After breakfast we took one last look from The Balcony of Europe but alas the fog or cloud had rolled in. We did manage to see the beach and a few hardy souls in the water.
The car had not been moved from the car park for two days and the hefty 36 euro bill although expected, was not appreciated. The drive to Granada took about 90 minutes. As we drove off the exit ramp our hotel the Albero (37.5 euro) which is on the outskirts of town appeared in front of us.
After settling in, the owner gave us some helpful directions and the bus number to catch into the heart of town. The only problem is that today is another public holiday for Corpus Christi and the buses are at half frequency. This did not deter us and we were soon on the route 33 bus and in the heart of downtown Granada.
Our plan was to take a short orientation walk which would also take in some of the Moorish and Christian sites. Starting off at the Corral de Carbon which was a caravanserai of Silk Road fame we headed into the Alcaiceria.
This area was originally a Moorish silk market but now sells overpriced trinkets to unsuspecting tourists.
Another short walk brought us to the Cathedral which was closed today due to the holiday. It is a huge church built mostly in the Renaissance style. The attached royal chapel holds the bodies of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand who were the monarchs who supported Columbus’s voyage of discovery in 1492.
After passing through a couple of large plazas we took a stroll up Paseo de los Tristies which is known as the walk of the sad ones. This used to be the route of funeral processions to the cemetery at the edge of town.
A short rest by the river Darro at the base of the Alhambra and we were ready to proceed again. This time we had a steep uphill climb along a stream, up past the Sultan’s cobbled horse lane and beneath the Alhambra ramparts to the ticket office. I picked up our entry tickets for tomorrows Alhambra visit.
We have chosen a 2:30pm time slot for our entry time but
this could be a mistake given that the temperature was hovering around
36 degrees. We have had enough walking so it was onto the route 30
Mercedes mini bus for a trip back into town. I was amazed at the narrow
streets or should I say lanes that the driver navigated his bus through.Our hotel manager has given us a restaurant to try for dinner but it was a little early. Rather than just sit around we jumped on route 31 another mini bus for a round trip through the hilly Albayzin quarter. This route was even tighter but a memorable trip just the same.
We found the restaurant and had a very cheap (34 euro), excellent three course meal with drinks. By the time we finished eating at around 9:30pm this street full of restaurants was heaving. It was difficult just getting out of the street so we could catch our bus back to the hotel.
Friday 8th June – The Alhambra
Up nice and early today as we have a 10:00 am appointment with indulgence.
Yesterday we decided that a scrub, massage and soak at the Arab Bathhouse would help us unwind from all the stress that these holidays are causing! This Hammam was incredible. Before we could enter the change rooms we had to cover our shoes with plastic so we did not scuff or dirty the white marble floors.
After changing we entered the bathing area which had three pools, steam and massage rooms. The lighting was subdued and soft which helped to relax you. The first pool which you enter has a marble floor and columns and is filled with warm water. You then hop into the hot pool before dunking yourself in the icy cold pool. Just keep repeating the process and throw in a steam bath for good measure. The scrub and massage was the icing on the cake. We were stretched out on a heated stone table and given a good 30 minute massage. Heaven!
At around midday our indulgence was over so we had no choice but to find a restaurant and partake in coffee and omelet.
What can we say about the Alhambra that hasn’t been said already? We spent four hours walking all over this awesome Moorish palace that thoroughly deserves its reputation as one of Europe’s top sites. Nowhere else does the splendour of Moorish civilization shine so beautifully. The jewel of the Alhambra is the Moorish royal palace known as the Palacios Nazaries.
Entry to this section is strictly regulated and your ticket gives you a set time in which you have a 30 minute slot to visit. Bad luck if you miss the time as there are no exceptions. You walk through three sections: royal offices, ceremonial rooms and private quarters which were built mostly in the 14th century.
The other areas in the Alhambra that are included in the ticket price are the Alcazaba, Charles V’s Palace, Alhambra Museum and the Genralife Gardens. As we stood atop the highest tower of the Alcazaba and gazed out over modern Granada you could try and imagine what it was like in the 13th century when the Moors were the light during the dark ages.
