The Alhambra

I have to revise my opinion of Granada. Apparently I took a bad route yesterday. The city is quite beautiful and the people are very friendly, at least outside of the main tourist track. Got up at first light to hike to the Alhambra. The sun didn´t come up until almost 8 so it was a dark, steep climb. Had to wait for it to open at 8:30 but it was good to get there early because none of the tourist buses had arrived. There were probably 30 people, tops, waiting in line and once inside it was like having the place to myself. The gardens still have flowers in bloom eventhough it was very cold up there. I took more pictures there than I have in total for the whole trip I think. It is a really big place, with lots of views out over the city and very well maintained gardens. It would be nice to visit a bit earlier in the year, perhaps October when the summer tourists are away but the flowers are still in full bloom. It took about about 3 hours to see the Nasrid palaces and the Generalife. Somehow I got on the wrong track and missed the Alcazaba. Will save that for next time.

I´m now waiting for the 4:30 train back to Sevilla. I´m tempted to take the 1:50 train to Algeciras but I cannot find any bus schedules for traveling from Algeciras back to Sevilla tomorrow. Without the bus, the return trip by train would take about 8 hours as there is no direct route from Sevilla to Algeciras. Not worth the risk. So I will take the 4:30 train back to Sevilla and figure out what to do next from there. Algeciras, Cadiz, Cordoba, and Huelva are all options for tomorrow.