The next few days—Granada and the Albaicín
I entered Granada hot and tired after a full day of riding the Sierra Nevada Range. The temperatures were rising to a dull 39C / 102F and the traffic of the city made for some confusion and chaos as I tried to negotiate the way to the hotel. Gary had booked it for me, with chief criteria being wifi and a pool and he found one that was located near the Alhambra where I planned the next day of touring, especially since my moto-friend Orson recommended that I not miss it! It was after about 40 minutes of perusing one way cobblestone streets, filled with buses, scooters and small cars that I threw in the towel and decided to make a cell phone call home.
“Hey honey, where exactly am I and how near the hotel?”
“Well, Donna, you are quite near, but there are several one way streets between you and it and I’m not sure I can talk you in!”
Somehow, he did manage to get me nearer and by sheer luck I saw it in the distance and rode right in.
The Los Angeles Hotel was filled with Asian tourists and somehow I skirted in only moments before two busloads arrived. I had my room key in hand and my bike parked just outside the main doors, for which privilege I only had to pay an extra 13€.
I went to my room to don my swim suit and hit the pool. Well, it wasn’t in the cards.
First off, I discovered in Spain many of the hotels don’t have electricity flowing unless you insert your key into a space near the door. I spent the next 5 frustrating minutes trying to find the bathroom light! Laughing, I called downstairs, knowing that my miserable Spanish would not be able to explain the situation. They put me on hold until they could find an English speaker, and then in a less than civil tone he told me to insert my key.
“Into what???”
He gave a huge sigh, and said near the on off switch at the bank of switches as you enter the room.
“Huh?”
Ok…I found it. Spain one/America zero.
Time to swim. I went downstairs to the pool and tried to get into the water when a large German-looking woman grabbed my arm and told me, “NO”. When I tried to find out why, she kept repeating, “chemicals”. Ok…so no lights and now no swimming and it wasn’t even 8 o’clock when the pool was to close, which seems awfully early for a large hotel.
I returned to my room to Skype Gary only to discover that the supposed free wifi didn’t work in the rooms, only in the lobby, and even that was a terrible connection. Sheesh, here I had been in Canjáyar that morning, a tiny mountain village, and I’d had a wonderful connection! I was done with the Los Angeles Hotel. Gary found me another one that I could check into the following day, not far from the Alhambra. I dressed and went out for dinner not giving another thought to the hotel.
Granada is an awesome city. Not too large but big enough to get lost in! The streets were filled with people riding bikes, walking dogs, holding hands, and star gazing. I loved this city!!
This fountain was in someone’s yard!
