Moving on to Granada

It is very early. As I walk from my hotel to the train station this morning there are young people still coming back from the clubs, I didn’t even know there were clubs in Ronda.

It’s funny to see people coming back from the clubs when I am out catching a morning train. Seems like a lifetime ago but I used to be a person coming back from a club as the sun rises.

A thing I notice is that there are no cafe’s open for me to get a cup of coffee. My room in Ronda is the only room I stay in this trip that doesn’t have a coffee pot for me to at least make instant coffee. I can go without food but not coffee. I feel like I am going to die (being a little dramatic here). I didn’t plan this morning well at all. Fortunately the restaurant at the train station opens just in time for me to get a café con leche to go a few minutes before my train arrives.

For my journey I have to switch trains in Antequera once more; this time there is no drama. I arrive in Granada around 10:30 am but I am still many hours from check in to my hotel. I have saved instructions for taking the bus to my hotel but since I have so much time I decide to walk to get a feel for the area, it is only a 20 minute walk and the weather is not too unbearably hot, yet.

I head to my hotel and as I suspect I am way too early for my room. Instead of just dropping my bag I decide this is a great time to clean my clothes, this later proves to be a great idea because I quickly sweat through everything the next couple days. I have a laundromat mapped out down the street but I need detergent. It is challenging finding a store that carries detergent and when I do it is a very large bottle. I don’t like carrying extra weight when I travel so the plan is to just leave it for the next consumer at the laundromat. When I arrive to the laundromat I notice that none of the washers need detergent added since they all automatically provide their own. I find this to be common in Spain during the rest of my travels. I leave the detergent bottle there anyway. There is some drama with another customer and a dryer not working well. I try to chat with him in Spanish the best I can. Luckily I have my eye on one of the smaller dryers anyway.

By the time my laundry is cleaned and repacked into my backpack my room is ready at Hotel Posada del Toro. The hotel is located in a 19th century building and has lots of interesting architectural details. My room is a good size and has working air conditioning! I also have a view of the courtyard but I keep my window mostly closed due to privacy. I can see leaving this window open during cooler months though.

I drop my things and head out. The hotel is located in the old town of Granada. I eye many middle eastern restaurants nearby and I start planning which ones I want to visit later. There are also many shops selling different clothing and other things tourists may want. I am not much for shopping but I eye the displays.

I end up near the cathedral. There is a street performer break dancing so I stop to watch the performance.

I enter into the nearby Iglesia Parroquial del Sagrario. It is free and a retreat from the sun.

Around the corner is the Capilla Real de Granada or Royal Chapel of Granada. This is where some past royals are entombed, including Ferdinand & Isabella. I tour inside but they don’t allow photos.

I finally find the entrance to the Catedral de Granada and spend some time touring inside.

It is getting late and I don’t want to miss eating lunch due to siesta so I settle at an outdoor cafe that seems to be a local chain, Los Manueles Restaurante (Catedral). I order the very rich and filling noodles with prawns and squid ink sauce. It is good and I ask myself why I rarely order pasta dishes anymore. The meal gives me the energy to wander some more.

I discover the Plaza De Bib Rambla. There are a number of appetizing looking cafes here. I make a mental note to return at a later time.

I do some window shopping and wandering down the different alleys.

I’ve had a large late lunch so I’m not particularly hungry for the evening. I find a wine and cheese store where I purchase a bottle of local wine and an assortment of Spanish cheeses. I have a refrigerator to keep it all so I can snack on this the next few days. It is hot so return to my room and go to bed early. Tomorrow I have an appointment to visit the alcazar in Córdoba.

Segovia

Today is a early start. I need to take the metro to the Madrid-Chamartín train station to catch my train to Segovia for today’s day trip. It is a new station to me so I give myself extra time to arrive. The ride to Segovia is around 30 minutes and we go through a long tunnel during the trip. The train arrives at the high speed rail station of Segovia-Guiomar that is about 4 km outside the city center. Luckily there is bus 11 to take you into the main tourist areas. Exact change needed for the bus, or at least smaller bill, because there is no where at the train station to make change (at least when I arrived the only restaurant was closed). I find a smaller bills hidden in my bag, others in line have a harder time collecting fare.

