Day 91, 3 October 2012, Travel Day - Arcos de la Frontera to Granada.
The Alhambra, Granada, Spain - Treating ourselves to a couple of nights at lodgings with the word "Hotel" in the name for our 2 night sojourn in Granada. Hotel Alixares to be precise. 200m uphill from the Alhambra site. Probably it's only redeeming virtue. In any event it was a busy old day. A taxi we pre-ordered two days in advance actually turned up on the button of 11 am and we were duly impressed. From the Arcos bus station it was off to Jerez where our Spanish farewell committee of Carmen and Gloria caught up with all our doings and said bye bye and good luck for the rest of the trip. Language barrier complete and yet we communicated just fine. We think. Bus from Jerez to Granada via Seville. Cab to hotel with darling cab driver "hey baby" Luis. He learned his English driving English folks in Malaga and he was an absolute hoot. Phew - ended up ensconced for a rest by 6 pm... not to let the grass grow under our feet, we took off from the hotel at 9.30 pm to walk to the box office and collect our tickets for "Alhambra by Night". The opportunity to visit the Nasrid Palaces without the daytime crowds was incredibly worthwhile. We had thought it would be more of the same islamic architecture and decoration that we've seen through Turkey, Morocco and in Seville, but it was different, and very exotic by night. One of the highlights was seeing into the colonnaded surrounds in the Charles V palace. Outstanding night time experience. Not back to the hotel until close to midnight - sightseeing Spanish style... Sleep in tomorrow!