Beautiful Granada by train; let's make that trains — Granada, Spain
After a great buffet breakfast at the hotel in Madrid, I made it to Atocha train station with plenty of time. Looked at the board to find that the train to Granada was cancelled. I have to say that Renfe provided great service! They piled us onto a train to Malaga, had us get off at a little used station north of Malaga. We were met by a train that was there just for us! Got us to Granada earlier than we would have arrived otherwise. Strange ride. Very few Spaniards. Many Americans, a nice older couple from Haliburton, Ontario and several people from China and Russia. I sat next to a guy named Francisco from Mesico. He was so nice! I loved the way he helped out the older people on the train, plus he forced me to speak Spanish, which was good. I ended up giving him a bottle of ice wine and he gave me a bracelet from Mexico. My hotel, Hotel Puerta de las Granadas is in the best location! Four hundred meters from Alhambra and up a small hill from the Albayzin. The rooms are very small and ok, but the staff and the patio are great. I walked around Albayzin and took lots of pictures. There was some kind of religious parade today so the city was packed. I'm still pretty sick, so I am in bed early. Tomorrow? Alhambra!