August 15 (journey day 3)
We left Jerez de la Frontera behind, passing through Marbella, and arrived in Granada in the late afternoon. We stayed right in the historic city center and experienced the same parking difficulties as always (see our post about accommodation on our Spanish Roadtrip, where we mention how we overcame these difficulties). At times, it felt like we were in North Africa, such to the Moorish influence.
The first evening and night were spent exploring the streets of the historic center, smelling the aromas, and seeing the people. It was fantastic.
As you can guess, the heatwave that hit Andalusia and affected us in Jerez, also hit Granada. We had planned for the next day a whole pedestrian adventure through the city of Granada, just our style, demanding because Granada is a city of many unevenness, but we realized that we were not going to make it with the heat.
Tuk Tuk
As luck would have it, when we were walking through the historic center, we stopped at a crosswalk and saw a Tuk Tuk... there, stopped at a red light. We took the cell phone and went to photograph the QR Code on the side. The two ladies who were in the Tuk Tuk doing the tour very kindly took the card they had from the guide and handed it to us. It was decided, that we were going to get to know Granada and its history by Tuk Tuk. We called and scheduled it for the next day. And it was an excellent decision.
August 16 (journey day 4)
The tuk-tuk guide picked us up at the hotel at 9:30. We wanted to go early, to avoid the expected 42 degrees as much as possible. We toured the entire historic area of Granada (Alhambra, Sacromonte, and Albaycin), accompanied by a whole explanation about its history. It was fantastic and we managed to pass all the points of interest. We did the tour with the company Tuk Tuk Tours Granada. You can choose 30 minutes (45€) or 1 hour (80€). To be able to go to all the places we wanted, we chose the 1-hour tour. With an electric Tuk Tuk, we didn't even have the noise to accompany us, just an hour of much history, stunning views, a constant breeze on the face... it was very good.
Granada's Beach
The afternoon was different. It was still very hot, very hot indeed, and we needed to cool off. Granada is fantastic for this too, it is loaded with history, it is 30 minutes from our ski resort of choice and 45 minutes from the beach. And that was it, we went to Motril, to the Playa de Granada. A seaside town with lovely beaches, crystal clear waters, and where we spent a fantastic afternoon. Despite being a rocky beach (very coarse sand and rocks in the surf), it was a nice surprise. With much fewer people, apparently, locals, were calmer, where it was possible to just enjoy. It's worth a visit.
La Antigualla
When on the beach, we decided to ask our followers for some help!!! One of our followers recommended several options to eat well in the historic center of Granada. We took note of everything and, on our way back, started looking at menus, locations (it's all very close) while we took another walk around the city.
We ended up having dinner at an amazing restaurant... La Antigualla... a marvel. Tapas y vino to close the stay, in good Spanish style. And the decoration? And the entertainment outside? Wonderful.
We will go back many times!
We loved Grenada and will definitely go back. Every year we take a snow trip, usually to the Sierra Nevada, and we never stopped in Granada. Today we know how much we were missing. From now on, we will certainly stop, spend at least one night, taste its delicacies and wander around this piece of history.
August 17 (journey day 5)
Day to leave in the direction of Valencia. The trip was long, 5:30, and we didn't want to be late. We refueled for lunch on the way and left for our next destination.
Follow the rest of our Spanish Roadtrip 2021.
Watch the various parts of this adventure
Part #2 (15 to 17) - Granada