Spain (Spring 2023) - Madrid to Granada
Headed off south to Andalusia.
After starting the day with the normal morning coffee at Rodilla, we made our way to the train station via the subway. The trip was pretty easy since we didn’t have our lost luggage to lug around. We should have had one more day in Madrid but that was lost due the plane delays in the US. Luckily we planned to stay in Madrid a few days at the back end of the trip before returning to the States.
High Speed Train to Granada
The Atocha train station is known for having this massive tree garden right in the middle of the station. It was pretty cold in the station that day because a lot of it is open to the outside air.
It’s in this waiting area where you can get snacks and such. Being that we got there early we had some coffee, a sandwich and a beer while waiting. Train station prices are accordingly a little higher for food and drink. Also note that it costs 1 Euro to use the restrooms before clearing the luggage security.
The high speed rail was pretty comfortable and the countryside is beautiful. You pass lots of small farms. It is not the mass scale agriculture that you see along US highways where it is endless fields of corn or grapes or whatever. Things seemed naturally more local and small scale here.
Granada
Statue of Columbus and Queen Isabella
Most people (us included) come to Granada to see the Alhambra but the city is worthy of a visit in its own right. There’s lots of history and beautiful stonework streets are everywhere in the city. You could see city workers repairing and painstakingly laying new stone all around town.
The streets are also lined everywhere with Seville Orange trees which are apparently not good to eat but provide shade and they smelled great as they were blooming this time of year in the spring.
The walk from the train station to the center of town to the hotel was a bit far but we didn’t have our lost luggage so we decided to enjoy the stroll past the university area into town. There were taxis available if we were so inclined.
The town is easily walkable but there are some hills in some areas that you may want to explore - especially around the Alhambra.
Street where our hotel was located
Narrow street filled with eateries and bars
Bar Aliatar
The first order of business after settling in the hotel was to go find some snacks and this place very much hit the spot. Aliatar is a working class place filled with locals getting food after work or getting take out from there.
We had some chorizo and brie sandwiches along with the local beer. If you zoom into the photo of the wall, you can see how affordable the food is here. Had we had more time in town I would have gone back to try more of the sandwiches.
La Trastienda
Trastienda is a quaint little wine bar that you access by going behind their counter in front and under the hanging ham legs. They had a good wine selection and even some sherry that we tried for the first time in Spain.
They gave us complimentary cheese and salami tapas with our drinks and then we ordered some Andalusian white sausage to try (I would pass on those next time as they weren’t that flavorful).
Taverna Las Copas
Since we were still a little hungry we decided to have some more snacks before calling it a night. This place was at the end of the street where we were staying. It was quiet there on a rainy night as we sat in bar area. It had a nice open space and is usually busier on a nicer evening.
We tried their salmorejo to compare to the ones we had in Madrid. It was also the first and only time we got fried cheese sticks for free tapas.