Day 9 - Granada

This morning Andrew and I were up early (9am). This area, with its Islamic roots, has quite a few Hammam baths. We really liked the sound of them and had passed one by our hotel so decided to treat ourselves. Oli had no interest at all, which is no surprise. So off we went to Hammam al Andalus.

We were greeted by Monika, who had the softest voice and talked us through the different areas. There was a very cold pool, a warm pool and two hot pools, plus a sauna. The interior was like a cave, with lots of tiled arches and walls. Not dissimilar to the Alhambra itself.

Andrew had a ticket for the baths and a 30 minute massage and I had the baths and a 15 minute exfoliation and 15 minute massage.

We floated around in the pools, spent some time in the sauna and before long, Monika came to find us for our treatments.

Mine was amazing. First my masseuse cleaned me with lavender soap and poured bowls of warm water over me to rinse (I was lying on a bed with holes in) and then she started to scrub me with a rough mitten and eucalyptus soap. It was rough! Then she massaged me with lavender oil (you could select from a variety of oils). It was amazing. Such a treat. Very relaxing.

Andrew said his was wonderful too. Then we showered in the changing area (and I used every cream and lotion supplied) and we slid our way back to the hotel - chilled and sleepy.

Getting Oliver out of bed is becoming more of a challenge and the cleaner was actually waiting for him today. I should imagine they’ll be glad to see the back of him!

We made our way to the main square - Plaza Nueva - and sat down for breakfast (12:45). The poor waiter was not having the best day - no orange juice, no waffles - but in his defence it was lunch time! Oliver had a croissant and Andrew and I had Spanish omelette on toast. Yes, you read that right.

Our plan for today was to walk as little as possible.

So we boarded the Granada sight seeing “train”. It is an electric car/van that pulls behind it two carriages of people. It has a circular route, starting at the Alhambra, and finishes at Calle Molinos, and then starts again. For EUR 9.00 you can ride it all day, or hop on and off at your leisure.

We had headphones so that we could listen to facts about each stop. It passed the cathedral, university buildings and the bull ring among all sorts of interesting places.

It took around an hour and 15 minutes for the full circuit and was a very pleasant way to see the city (and totally met our ‘no walking’ requirement for the day).

After disembarking, we set off for el Cortes Ingles. This is a chain of department stores that are family run and the only remaining chain in Spain. They have a great feel about them - very “Grace Brothers”. We spent an hour browsing their air conditioned store, even looked in their food court and bought some sweets (me and Oli) and some sardines (Andrew), and I also treated myself to some perfume.

We took a slow walk back to the hotel and found some beautiful squares and alleys. Granada really is full of surprises.

It’s been quite an odd day. Oliver has been in a mood where all that I say is wrong. Just in case, dear reader, you thought our family of 3 rub along quite well, there are times when things aren’t so good! So Oli went back to his room alone, and Andrew and I went for an early evening drink to stay out of his way!

We are packing up again tonight, off tomorrow for the final stretch!