Days: 13-14 (17 March 2017 – 18 March 2017)

Total distance travelled: 17,753.17 kilometres (11,026.81 miles)

If we thought we were fast on the rails headed to Córdoba, as we began our journey to Granada where we’d booked a couple of nights, we were fairly flying, at points cracking the 300km per hour mark!

Otherwise, the journey wasn’t all that eventful, the dry landscape fairly racing by and we were by early afternoon deposited in the heart of Granada (I really love how central these stations are, even if you’re travelling on the fast Renfe trains).

Our Granada segway (left) & Sunning it like a local (right)

Another gorgeous city, on another lovely day with another famous UNESCO site.

Only, La Alhambra isn’t just ‘another’ World Heritage site.

It’s also the most visited place in Spain, and why we were here.

Most people arrive in the city having pre-booked their tickets to the part fortress, part palace for a premium fee, but the tight arses that we often are, we’d opted to try our luck getting tickets on the ground (before the gates open in the morning, there are limited numbers available to the public which don’t have an exorbitant mark up in price).

It wasn’t quite a case of copy and paste from our Córdoba experience, however there were certainly similarities!

So we had a gorgeous, sun filled afternoon to wander this lovely city, before setting an alarm for an early rise.

La Alhambra. So near, yet so far?

We actually took the time to make our way across the Darro (the small river that separated us from the Alhambra above) and make the ascent to the fortress, to give ourselves an idea of the route come morning when we’d need to make the ascent in the dark, or at best half light.

It was also quite a lovely walk, and gave us some nice views back over the city on what was proving a gorgeous day when it came to the weather.

On the streets below, people were out in force, and when we were back among them we could see first hand how many were enjoying ice creams or beverages out in the sun!

Autumnal advantage: No crowds! (left) & A balmy evening (right)

Our home for the next couple of nights was sat above a narrow market street (I think it may have been some sort of haberdashery) which in turn sat just behind the grand Catedral de Granada.

Mere metres away sat a lovely square lined with cafes and restaurants (Plaza de Bib-Rambla), watched over by an Neptune who sat atop an ornate fountain.

Cute paved and cobbled streets ran off in all directions and it really was a gorgeous place to explore.

We were not surprisingly flushed for choice when it came to dining options for the evening, and we opted to dine on the street at a funky place called La Bicicleta.

Some vino and a selection of tasty dishes were highlighted by some of the best Eggplant ever consumed (let me point out, I’m not a fan of it as a vegetable finding it’s slimy texture and thick skin a turnoff)!

Fried in long tenders and dressed in a honey and balsamic glaze, this stuff was truly delicious!

Is this the best Eggplant (Aubergine) I’ve ever eaten? (left) & In case of emergency, break glass? Wine inside an indoor dining table! (right)

Coupled with the al alfresco dining ambiance, it was a lovely way to cap the day.

As is always the case when it’s so nice and early, the bleeping of our alarm to wake felt far too early.

Once we emerged and hit the streets, crossed the river and began our ascent to queue for tickets, it became apparent that many others had adopted a similar plan.

Our rapid climb defied the brusque morning air, however when we found the ticket line (which was surprisingly long) and began our wait, it slowly began to chill us.

So we stood and waited, surrounded by a mixture of thrifty backpackers, couples and families.

Then the ticket windows opened and queue, slowly, began to move.

But for us, not far enough as it didn’t seem long before a call came out that tickets for that day, were sold out.

Travelling on as we were the following day, there was no second chance.

Ultimately, the subtitle to this episode is something like: When you miss out on tickets to La Alhambra and don’t really care…

It’s odd, and hard for us to explain, but neither of really felt any devastation that we more than likely should have.

Instead, we wandered back down to town and found a nice place for a breakfast of coffee and Churros. Did I mention it was adorned with gorgeous stained glass lighting?

Breakfast Churros at Gran Cafe Bib Rambla

We then made the call to have a real day of R&R, went back to our room and jumped back into bed (I think we may have lunched on biscuits and crisps)!

As such, there’s very little of interest from the bulk of the day!

Given that we’d missed out on one of ‘the’ sights of Spain, we wondered why it was that we didn’t really care?

Perhaps it was simply a case of during our long, almost 2 year adventure we’d seen plenty of both Spanish colonial as well as Islamic architecture? As such, is it possible that a destination like Spain was simply too soon after that trip!?

Anyway, by evening we figured we’d best get something out of the day, so ventured out for a drink and a bite.

In truth, we thought we’d do both at the same time, having read about several bars that served free tapas while you drank.

Like everything else in town, it was essentially around the corner that we settled in for a few cold cervesas.

I got the impression there were many in town, but ours was cheap and cheerful (La Antigualla II), and the cool thing about it all, was that ours dished up a different dish depending whether it was your 1st, 2nd, 3rd or even 4th round of beers.

The perfect RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol). A serve of Tapas with every beer!

They weren’t earth shatteringly (yes, I may have made up a word) gourmet, but they were tasty, and the place had a pretty cool vibe.

All in all, a day that should have felt like a loss, felt pretty good.

Notes:

* Our Eurail 2 country passes allowing 6 days of travel within 2 months cost us $96.00AUD per person (a special travel agents rate).

* Our combined Renfe train and bus service from Cordoba to Granada set us back a booking fee of €10.55 apiece.