Sights of Granada

Sights of Granada

We have a night flight to Madrid and have most of the day available to us here in Granada.  We started with breakfast at Pans & Company, a sandwich chain somewhat like Subway but better bread.

We had a slow start because Kim had trouble sleeping last night.  Walking to the cathedral a few Roma women were giving away leaves and reading palms, then asking for an extortion.  Aware of this, we kept both hands firmly in our pockets.

The cathedral was impressive.  I like the light airy and spacious interior that was contrasted by a stunning gilded altar.  The back of the altar was several storeys high with paintings and arches.  Four effigies faced the altar.  There was a separate chapel with the crypt for five coffins including royals like Fernando and Isabel.

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After checking out from the hostal, we did a walk of Albayzin guided by our book.  We started by the river then proceeded uphill.  There were many old houses, museums and a hammam along the way.  But being Monday, many sights were closed.

We saw some churches converted from mosques, which is very common in this part of Spain.  There was also a new functioning mosque, which is uncommon.  The lookout at San Nicolas church gave a good view of Granada and Alhambra.

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We had a lunch of gazpacho, schnitzel, paella, salad, good bread, all washed down with beer.  The vegetable salad was probably the best I’ve had this trip.

While Kim was paying at the counter, I noticed that the neighbours had left behind some deep-fried small fish (size of anchovies) similar to that I had seen in Croatia but never tried.  I pinched one to try, careful not to pick up a whole clump.  It was mushier than I thought and I was glad we hadn’t paid for a whole plate to find that we didn’t like it.  Someone at the next table caught me in the act and laughed.

Alcohol, drugs and party scene

We noticed that Granada has a bigger share of druggies and alcoholics on the streets compared to the other cities we had visited.  There were people with large tetrapaks of wine.  There were also many backpackers and dreadlocked people selling goods on the roadside.

We also hear lots of raucous post-party activity around 0300-0500.  But the party environment isn’t unique to Granada.  In this trip around southern Spain, we’ve often seen people spilling out of small bars onto the carpark, onto car bonnets and also onto the closed lids of dumpsters.

Flying to Madrid

After lunch, we continued back downhill, losing our way a little.  After killing some time at ant internet café and a cuppa, we decided to go to the airport early.  There was a chance we could be let on the 1755 flight to Madrid instead of ours booked for 2020.

We bought a Pans & Company sandwich to bring along to the airport in case we didn’t get on that earlier flight.  Just as well, because we weren’t successful.  Our flight was lighter than the earlier one.  When I checked yesterday, the earlier flight was selling for EUR170 and our one for EUR120.  We had only paid EUR29.45 by booking early!  That’s the reason we didn’t travel by train or bus as it would have taken a similar amount of time if one takes into the consideration travel time to/from the airport etc.

It was a quick 1h05 flight on an Iberia A320, upsized from an MD87.  The aircraft must have done a few Milan overnights.  The outside door handle has had many security seals from Milan’s Malpensa airport while overnighting.  We landed at 2115 and took the metro to Hostal Playa near Puerta del Sol.

The metro ride took about 45 mins.  Once checked-in at the hostal, we popped out for some water and a snack before retiring around midnight.

Our room was a little warm and stuffy with the window closed, but bearable.  With it open, it was a little noisy as we were near “Kilometre Zero” where roads radiate out from to all of Spain, and also near a bus station.