Charles V’s palace almost looks out of place in this surrounding. The king decided that after defeating the Moors that their palace was not good enough for him, so he had a new home built which was financed by taxing the defeated Muslim population.
After walking through the Generalife Gardens we caught the reliable route 30 back into the heart of town. It was a little after 7:00pm so we caught the number 33 with the intention of alighting in a tapas area near our hotel. We were a little early and nothing was open.
Just as we were about to give up we spotted someone setting up tables for the night. With the help of some sign language we secured a table and were soon sipping on a glass of wine. The good part was that for every drink you ordered you received a free plate of tapas. After five drinks we did not need any dinner or any more drinks.
Saturday 9th June – The Last Drive to Alicante
After wishing Alice’s mum Kirsten a Happy Birthday we jumped into the trusty Skoda for our last drive in Spain.
It is about 4.5 hours to Alicante on a good highway that lets you travel at 120kph. The road takes you over the Sierra Nevada mountain range and also gives access to a number of national parks. I was trying to return the car with next to no fuel in the tank but the warning light came on about 50km from Alicante. With about 20km to go we pulled into a service station as we did not want to get caught short when we were so close to our destination.
Alice found it difficult to hide her embarrassment when I only ordered 5 euros worth of fuel from the attendant. I figured three litres would be enough to get us to the hotel and then return the car. A couple of wrong turns later we were soon at the 30 storey Estudiotel, Alicante where we will spend the night for the princely sum of 40 euros. After clocking up 1388 km I returned the car to Europcar headquarters at the railway station.
It took me ten minutes to walk back to the hotel which will be of benefit tomorrow when we catch our train to Barcelona.
The rest of the afternoon was spent touring the waterfront which had a big marina. We thought the boats that were moored here could have paid off the Spanish banks debts. The beach here is sandy and the water is clean, calm and shallow.
Even at 7:00pm the beach was packed with families and tourists all having what we would call an evening swim. A lot of the buildings are well kept but looking tired. They look like they were constructed in the late 70’s. Some of the older art deco style buildings along the waterfront, including the casino appear to have been recently spruced up.
An early meal tonight, before 8:00pm as we have to be up early for our train journey.
Sunday 10th June – On a Train Bound for Nowhere, Barcelona
For 42 euros we are travelling business class to Barcelona. Our Talgo train departed on time at 8:06 and we are due in Barcelona at 13:39. One of the benefits of train travel in Spain is that it is quick and affordable. Unlike air travel you do not have to travel to the outskirts of the City or be at the terminal one hour before departure. If you desire, you can arrive five minutes before the departure time. There is of course a dining car, I’m still waiting for Alice to get me a glass of wine and lots of leg room to stretch out. The other advantage is that you get to see a lot of the countryside and then ocean as the train scoots along at 150kph.
A quick ride in a taxi and we were at the Silver Aparthotel. This is the most expensive hotel that we have stayed in so far (100 euro) but it is worth it.
We are close to the metro so transport is easy and there is also a small kitchenette where we can cook some meals. It wasn’t long before we decided to fathom our way through the metro so we could visit the Picasso Museum which is free on Sunday afternoons.
After some trial and error we successfully navigated our way downtown to the museum. I think everyone in Barcelona must know that the museum is free as the entry queue was about a kilometre long. Queues annoy me at the best of times so we went for a backup plan and headed to the chocolate museum. There was no queue because it closes at 3:00pm.
As we were in the Barri Gotic area we thought we would have a
look at the Barcelona Cathedral but as our luck was holding it was
closed for a Corpus Christi event. It looked nice from the outside. Next
we tried the world famous Shoe Museum but guess what – It is closed on
Sunday and Monday.After all these disappointments we gave up and headed for some food. The joy of this was that we came across a regional wine tasting and for the sum of 10 euro we purchased some tasting tickets.
Alice went straight for the champagne, called Cava in Spain and thoroughly enjoyed it. When we had run out of tickets we were asked by two ladies from the Netherlands if we would take their photograph. This led to a long conversation and a couple of their wine tickets which were duly cashed in. It was a pleasant way to end our first day in Barcelona.
