Train to Madrid

 The following day I had a train to catch for Madrid. I had messed up the ticket purchase and ended up on a later train than usual. I decided to hang out at the hotel instead of spending a hot day wandering. 

The train station at Granada is very small so everyone waiting on the train milled about the same area waiting for them to start checking in passengers. There was a small cafe serving the usual sandwiches: cheese, jamon, cheese & jamon. 

As with my train ride to Granada, the service was smooth, clean, punctual and wonderful. I had a slower train to Cordoba where I changed to the fast train to Madrid. A short wait in the larger Cordoba station and it was a non-stop 2 hour ride to Madrid. 

After a toilet stop and wandering around trying to find the taxi stand, I was driven to my hotel which ended up being right in the very heart of the city by Plaza Espana. As I settled in, I reached out to Reggie, who I had learned a few days earlier would be overlapping me in Madrid by a morning. Tasha had figured out a way to meet so he sent me info for the next day. 

I had an upgraded hotel room which was quite high up in the narrow building with a decent view and a separate sitting room. I was meeting a guide that evening for tapas tour. As with every other appointment I had here, she was right on time and waiting for me (although I thought it was going to be a man). She is originally from NYC so I appreciated being able to speak to someone who had English as a first language. She explained about the neighbourhoods and the specific restaurants we were going to. I very much enjoyed the food at the places we went but as sometimes happens, I got full easily (my stomach gets jet lag) and we ended with a short stroll around some other areas before I called it an early night. This was another very expensive service although I enjoyed her company but I think a little research probably would've led to a cheaper tapas tour.