We took a bus from Madrid to Granada on the 23rd. The bus ride was rather long and boring and we were travelling for 4 hours. Thankfully we had a break after about 2 hours to give the driver a break and us a chance to go toilet and eat. We had a packed lunch of jamón, bread and cheese. When we arrived in Granada, after settling in to our luxurious backpackers, we went exploring. We went for a long walk down to these gardens on the other side of town and the worked our way back to the hostel, now in the dark. All the streets were lit up with Christmas lights and in the centre of the plazas there were huge Christmas trees. That night for dinner we went to a recommended tapas bar called NAVAS. It took us a few minutes to find but it was well worth the searching. We ate a great selection of food and even got free tapas when we ordered drinks.
On the 24th we went on a bus to the Alambra. We had booked the morning slot before we left New Zealand. We had a great look around all the old buildings and the beautiful gardens which would look just amazing if it wasn't winter. 10.30am was our set time to go into the palace Nazaríes so we waited in line until we were allowed inside. The palace was so old and it was incredibly hard to imagine that once upon a time people lived in it. There were some beautiful courtyards with water features and great views of Granada from the higher rooms. There wasn't much furniture inside but there was a lot of detail on other aspects like walls floors and rooves.
After looking all around the palace we had a look in the Alcazar which was right on the tip of the hill so it had the most amazing view, perfect for guarding the area from attacks. It reminded me a lot of Helms Deep from Lord of the Rings as there was all the layers that soldiers would stand on if they were being attacked. In the Alcazar there was also the remains of a small village inside the walls. The only part you could see was the stone walls which gave us an understanding of the size of the houses and the layout which was very small.
As tonight was the night before Christmas we decided to have our Christmas dinner. We spent the most on shopping in one trip since we first left New Zealand. We bought 22 items! For our entree we had bread chips jamón cheese and guacamole. Our main course was a turkey stir fry with rice and for dessert we had Creme Catalan, jelly, chocolate with rice in it and peaches. We also drank a bottle of Sangria which is like a red wine punch and very delicious.
The next day, Christmas Day we didn't really do any things but relax as most places were shut on Christmas Day. It was also raining (for the first time) so more reason to stay indoors. That night, as it was Christmas we treated ourselves to a night of flamenco and tapas. We wing with our new roommates and we shared a table with them. Amy who was seven sat next to me and we were able to communicate even though she spoke no English.
The night was well worth it. The flamenco was everything we expected and more and the tapas could have been a full meal we ate so much. The bus ride to the flamenco cave was a bit scary as the streets were so small and the corners so tight but we arrived safe and overall it was a great Christmas night. We arrived home at about midnight and Amy and I were dancing flamenco together, laughing a lot.
On the last day in Granada we said goodbye to our new friends and the amazing staff at Granada Inn and headed off to the bus station so we could travel to Málaga.
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