Spain (Spring 2023) - Granada (Day 2)
Luggage!
Holy crap! They actually found the bags and then were able to get it all the way down to us in Granada after we left Madrid.
When on the train down from Madrid the previous day, I randomly checked online about the luggage like I was checking lottery numbers and was floored when it said that bags were on the way to Granada.
We were also fortunate that in Granada we were staying at a proper hotel with a front desk that could receive the luggage for us so didn’t have to wait around for it to arrive.
I did not think I would ever see this bag again
Kudos for United to track it down with 4 airlines involved and also tracking us down after we left Madrid
Next time maybe get an Airtag.
The experience also made rethink my trip packing strategy. Yes, it was a almost a month long trip but having lived out of a backpack for 5 days - doing just carry on luggage for a long trip seemed feasible. Especially if you save $75 each way on the luggage fee.
I must admit I did not sleep more than a few hours a night for the first few weeks of this trip. It was like a sleep deprivation experiment. Don’t know if it was the stressful travel to get here, the jet lag, or the noisy room in Madrid but it took a while to get acclimated. May need to bring some sleeping pills next time in case I don’t adjust.
Onto day 2 in Granada.
Walked up some narrow streets to get to the breakfast place
Cafe 4 Gatos
This cafe is popular for its view out the front where you can see the Alhambra between the buildings. Not a huge menu but the food was tasty there.
When I asked the owner “Donde es gatos?” he replied that 4 Gatos just means that it’s small - there are no cats. I did see dogs hanging out outside though.
Casa de las Mascarones
As we walked around the hilly area in the northern part of town, we stumbled into this place.
Another locals type bar and again - it was ridiculously inexpensive. I can’t recall exactly but I think the beers are something like couple Euros tops and the tapas were free. I mean I don’t even like olives but I’ll eat them if they are free.
The entrees are normally priced around €18 but if you just want a snack and a beer, you can get by pretty cheaply.
Very authentic feel to the place. Got to love the old mechanical cash register.
Walking Back into Town
Some photos below that were taken on the walk back into the center of town. A lot of history everywhere in Granada.
Cathedral
We made our way to the main cathedral in Grenada and took a peek inside. The cathedral is fairly big and dominates the part of town where it is located. With the tight streets, it is hard stand back far enough to get a good outside photo.
It was €5 to enter and you can download an audio guide to tour it at your leisure. It was freezing inside the day that we went but it’s probably refreshing on a hot day.
You can also tour Royal Chapel where Queen Isabella is buried for another fee but we passed on it and just did the Cathedral.
The area around the cathedral is surrounded by tight alleys full of souvenir shops.
Oum Kalsum Tapas
This is a popular place on the tapas trail in Granada because the offer something a little different with the Moroccan style food. You can see how one of the dishes above is served in a tajine dish. This was a very traditional family run kind of place.
Gran Cafe Bib Rambla
Okay - so I felt silly in that we stopped in here for a coffee but we didn’t realize that we were in the annex and the real Gran Cafe Bib Rambla was next door. We weren’t looking for it so I felt silly when I looked it up later and saw that the actual Gran Cafe is the oldest Cafe in Granada (1907) and much swankier than where we were.
We were just looking for a coffee break but missed out on a little bit of history.
Las Manueles
This was another place where I forgot to take photos of the outside and interior. You have Google if you are interested in seeing the rest. We started here for our night outing. It was a modern open bright restaurant and located on a busy street so it probably gets a lot of traffic. The free tapas were excellent. It was this dark meat chicken dish and then we ordered some ham and cheese croquetas to wash down with the beer.
La Tana
La Tana is pretty popular and as a result not the easiest to get into. We didn’t have a reservation but they let us have this little bar seat by the entrance if we promised to be done in 90 minutes.
This is a small wine bar with outdoor seating as well. They are known for their wine selection and the food was pretty good as well as you can see.
I’m not a huge wine drinker but now even at home I drink Spanish wine. I think the quality to price ratio can’t be beat. The wines were excellent in Spain and the ones I can find at home are also great and far cheaper than equivalent wines.
Trago Fino San Matias 30 Coffee & Spirits
This place needs a longer name.
We were looking for one more drink to end the night and this place looked welcoming. It was quiet when we were there but you can tell this place probably gets pretty busy at times.
They had a comfortable layout and we found some perches on a couch. Price was right as well. Got a double Knockando 12 for €7.
No tapas or chips or anything like that here but that was cool since we were pretty full at that point.
Quiet, clean and safe streets on the way home.