Granada is a city located in the mountains by the Sierra Nevada National Park.
It is famous for the Alhambra - one of the most famous and iconic landmarks in the world.
Alhambra
One of the biggest buildings in the world, it is like a city in its own right on top of a huge hill overlooking Granada.
We had two days to spend before our tickets were valid. They were tough to get. It was sold out since it was new years week. I managed to find the last two granada cards for a bit more money which included entrance to a couple other things as well in granada.
Day 1
On the first day, I saw a bunch of “miradors” on my map. I decided we should go find some views. We walked up a to hilltop neighborhood on the northeast side of the city.
From the main mirador, I spotted a church on top of a bigger hill, and decided I’d find a way up there.
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On the way, in a cramped alley behind a church, we found an old and charismatic Andalusian women who makes a special type of Andalusian tea and couscous. It was an interesting experience to say the least.
Sneaky Andalusian Cat
We got up to the church, which plenty of others knew about as well, just in time to watch the sunset.
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While sitting there, I noticed some fences and chimneys poking out of the ground. Kai said people must be living in the ground. I thought that sounded silly, but when we walked down a bit she was right!
There was an entire community of people living in dugout houses in the hillside. Pretty neat.
On our way back to the hotel, our path took us right into a huge crowd, gathered for a holiday parade.
In Spain, they don’t celebrate christmas on the 25th with Santa clause, they celebrate in January with the three wise kings.
Day 2
On the second day in Granada, we got to use the Granada card.
This card basically dictated the schedule of the trip, since it was the only way we could get into the Alhambra, the last two tickets I could find anywhere online being for Sunday.
So as an accidental benefit, we got a two day card that got us into a bunch of attractions on the first day.
To summarize the day:
Granada Cathedral (huge!)
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| “Train” ride around town |
Kai was feeling very sick and decided to go to bed now, I kept exploring..
Monestary (Monasterio de San Jerónimo)
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Paseo de la Bomba (A Park by the central river)
After all this, I was wanting another view.
Took a bit of a hike up a hill on the south side of the Alhambra.
Granada Cat
Alhambra day
Today was dedicated to exploring the Alhambra.
We got up early and walked up the long street. We had assigned times to get into the Nasrid Palace, the main attraction.
What’s funny is my ticket was for 10:30, and Kai’s was for 11 because they were the last two tickets I could find. The guy actually stopped Kai when I went in, but she cleverly just showed him my ticket again to get in early.
The palace was pretty amazing. The walls were intricately carved in great detail.
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There was a very unique tour of ceiling the I liked the design of. It was structural as much as it was decorative.
After the palace, we toured the Alcazaba - the large defensive fort at the front of the complex. There was a great view here of Granada from on top of the main tower.
After the was one more main section - Generife. I’m still not entirely sure what it was, another palace just because. Here there was a garden that had been continuously cultivated some the 13th century. There was also a stairway with waterfalls in the railings.
We then went down the alternative route by stairs that I saw the first day and really wanted to walk on. It was very nice 👌
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We then had to catch our bus to Sevilla. We decided to stop at our favorite tapas spot by the hostel that gives you free tapas with your drink. We had enough time to catch the bus and oops! There is a three kings parade on the street our bus is supposed to be running on.
Now the race was on to the bus station. We rushed as fast as we could for 45 minutes and just made the bus to Sevilla in time