Granada - The tapas capital of Europe
My my what a month this has been!
Following Hurricane Wilma I partied hard in Philadelphia with Terry and others until my liver said "leave now buddy or I'm leaving you!".
So with the almost free price of £15 I decided to fly from London directly to Granada in Spain on my return.
After a pretty uneventful flight into London I endured the tiresome cross London transfer to Stansted Airport. This must be the most expensive transfer in the world mile for mile!
Stansted was busy as usual, Ryanair has a promotion on, but very efficient.
I have been reading many complaints about Ryan Air, I have flown many times with them and have always had a hassle free trip, however I was on my guard for bad service, rip offs and suchlike. I looked at their ontime status for the last few days and it was impressive for the number of flights they have.
Check in was easy and although the desks shut 45mins before the flight it is not unreasonable to expect passengers to get there in time. The hold baggage is 15kg, a little less than regular scheduled fights but they had a very liberal carry on policy. So if you really had to bring loads of bags well you paid for them (they make commission on that but why not as there is a specified limit!)
The plane was brand new and had its own retractable stairway, I was really impressed as the BA flight from Philly was delayed waiting for such a ramp!
Although I could find no up to date connecting bus timetable anywhere for Granada Airport to the town centre, sure enough once we arrived (30 minutes early!) teh bus was waiting to take us straight to Placa Nueva in the centre for only 3 Euros. Bargain!
The hostel is only 3 minutes or so from the bus stop so that made it very easy to get to.
The Oasis Hostel in Granada, certainly lives up to its name, a calm welcoming hostel in the fringe of the Albacin area. Check in was very friendly with the hostel facilities all well explained and a free drink at the bar!
The bar is a real focal point for the hostel and after a while there I was out on the town with many new friends!
I finally got my sleep last night and spent this morning wandering the streets getting a feel once again for the place.
The area around the hostel has an Arabesque feel to it with tea shops, cafes and small artisan stores. It is an exotic locale in a fabulous Andalucian City.
Welcome to Granada.
peter on 11.10.05 @ 01:34 PM GMT [link]