7 -

The next morning we were up early to catch the C3 bus behind the Isobela statue.  We did zero research on Alhambra and I still don't have a clue about it so here is a website for us all to read at our leisure:  www.alhambradegranada.org/en/info/historicalintroduction.asp

I do know it was established as a fort and palace by the Moors and then taken over by pretty much everyone so there are lots of influences.  But the Moorish design and decoration is strong throughout.  And there are cats all over the place.

The park is actually open to the public but there are three locations that require tickets, the Palace, the Alcabaza and the Generalife.   The Palace has entry times on the tickets.  Ours as 8:30am.   We arrived at about 8:15 and headed over.  Masses of people, just like every palace in Europe (from my experience anyway).

We entered through the Puerto de Justico

So many people in the Palace

More tiles

Tiles

Bird

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Another wedding at a historical site

The ceiling!

This is on a lot of postcards so it must be important

Another ceiling!

TILES!!

View of the city from the tower

Then onto Alcabaza which is a bunch of towers.

I don't even know if this is Alcabaza

Sun + mist = photo gold

A few shots from the towers

excavations

Do you think castle builders would have
ever guessed when they added these
defensive windows, that they would one
day be used exclusively by tourists
taking 'arty' photos.  I hope not, it would
depress them.

the very top of the highest tower

Then a quick step into the Catholic church in the middle of a Muslim site. Through some beautiful gardens. Then Generalife, from what I can tell, a late addition house (palace) with another million people in it.

An amphitheater? 

Alisma waiting for me

And the cats.  There were cats all over the Alhambra.

Kitten!

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Another kitten!

After Alhambra, we had an early dinner (Italian) and then Alisma headed back to the room to have a nap. I found a cool little alley market and spent an hour or more lost in that maze.  After we had started buying purses and scarves, we would joke that at least we were still platter free.  Not so after that market.  Alhambra had these hand made ceramic bowls on the floor that I loved.  I couldn't afford a real one so I bought a nice painted bowl/platter thing.

Spinach Lasagna
and Spaghetti Carbonara

Shopping

The market alley

This is where my platter came from, it looks like those
bowls that are sort of in the middle-right

After Alisma's nap, we went out for some ice cream because we wanted some Pomegranite gelato to celebrate all of the pomegranates we had seen growing in the city.

That other flavour is 'cheese and fig' which was way better than it sounds.

Saturday, October 8.

We had a noon pick up time for our car so we went for breakfast.  I ordered a Spanish Breakfast (the American Breakfast comes with a chocolate shake!).  It was toast and eggs, coffee and juice.  And just because Spain wants me to die of a heart attach, a cured meat sandwich on the side!

Then we wandered around a bit.  There is a part of town along the river that runs below the Alhambra.  

Another Alhambra cat

And that is our time in Granada.