Day 1 - Granada

The day started super early cos we had to get to Prestwick for a 630 flight. The good thing was that it meant we got to follow the progress of the supermoon eclipse on the way - awesome!

We had priority boarding and seats near the front so we could get off the flight quickly to make the direct bus to Granada from the airport. It all went smoothly and the flight was so early we actually caught the earlier bus.

The journey to Granada was lovely,  lots of delightful views of the Sierra Nevadas. Once we got into central Granada we got accosted by a guy trying to get us to go to a flamenco show. What he didn't know is that I was going to buy tickets to that very show online but noticed people saying they got a discount from a guy on the street so I'd been hoping to find him. They took us in to the tiny theatre and let us pick our seats for the next night, lovely. Having accomplished one of our goals we were ready for a refresco. We went to Riviera cos we'd heard it was good and that you get to pick your free tapa there. We got a wee outside seat and the aforementioned goodies came our way. It was really ridiculous value for €4. We decided to try somewhere else before checking into the hotel and again they let us pick our free food - Granada was going well!

We checked into our hotel, Monjas Del Carmen, and the location was even better than it seemed online. If you are looking for a well priced, excellently located hotel it is highly recommended.

Back onto the mean streets and we wandered round to have a look at the cathedral which was beautiful but then it started raining! We did what any sensible people would do and took refuge in a bakery/ice cream shop. We both tried the local pastry delicacy the Pionono but I got mine plonked on top of an ice cream sundae. It was a weird pastry but I deffo recommend giving it a go if you're in town.

The rain had pretty much stopped but to be on the safe side we decided to jump on the tourist train for a loop about town. It was great and went places that a bus couldn't - Granada is full on windy, hilly streets. It gave us a great overview of the town and even went up to the alhambra.

Afterwards we went a wee walk along the river and stopped in La Frontera for some drinks/snacks. If I lived in Granada I'd be a regular here it was a lovely wee place! We then jumped on the tourist train back up to the Mirador St Nicholas for some astounding dusky views over the whole city but particularly the Alhambra. The soft light gave it a beautiful glow and the mountains behind really popped, there was also a rainbow over the Generalife Palace which was pretty special.

We wondered downhill through the narrow, cobbled streets through the alcazim afterwards and came across a lovely wee bar where we had some beverages and a wee veggie rice freebie. K said her white sangria was super delicious. We ploughed on aiming for a bar called Poe that we'd heard good things about but sadly it was shut! Luckily I had a backup round the corner (La Bodega De Antonio 1) and we stuffed our faces in there instead. We ordered 2 half racions and 1 racion and couldn't finish it and we still got a free tapa with our drinks! At the end the owner gave us a shot each of some sort of homemade liqueur that tasted like medicine. Exhausted we then headed back to the hotel for sleep after a very long day.