Monday 11th June – Gaudi
All aboard the metro and we
are off and racing for a day of Barcelona sightseeing. The Barcelona Bus
Turistic operates three routes blue, red and green with interchange
possibilities. Alice has chosen the 31 euro ticket which is valid for
two days and offers a range of discounts to museums, cable cars and
other attractions. The first part of the day we spent travelling over
the red and green route before taking a late lunch. After lunch it was the blue route and the first stop we alighted was the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family Church). This is Antoni Gaudi’s most famous and consistent work and this super-sized church is not expected to be finished until 2026.
Gaudi laboured on the Sagrada Familia for 43 years, from 1883 until his death in 1926 when he was run over by a tram. It is difficult to describe the architectural wonder of this church but suffice to say that Gaudi’s vision is being executed by others in a faithful manner. If you have never seen a picture of this church then you need to look it up on the World Wide Web.
Next stop was the Parc Guell which is a colourful park where you can enjoy more of Gaudi’s magic. Entering the park you walk by his wrought-iron gas lamps which are flanked by two gatehouses made of gingerbread. There is a large stairway which takes you past a ceramic dragon fountain. Past the pathway of columns you reach the terrace which has a long colourful ergonomically designed bench.
From here you have one of Barcelona’s best views with the Sagrada Familia church in the distance.
After wandering around the park it was back on the bus again for more entertainment. One of the more popular stops, judging by the number who got on and off is for the football tragic and that is of course the Barcelona Football Club’s home ground.
Tuesday 12th June – Picasso, Chocolate and Shoes
Today we are endeavouring to make up for Sunday’s disappointment and as a result we have arrived at the Picasso museum 15 minutes prior to the 10:00am opening. There are about 100 people in front of us but the line moved quickly. Eleven euros later and we were admiring the work of this great artist. The museum is set up so that you view the paintings, sculptures and ceramics in a chronological order. One painting that Alice and I loved was the Ciencia y Caridad (Science and Charity). When you walked back and forth across the room you could see the bed shrink and stretch.
The periods that were on display were:
• Barcelona Freedom 1900
• Paris 1900 – 1901
• Blue Period 1901 – 1904
• Rose Period 1904 – 1907
• Cubism 1907 – 1920 ( not much on display)
• Eclectic 1920 -1950
• French Riviera – Last decade of his life
We spent an hour here and thoroughly enjoyed it but both agreed that the Madrid museums were superior.
A short walk and it was time to investigate the chocolate museum. I sat outside and had a coffee while Alice learnt the history of chocolate from the Aztecs to Europeans via the port of Barcelona where it was first unloaded and processed. There is also a series of remarkable chocolate candy displays. Of course we did not leave without trying some.
Some more walking and we arrived at the church of Santa Maria del Mar. This church only took 55 years to build and is built in a pure Catalan Gothic style. The church sided with Franco during the Spanish Civil war and the locals took out their anger by burning all the wood furnishings. The result is that you can still see the carbon blackened ceilings.
From here we ventured through the Barri Gotic area from the Barcelona Cathedral to Placa de Catalyuna. Along the way we saw ancient roman columns, beautiful fountains, a bridge over the street and the world famous shoe museum. This tiny one roomed museum is presided over by a little old man who clearly loves his shoes. Alice who was the only customer told me that he explained a couple of things to her. The only problem was that she could not understand his Spanish.
By the time the bus reached the Montjuic area I was almost asleep. I came to life when we saw the façade of The Catalan Art Museum. It sits high on the hill overlooking Barcelona and gives great views of the City and the magical fountains below. We gave up on visiting the Joan Miro museum because we just don’t get abstract art. Instead we opted for a visit to the stadium where the 1992 Olympics were held. To finish off we took the funicular tram down the hill to our metro stop and then back to the hotel.
Wednesday 13th June – Cava ad Wine in the Country
Up bright and early today as we have booked a tour that departs from the City at 8:30am. It is an organised tour that will take us into the Barcelona wine region. We are trying to convince ourselves that this tour is more about experiencing the countryside than drinking wine and cava. It is a beautiful area with almost every hectare taken up with wine production. For a brief moment in time I thought we were in the Hunter valley.
