We woke up and went to breakfast in the Raffles court and then packed. We organized the room and then took some pictures of the room again because my dad forgot to do that on the first day.
After breakfast we walked around on deck for a little bit and I got these snapshots of the town!
We also got some pictures of the pool deck before leaving because we knew that we might not be able to get any later. The pool is located on deck 12.
Right where we were about to leave the room to go explore Malaga a little bit my mom realized she didn't have her wallet. We searched high and low for it and eventually came to the conclusion that she was pick pocketed in either the London airport or in Barcelona. (UPDATE TO COME LATER IN POST!) When we accepted the fact that there was nothing that we could do now, we disembarked and left the terminal. At the exit there was an information desk and we asked where the bus station was because eventually we were going to take a bus back to Granada. She told us where it was and it was not in walking distance so we had to plan our day accordingly. This is the port, part of it at least.
At the end of the port there was a huge plaza and there even was a parade going on with a bunch of soldiers.
We watched the parade, of what was left, from above on the port. The port was set up beautifully with cement everywhere (it looks better than it sounds) with two levels and on the bottom level there was a craft show going on.
We walked around the craft show and I got a new ring. We also got a gift for someone, who and what I cannot mention. We then decided it was time to go back to the ship because we wanted to eat lunch and not feel rushed getting to the bus station. On our way back we snapped a few shots of the boat.
When we got back to the ship we were going to eat in Raffles court for our last meal but we decided that nothing looked appetizing so instead we went to the Windows dining room for a sit down lunch. For my appetizer I had some Vietnamese summer rolls, which were just vegetables and no fish. My dad had a portobello mushroom with goat cheese and it was very very good! My mom skipped the starter. For the main course my dad and I both had a philly cheese steak sandwich and it was awesome! My mom ordered fish and chips. We skipped the dessert because the service was a little slow today and we had to get moving because we thought that the bus to Granada left around 3 in the afternoon.
We returned to the room and grabbed our bags and did a final check to see if we forgot anything. We said our goodbyes to Joenar and went to the front desk to check out. We then slid our keycard in the hole for the final time to ensure that we were completely checked out and disembarked the ship with all of our luggage.
Before we left the gangway, we saw where our room was from the outside. We had set a towel in the window so we knew for sure because earlier in the day we had counted the windows and guessed wrong. Here is our room!
We walked around the port terminal and then found and elevator that brought us down to the place where the people who get off the ship at Malaga and the luggage belts were everywhere! We walked through the whole thing to the exit, and the door was locked. So we turned around and went outside, in the restricted access area, only for crew members. We were really close to the ship and I started to feel uncomfortable because I knew this was a restricted area so we turned around and went back up in the elevator. We then walked to the exit that we took the first time we got off the ship and there was an elevator there too! So we took that down and exited. I then talked to the taxi driver to take us to the bus station and we were off.
When we got to the bus station I bought our tickets to Granada, and the bus left in about 30 to 40 minutes. We had timed it perfectly without knowing the times of the buses!
We waited around and then loaded the suitcases onto the bus and got on the bus. We got seats next to the door in the back so we had easy access to get off. I sat next to my mom and my dad sat in front of us but eventually he moved because two girls who were friends were separated and he was nice enough to give up his seat so they could sit together. He began talking with one of them and they were from China and studying in Madrid. She also had spent a few months in California and visited the states a few times as well. She also said that she thought that learning Spanish is harder than learning English. I was shocked to hear that because I always heard that English is one of the hardest languages to learn.
Here are the pictures that my dad took of the countryside between Malaga and Granada.
When we got to Granada we took the city bus to near where my parents hotel was (only 2 blocks or less away from my house) and I helped them check in. We then found their room and I was sent home to unpack. When I returned, I brought my backpack with my computer and filled with things that I wanted my parents to bring home, such as pants and scarves I didn't wear enough. I got the wifi password and we Skyped Kristin to see how she and Sparky were doing, as well as how Karyn's trip was going.
After hanging out in the hotel room for a little bit we decided to walk around and then eventually find dinner. We walked past my house and my dad took a picture of my patio. It is the one with all the greenery on the right side. The left side is the patio off of the dining room in Mila's house.
We ended up waiting an hour and 45 minutes before the parade actually started and my dad was getting really antsy because he was hungry and still on the cruise schedule when you could eat whenever you wanted to. We couldn't really eat before because the kitchens usually don't open until about 8 pm in Spain.
Here are some shots from the parade, a great cultural experience. The funny thing is that the first night I was in Granada there was the Three Kings parade and the first night my parents were in Granada there was this parade (and many more)! Sorry for the picture overload!
When it was about 11 pm at night we decided that we had seen enough of the parade and we were headed off to find dinner. The parade didn't end until later in the evening, and it started at 9:15! It was not a continuous parade by any means. The people with the pointy hats would walk through, then the float, then a band and some more people with pointy hats and then it would be a longer pause and it would repeat. After the repetition there would be about a 30 minute break and the next set would come through. We ended up staying for 2 sets.
For dinner we were going to to the place that the hotel recommended so we began walking there. When we got there the menu was posted outside and the cheapest plate was about 18 euros so we turned around and headed the other way. We were going to go to a restaurant near the hotel but once we got inside it was too crazy and we couldn't decide what we wanted so we left. When we were walking back we decided pizza was a good idea so we went to an Italian restaurant and ordered a 3 cheese pizza and a salchicha (sausage) pizza. We demolished it all at 11:30 pm! We had waited a long time to eat and we were starved.
After dinner I went back to the hotel for a bit and then my dad walked me home.
WALLET UPDATE! When I got back to Mila's I was going through my purse to empty it out, just like the suitcase, and I found my mom's wallet! I remember now how it got there. In Barcelona she didn't want to take her purse with her when we went out to eat and she wanted her wallet so she gave it to me to put it in my purse. She didn't end up using it at all and I didn't use my wallet so we both forgot that it was in there. What a good luck streak that was for finding it, with nothing being stolen!
It was nice a day, a busy day indeed, and great first day in Granada with my parents!
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