An all day train and I´m here
The train ride was good but it was all day. My first part was between Valencia and Madrid and it departed at 1125am. I had accidently purchased tourist class, the cheaper fare, and found it a little cramped, no different then on a plane. My EuroRail pass was 1st class because, from what I had read, that was the only one I qualified for since I was over 26 years old and not part of a group. I could have made a reservation for the 1st class area but had failed to so before my next leg, Madrid to Granada I did this. As a tip to future travellers, make sure that you have the correct reservation in advance because you cannot change this by the internet and the lines are always long at the train stations. Changeing it was the best thing I did though because the trip was 6 hours long and could have been miserable in tourist class. 1st class is the way to go and it only cost me an additional 3€ (yes three euros) to upgrade. The next leg didn´t leave until 5pm from Madrid.
Once in town I had a bit of an adventure. I didn´t arrive until 11pm and had called my hostel to tell them I would be late. I took a cab to the nearest plaza, knowing from Valencia and Barcelona that the streets are often small and confusing, and walked to the hostel that was unmarked. Thank god for addresses. When I spoke with them they clearly didn´t know who I was and I quickly discovered that my hostel had moved. With directions in hand I went to what I thought was the correct hostel. Once there they didn´t know who I was either. I was pretty confident that I was at the right place and they were able to get me in.
The next day I looked over things and found that I was in fact at the wrong hostel. Damn. The hostel I stayed over night at (the Oasis Backpacker´s Hostel) was so good that I nearly begged to stay and they were able to accomodate me. I´m sure that the original hostel will charge me for the first night but that´s okay. The Oasis is nice enough that I don´t want to move. Thankfully they have space for me.
I´ve made a reservation for the alhambra today so I´ll be sure to get some photos which I´ll eventually post and comment on.
This place is great. It was only 15€ per night and each bed comes with sheets, pillow cases etc, which if you´ve never stayed in a hostel is sometimes an issue. One place I had stayed at charged for the top sheet, another charged for all sheets.
Here they have 24 hr keycard access, their reception is open until midnight, and checkout isn´t until 11a. They have their own bar with cheap drinks as well as 2 free internet computers, a patio, a self service kitchen and bbq. They have assorted events set up including cheap dinners at about 9p and lots of travel information around to review.
The hostel is just slightly off the main drag so it´s quiet at night which is good because it does not have air conditioning, but at night that´s not important because even in July/Aug the nights are cool. There are small personal safes in every room for every person.
They have a free breakfast served late, until 11a, as well as free coffee and tea, and television.
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For 10€ you can't do better then the Alhambra. It is the huge castle that changed hands between the moors and the christians during the times of kings and queens. The audio guide is a great tour itself and the sights are beautiful. While I speak highly of the audio guide, having a book about Alhambra will only add to the experience and your understanding of the ancient place.
While there is a lot here there are two big sights. The Palacio and the Generalife. The Palacio is where you can see some incredible architecture and small gardens. There is a ton of history here as well.
The Generalife is the major garden and to me was a better visit then the Palacio. The care and time put into these locations is tremendous.
It is recommended that you purchase tickets early and you can do this by internet at their website or at any BBVA bank. I recommend that you go on a Thursday or Friday. Weekends I hear are packed and several exhibits are closed earlier in the week. Additionally some exhibits are closed in the afternoon so the morning would be preferable if you wanted to see everything. When you purchase your ticket you will schedule a time slot to enter the Palacio. If your Palacio time is in the morning then you have a morning ticket and you need to enter Alhambra in the morning and the same goes for if it is in the afternoon. Otherwise there are no other time restrictions. Once you are inside you can stay inside for as long as you want so you can see the other parts of the location. Much of Alhambra is actually free, but you'll want to spend the 10€ for the ticket so you can get into the Palacio, Generalife, and the castle.
They have a night ticket available as well and the Palacio is reportedly lit up well, but at night you can only see the Palacio, I'm not even sure if you can see the generalife.
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