Granada ended up being a bit noisy which kept up the Kansan more than she would’ve liked. I, on the other hand, am quite used to people shouting outside my window every night in Milwaukee, so I had a fine night’s sleep. Due to this, mom was up and ready early again, but this gave us unexpected time to grab a bite to eat which I was thankful for. Luckily the cafe just across the street opened up just in time for our arrival, and we got eggs and “toast” aka toasted baguette halves. Neither of us could finish the food, but we were well set for our hike up. 

It was very nice to have stayed halfway up the hill, it made the hike much easier. After roughly ten minutes of intensive upward walking, we made it to the gate and walked around to figure out where we needed to go for our tickets. By the time we figured it out, there was pretty much just time left to get the audio guides and then line up. They “only” let in 300 people every half hour into the main palace for preservation. It still felt fairly crowded in my opinion. Or I guess just January-crowded. There was plenty to see all over though, so the crowds didn’t matter so much. The Arabs put so much detail into the plaster walls and ceilings, it was more exquisite than anything I had ever seen before! To boot, there was still a good deal of color from the glory days- something else I had hardly ever seen before. I was so impressed by all the detail all over everywhere. It was definitely cold though- the structure was designed for optimal coolness in the typically blazing hot area. Delicate little openings were at the top of each room to let out warm air, and direct sunlight was avoided as much as possible. I wonder what they did in January back in the day. 

We exited the palace just in time before the frostbite set in, and we were unleashed into the beautiful sun. This gave us more energy to explore the gardens, which weren’t completely dead for the winter. Makes me wonder how lush they get in the summer! 

We walked around a bit more and went up a tower and got amazing views of the city. A good way to end our Alhambra visit. We walked back down toward the Airbnb to collect our luggage and decided it was best to grab a quick lunch and take a bus home. It would be kinder on our wallets too to not take the train for once. We rode out to the bus station which had a well-equipped cafeteria, including the egg-bacon French fries. Yum! Not as good as the other place, but