We headed off to Santa Justa train station in the cold and pouring rain to rent the car. Our rental was a 7 passenger Citroen mini-mini van. Perfect for us. The guy at the station tried to talk us out of a GPS. He felt we were taking freeway roads and it wouldn't be needed. Luckily, we decided to be safe rather than sorry. Yes, the roads are easy between towns, but when you get into those towns it is essential to be able to find your hotel or some parking (since many hotels are on pedestrian streets). So, so glad we had the GPS. Our first experience was driving through Granada in a construction zone. The roundabouts were more than a little confusing, especially since many of the streets were not labeled coming out of the roundabouts. We were so happy when we saw our parking sign...until we pulled into the garage. The stalls were so narrow and you had to back in to them. I wish we would have taken a picture. Had to drop everyone out in the street, because you couldn't open the doors once parked. Then the confusion over the parking ticket and how to pay. These seem like nothing, but with kids and bags and such, it is a serious adventure. Finally we made it above ground to find a taxi to the hotel. I went to the first taxi and gave him the name of the hotel and luckily we were just a block or two through a pedestrian area away so we didn't need a taxi after all. We stayed at a hotel called Los Tilos and it was a great hotel. We were on the fourth floor and there were amazing views of the Cathedral, the Plaza Bib Ramblas, and the Alhambra, all from a balcony on our floor.
We had timed our visit to coincide with the Real Madrid and Granada futbol game. Unfortunately tickets were hard to come by. You had to be in Granada to purchase tickets. The hotel tried to get some for me, but they were unsuccessful. Cassy really wanted to see the game, so we decided to go to the stadium and see if there were any scalpers or anything. We talked to some people on the bus on the way out and they said we didn't have good odds. They were wrong! We got there and wandered our way to the ticket station while looking for scalpers and they still had some tickets on sale. We were so excited! The stadium was small and so all the seats are good seats. It was the best and Cassy was so, so excited to see Ronaldo play. We loved being around the fans of Granada and listening to all the songs they sing as they whip their red Granada scarves in the air. Lots of energy! The big full moon peaking through the clouds and lighting up the mountains around the field added to the ambience. The game was a good one. Granada lost 2-1. The refs called some terrible calls that definitely influenced the outcome of the game. The team was so mad that they were trying to get at the refs at the end of the game. I guess they ended up with a three month suspension from league play. Cassy wanted to stay to see the players leave, so we saw the Real Madrid bus go by as well as a lot of the Granada players. We ended up staying so late that we missed the last bus of the night to the city center. We ended up roaming around the streets by the stadium looking for a cab. Finally some people called one for us and showed us where to go. It was a bit crazy. I think my mom was also worried. Of course, for our safety, but even more so afraid of what to do with the three remaining kids all by herself.
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