The bus drop off is right in front of the aqueduct for which the city is famous for.

View of aqueduct right past the bus stop

The exact date of the construction of this roman aqueduct are not know but it is still a marvel to view considering this had to be done prior to 200 AD.

My gaze heads to the sky while I watch flocks of birds flying in and out of the arches in round patterns.

My train to Segovia was quite early this morning and I didn’t get a chance to eat a proper breakfast. I pass by a café that seems like a place the locals go and I order a café con leche and the bread-like thing that is sitting on the counter. The Torrijas de Leche ends up being a sort of French toast-style egg custard bread. I normally don’t choose sweet things in the morning but it is nice to try something different every once in a while.

I am now ready to begin my day.

The second most important thing that people visit in Segovia is the Alcázar de Segovia. This fairytale castle is said to have inspired Disney’s Cinderella’s castle. Not sure about that since I heard the same story about Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. Anyway it is neat to tour and it has some great overlooks from the castle.

To get the the alcazar I take the long way and wander through the quiet streets of the Jewish quarter.

I eventually come to the city wall and I follow that to the alcazar. Soon the castle appears in the distance.

Again I spend a good amount of time looking at the ceiling. I am always fascinated about how much detail is given to ceilings.

I walk by a couple churches, including the Segovia cathedral. It is only day 3 of my travels and I’m already burned out on churches so I decide to not go inside. From the pictures I’ve seen online it has some pretty neat floors though.

I prefer instead to just wander the streets. This time of day there aren’t as many day trippers so it is nice and peaceful.

Again I walk through the Jewish quarter. I love the texture patterns on the walls of the buildings.

I return to the busy areas. People are shopping and gathering. It is lunchtime.

I have planned in advance for lunch today. A stop to Segovia is not complete unless you try a local specialty the cochinillo (roasted suckling pig). Mesón de Cándido is recommended for suckling pig. I have made reservations in advance and have an outdoor table with a view of the aqueduct. I am very glad my temporary meat aversion is gone by the time I arrive in Spain so I am able to enjoy this very juicy pork. The skin of the pig snaps loudly when pierced with a fork. I apologize to all my vegetarian friends for the vivid description.

Still have some time before I needed to head to the train station so I walk down another busy street. I see more nice churches and there is a nice view of the cathedral off in the distance.

I stop for one last snack before I head back to Madrid. Its been another hot day but I’m slowly getting back into the groove of travel. I just need to slow down at times.

Ho Chi Minh City Day tour

I book a couple of day tours in Saigon. Logistically it just seemed easier to do so then plan my own transportation to all the different sites. There is a travel agency in the lobby of my hotel’s sister hotel. I book my tours through them. The first tour I book is a Ho Chi Minh City day tour. It is a 1/2 day tour with an optional Cu Chi tunnels afternoon tour (another post about that).

Not loving my tour companions for today’s day tour. They show up 30 min late because their breakfast is more important than the rest of the tour and now we are still waiting to leave for them to finish their cigarettes. Eventually they get in the van and we head to our first destination.

Independence Palace, or Reunification Palace

First stop is the Independence Palace. This headquarters of the South Vietnamese almost seems frozen in time.

We are given a tour of the underground bunker. The original maps and charts are still in place from the war. You can see how they kept track of troops and casualties.

After the reunification palace we stopped by an old temple Taoist temple

Jade Emperor Pagoda (Ngoc Hoang Pagoda)

Temple for a Taoist god built in early 1900’s.

War Remnants museum

Next we stop at the very powerful War Remnants Museum.

A thorough museum on the vietnam war but from a south vietnamese perspective.

*TRIGGER WARNING* There is a very hard to see photo exhibit on the affects of agent orange on the population. One would have to be a monster to come out of there without tears in their eyes. Out of respect I did not take photos of that section. Only the piece of art below.