On the tale of Granada (or Transportation Troubles) Part II...
So where was I? Oh yeah.
We left la Alhambra and returned to the the main part of the city. After a couple more crepes and a long and interesting conversation with the French owner of the creperie we returned to the hotel. I attempted to check my e-mail but the Internet connection in the hotel was beyond slow. I overheard the concierge giving an English couple directions to some nice restaurants so I asked him to point me in the same direction. The restaurants were in an area we had explored the day before and were no far from the entrance of la Alhambra. Anaïs and I found a beautiful place called Taberna Salinas. The food was fantastic and we really enjoyed the atmosphere and their service. I know I sound like a prat but it was really nice.
That was the end of the last night we would spend in Granada. Or so we thought.
The next morning we woke up and there was a fair bit of rain coming down. We didn't care because we were on our way out of Granada. We paid for our room, bid farewell and hopped into a taxi to take us to the bus station. That is when our travel troubles began again. It seems that rain and snow was affecting roads in most of the country. The civil guard had closed several key roads and it would be impossible to leave Granada. After some contemplation, bitter orange juice and some toast we called the hotel and arranged to stay for another night. The owner of the hotel provided us with a room at a discounted rate and offered to call the bus station in the morning to find out if travel was possible so that we needn't spend our money calling. We did some shopping and had a home made lunch in the hotel room (cold sandwiches and chocolate brioche). In the afternoon the sun came out and all the rain and snow had cleared. Anaïs called the bus company and arranged new tickets. All seemed well.
The next morning we woke up to more snow. Nothing that would necessarily close roads but we were nonetheless a bit on edge. Another taxi ride to the bus station and we were set to go only to be faced with road closures again. Not wanting to spend another night with the prospect of not being able to leave Anaïs called Renfe the rail company to find out if trains were running. Fortunately they were and we climbed into our last Granada taxi, this one bound for the train station. We bought two spots on the sleeper train and started to wait. Ten hours waiting is quite some time so we were able to spend almost another entire day in Granada walking around and taking in the sites. Nine o'clock rolled around and we boarded our train. We had our own private cabin with two beds (this I was thrilled about having never slept on a train). Our train was due to arrive in Valencia at six o'clock in the morning.
Sleeping on a train is a unique experience. You hear strange noises, you are constantly rocked back and forth except when you come to a stop at one of the thirty thousand stops along the way. It was not a long night but it was relaxing despite the noise, etc... We arrived in Valencia at 6:00 am, caught the commuter train to Alicante and hopped on a bus there bound for Santa Pola.
I don't think I can express our joy of finally being in Santa Pola. Now we can relax, make our own food, lounge around and do just about anything we want. Thank god!
That is until next week when we head for France.
We left la Alhambra and returned to the the main part of the city. After a couple more crepes and a long and interesting conversation with the French owner of the creperie we returned to the hotel. I attempted to check my e-mail but the Internet connection in the hotel was beyond slow. I overheard the concierge giving an English couple directions to some nice restaurants so I asked him to point me in the same direction. The restaurants were in an area we had explored the day before and were no far from the entrance of la Alhambra. Anaïs and I found a beautiful place called Taberna Salinas. The food was fantastic and we really enjoyed the atmosphere and their service. I know I sound like a prat but it was really nice.
That was the end of the last night we would spend in Granada. Or so we thought.
The next morning we woke up and there was a fair bit of rain coming down. We didn't care because we were on our way out of Granada. We paid for our room, bid farewell and hopped into a taxi to take us to the bus station. That is when our travel troubles began again. It seems that rain and snow was affecting roads in most of the country. The civil guard had closed several key roads and it would be impossible to leave Granada. After some contemplation, bitter orange juice and some toast we called the hotel and arranged to stay for another night. The owner of the hotel provided us with a room at a discounted rate and offered to call the bus station in the morning to find out if travel was possible so that we needn't spend our money calling. We did some shopping and had a home made lunch in the hotel room (cold sandwiches and chocolate brioche). In the afternoon the sun came out and all the rain and snow had cleared. Anaïs called the bus company and arranged new tickets. All seemed well.
The next morning we woke up to more snow. Nothing that would necessarily close roads but we were nonetheless a bit on edge. Another taxi ride to the bus station and we were set to go only to be faced with road closures again. Not wanting to spend another night with the prospect of not being able to leave Anaïs called Renfe the rail company to find out if trains were running. Fortunately they were and we climbed into our last Granada taxi, this one bound for the train station. We bought two spots on the sleeper train and started to wait. Ten hours waiting is quite some time so we were able to spend almost another entire day in Granada walking around and taking in the sites. Nine o'clock rolled around and we boarded our train. We had our own private cabin with two beds (this I was thrilled about having never slept on a train). Our train was due to arrive in Valencia at six o'clock in the morning.
Sleeping on a train is a unique experience. You hear strange noises, you are constantly rocked back and forth except when you come to a stop at one of the thirty thousand stops along the way. It was not a long night but it was relaxing despite the noise, etc... We arrived in Valencia at 6:00 am, caught the commuter train to Alicante and hopped on a bus there bound for Santa Pola.
I don't think I can express our joy of finally being in Santa Pola. Now we can relax, make our own food, lounge around and do just about anything we want. Thank god!
That is until next week when we head for France.