Temperature still hovered in the mid 30s today. We checked out of the hotel and left luggage before heading off towards Banos Arabes. This wasn't an historic site - it's a commercial venture. Looked nice.
Breakfast at the usual bodega and then headed to the Jardines Murillo. These ran along the outside of the Alcazar towards the river. A very pleasant walk under shady trees.
We crossed the river on the Puente de San Telmo and had tea at a cafe on the river. The Torre de Oro was opposite; this is an ancient fortress that would have protected the port. Seville thrived as a port because its location on a navigable river 100km inland meant that attack by pirates or enemy fleets was nearly impossible.
Back across the river to lunch and then taxi to the railway station.
The train was a Media Distacion train so no high speed today. It got up to about 150km/h at one point although there were a number of scheduled and unscheduled stops as well as mountains to climb. At last, we are off the flat terrain! It seems that a high speed track is being built to Granada. It will be some years off before completion I would imagine. The journey took three hours and provided opportunities for reading and snoozing. The dining car was a vending machine!
Granada is very different to Seville and Cordoba. That's probably a good thing. The city centre is more modern. I'm not sure if that is because of property development or civil war. Either way, it is refreshing to have a different experience.
The Hotel Saray is also a very modern hotel. As it is located next to the convention centre, they do a good trade. There's a UN nutrition conference on at present.
We probably had the fastest check-in so far. The guy on reception spoke with the authority of a sergeant major!
After settling in we hit the street and checked out the town. The majority on the street were locals so while Granada gets its share of tourism for the Alhambra, it seems very much a working city.
We had dinner in the extremely busy and vibrant Navas precinct. A moment's hesitation over the menu and that one spare table is gone!
A trio were busking in the street; base, tambourine and cimbal. I hadn't heard or seen one of these before. It sounded similar to a zither. Pleasant in a busking sense but not a CD for background music at dinner.
Back to the hotel via the heladeria for an exploration of options for the Spain v Italy ice cream challenge with Anne Bergin.