Close brush with celebrity in Granada

Thursday morning we had to catch a train to Granada. So, it was an early morning to get up and out. Fortunately for us, we had already been from our apartment to the Atocha train station twice, so we knew what to expect. This time, though, we had our tickets in hand, so no need to negotiate a purchase at the station. Just get there on time, get to the right platform and get on board.

(EARLY metro ride to train station)

The trip via high-speed train from Madrid to Granada is about 4 hours. The trains are clean, roomy and comfortable. The trip is quite scenic: olive groves, corn fields, mountains, wind turbine farms. Actually, Spain is one of the leading countries in use of alternative energy sources, which is evident from the wind turbine farms and hydro projects we’ve seen while traveling over or through the countryside.

When we disembarked from the train, one thing was very clear: it was HOT. Upper 30s (90s for you Americans). I decided we would not try to figure out public transport to our hotel - we’d splurge for two taxis. The boys and I piled into one, Jenny and Ali in the other for our trip to Hotel de Las Puertas de Granada. On the way, our taxi driver and I had a conversation in Spanish that we both mostly understood. Michelle Obama would be arriving in Granada in about two hours. Great.

We checked into two rooms at the hotel. Jenny and I were on the 4th floor with a nice view of the Alhambra. Lift to third floor and walk up one flight. Kids were sharing a room on the third floor. The rooms were not big, but they had ensuite bathrooms (great showers) and were well-appointed. Carmen, the proprietor, was phenomenal. Fluent in English, she pointed out everywhere on the map we would want to visit or eat at during our brief stay. She also suggested we might go up to the Alhambra that afternoon to pick up the tickets the hotel had reserved, so that we would not have to deal with it the following morning when our tour was scheduled (9:30 a.m.).

(View of Alhambra from our room.)

We dropped our bags in our rooms and headed to lunch. Carmen had recommended a very local, very good tapas bar called Bodega Castañeda. (More on Bodega Catañeda in next post.) As we left the tapas bar after lunch, we noticed a large crowd at the end of the street. Obviously Michelle was nearby or was about to be nearby. Down an alley off the street we were on, we could see a few people being blocked by police and either plainclothes officers or secret service in their “Spain tourist” garb. They would not let anyone through the alley. Near where they stood, several people were holding up cameras and screaming “Michelle, Michelle.” This must be where they were having lunch. They were eating at Los Italianos. Definitely not as great a meal as we had just finished.



Before long, the crowd on the front side of the building started to scream and shout. Michelle was on the move. We went around to the front and saw Michelle and her party crossing the street to visit the cathedral in the center of town. Our hear brush with celebrity over, we headed back to our hotel.