Spain Day 3 Sevilla-Granada- Alhambra- Malaga

This early morning train ride was much easier getting up for. After I had woken up from my first hostel experience, sleeping with 7 other people thankfully all SAS peeps, I made my way to the Sevilla train station.  I got slightly lost along the way, but made it in plenty of time before my train, and then oh the horror. I realized that there were TWO major train stations in Sevilla (what gall a city of millions have) and I was at the wrong one. Well, I was in luck because the same train went to both stations. But my father would have gotten mad at me that I didn’t pay attention to the details, and my response would be,  “well I still got to Granada anyways”

So, only getting 3.5 hours of sleep I was really hoping to sleep on the train, and I was kinda successful, but at the same time that damn train was so loud.  Also this was the second time I was being quietly discriminated onto/against/(whatever preposition should go there and if my mom were here would correct me on it).  I was kindly sitting in my seat and the guy next to me wanted to move out of his seat so badly. He would go sit in another seat, then someone would claim it, come back to the seat next to me, and would leave when a seat opened up and come back when it was claimed. This cycle happened 3-4 times, but I was really too tired (and didn’t know enough Spanish) to say anything.

I get to Granada and something must have happened on that train because I could not remember any Spanish, I felt really really stupid. But I found my way to the public bus to get downtown and then to take another bus to get to the Alhambra. Man, that Granada bus was an experience. That thing was packed, I was in a foreign country, having no clue if I was going in the right direction, having gone Spanish brain-dead, and being all by myself; it was one of many experiences I have had. So I get to the city center find a Western Union to exchange a traveler’s check and find the tourist office so I can get to the Alhambra.

Probably my favorite part of the trip was walking up to the Alhambra with water trickling down the side of the dirt path, birds chirping and rays of sun blazing through the leaves of tall lush trees. I sat down for a while and took some notes. It was hella relaxing, and I now wish I stayed there longer, but I was unsure how long it was going to take me to walk to the top of the hill where the Alhambra was so I kept on going.

(I am sorry this is a long post, but long day=long post)

I finally got to the top of the hill and tried to get the ticket that I had reserved a month ago, but then I realized I brought the wrong debit card because I have this complex safety system of debit cards and I forgot (or didn’t pay attention to the details) to bring the right one. But of course, I still got my ticket without paying any extra money.

I slowly went through a lot of the Alhambra, but I think I missed a big section of it and took tons of photos and videos and even took some time to sketch in my notebook. I should have gotten an audio tour, because I was basically there looking at buildings not knowing the history of the place at all, and guess what, I still don’t really know the history of the place, but I do know that the people who built it had a lot of money and a lot of time on their hands.

After the Alhambra experience was done (you will see photos and video when I don’t have to pay 40 cents a minute for internet) I took two public buses to the regional bus station at the edge of town and went to Malaga. And of course I got discriminated against again, because there were two seats left on the bus, the one next to me and another one. A woman comes sits down next to me thinking that was the last seat on the bus, looks around, sees the other seat and sits there instead, and then another person came on the bus, stopped at the seat next to me and looked around for anymore options before sitting next to me.

And Mom, I know they were not doing this because I smell, because I showered that morning and put deodorant and smelled nice and fresh, even after a day outside (believe me I checked a whole bunch of times.)
So the bus ride to Malaga was fine I guess, Malaga is a big city with a lot less culture than Cadiz, Sevilla and Granada, but it has the Mediterranean Sea, which I really wanted to touch.  So I get off the bus, looking for the local bus system, but instead find my way to the train station and finally ask some one (in horrible Spanish) how to get to the main local bus terminal.

I took two public buses to my hostel and ended up getting off a stop too early because the driver of the bus told me that was my stop.  I walked the rest of the way, and finally got to my hostel, and was greeted by a beautiful woman SPEAKING ENGLISH. I was instantly in love, not really, but really.

So I settled in my 10 person room (I am being economical) and walked the whopping 30 seconds to the beach (I am being strategic) and took my first steps in the Mediterranean Sea. I was proud of myself for finding a $20 room with a sea view and literally right across the street from it. It looked just like an ocean but whatever.  The great thing about the beach was that I was getting calluses all the walking I had done and after walking on the beach my feet were nice and smooth. After about an hour on the beach (it was way too dark to stay any longer) I went back to the hostel took a shower and then went downstairs.

I ate dinner at the hostel because I was tired for obvious reasons, and for 10 Euros (about $15) I got a sub, a liter of water and a liter of a mojito. Oh man that sub was good, and the water was refreshing, and the mojito was absolutely amazing.  Back at home, I would never pay any where near $15 for that but whatever, I am kinda on vacation.

As I ate dinner, I had a long conversation with this Australian couple travelling the world, and that was just another really awesome experience. But by midnight, I had to call it a night because I had to wake up early again to catch the train to get back to Cadiz before the ship leaves.

This was one great day, full of many mishaps, bountiful beauty, and crazy chaos. Spain is awesome!