First winery stop on the agenda is the Bodega Jean Leon. This vineyard is famous for being the first to produce Cabernet Sauvignon in this region. The story of the founder is one of an emigrant from this area who made his fortune in Beverly Hills thanks to his restaurant, La Scala. His partner was the actor, James Dean who died in a car crash just before the restaurant opened. Jean Leon himself has now passed away but he sold the vineyard to Miguel Torres who promised to carry on the tradition of producing the cabernet in the same style. Our verdict was that the wines are up there with the best.
Alice has been champing at the bit in anticipation of the last stop. It is of course the cava (champagne) tasting at the Freixenet winery. This is a huge winery with over a million bottles maturing in the extensive underground cellars. Our tour started off with a few photos of cava styled transportation vehicles. We then descended into the depths of the cellar where we were given an overview of the cava making process. One thing we did learn is that once the yeast is removed from the bottle and it has been re-corked is that the bottle should be stored standing up.
Back in Barcelona Alice and I decided to walk the Rambla once more and experience the joy of walking down the main boulevard. This time we ventured into some of the side alleys and took notice of some of the more interesting landmarks.
We took a drink from the fountain of Canaletes which legend says that a drink from the fountain will ensure that you return to Barcelona one day. Given my age I hope that it is a legend that comes true.
Further down was the Betlem church which was built during the 17th century in the Baroque style. If only we had known about our next detour, the La Boqueria a lively produce market prior to today. It is just off the Rambla and sells all manner of fruit, vegetables, seafood and meat. It took all my willpower not to purchase a kilo of prawns. There is a Museum of Erotica but we did not venture inside as Alice is erotic enough for me! She can go all night?
Liceu is the heart of the Ramblas and underfoot in the centre of the mall is a much trodden on red-yellow-and blue mosaic by the abstract artist Joan Miro. I still don’t get this form of art and yet to find out if Joan is male or female.
A short sideways detour to the palm tree dotted Placa Reial and we found that man Gaudi’s first public works which were two colourful helmeted lampposts. The square itself has a colonial ambience and is ringed with neoclassical buildings. A detour to the opposite side of the street brings you to another of Gaudi’s works, the Palau Guell. This modernistic building has some impressive ironwork adorning the façade, especially the fierce looking dragon.
At the end of the boulevard we jumped on the Metro and headed to our home station of Fontana.
Thursday 14th June – Barcelona to Crete
The time has come to say goodbye to Spain and Barcelona. We had a terrific time in Spain and apart from some wrong turns when driving it has been an absolute pleasure. People everywhere have been polite, helpful, accommodating and proud of their country and heritage. We would recommend our hotel in Barcelona as the room facilities, breakfast and access to the Metro were spot on. It was expensive by my standards but the ability to cook your own meals does reduce the overall cost.
Our access to the Metro was so close that we decided that our trip to the airport would be on public transport. It is only four stops on the Metro to Catalunya Square where you can catch the airport bus. The bus only cost 5.15 euros per person, had excellent luggage racks and operated on a five minute frequency.
At the airport we engaged in the self-check-in procedure for Aegean Air and in no time our bags were on the conveyor and hopefully headed for Crete. Our tickets had cost just over 100 euro each so we had no expectations of in-flight service. How wrong was I?
Not long into the flight I was eating good spaghetti bolognaise and sipping on a fine Greek red wine. The time, pardon the pun, just flew by and we landed on time in Athens with plenty of time for our connecting flight to Heraklion, Crete. We have picked up another hour in time zone changes and now have a 7 hour difference with Brisbane.
Our flight touched down on time and an honest taxi driver had us at the Kronos Hotel by 6:00pm. The hotel (60 euro) is on the waterfront and from our balcony we can gaze over the Mediterranean Sea.
After settling we found a late night travel operator and have arranged a flight from Crete to Rhodes, ferry tickets from Patmos to Athens and car hire for one week. With this out of the way we have a full day tomorrow to explore Heraklion.
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