Blablacar is a mix between Uber and hitchhiking. People who are planning to drive from Point A to Point B, post open seats that are available in their car on blablacar.com, along with a price per seat. It helps drivers recoup money spent on gas, and provides a cheaper method for travelers to reach their destinations.
Our first foray into the ridesharing world was interesting, as our driver didn’t speak and English and we don’t speak Spanish. Yet, we managed to meet up in the right spot at the right time (thanks Google translate). Luckily, the fourth person in the car spoke a little English, so we could get the basic info across. They played some American music to “pump us up!”. It was funny, because the ride was our driver’s first time using Blabla too. We easily traveled from Seville to Granada for less cost than a train or bus.
Since the Alhambra is the main tourist spot in Granada, tickets sell out weeks in advance, and they only sell about 300 tickets on the day. We didn’t have our act together enough to buy tickets in advance, which necessitated us getting up at 6am, to walk up the hill in the dark, and wait in line until tickets went on sale at 8am. Somehow, we were lucky, and managed to get 2 of the last 30 tickets.
The best thing about Granada is that most restaurants give a free tapa every time a drink is ordered. Every time we got a beer, we each got a bowl of salmorejo (a thick gazpacho), or sausage on bread, or creamy avocado spread on bread with tomato.
Each subsequent drink produced a new tapa. Needless to say, our drink budget increased in this city. We really didn’t eat a proper meal at all; we mostly drank and ate the free tapas. It was a great way to stay on budget, while still being able to consume a fair amount of adult beverages.