Yes, we went to Granada this weekend for our first overnight excursion with the group. It was so amazing! I really think Granada was my favorite place we've been too yet, even more than Sevilla. It was a little ways up in the mountains (not like Colorado mountains, but gorgeous nevertheless) and the city was as beautiful as the scenery. The main attraction was The Alhambra, which is this huge, ancient palace built by one of the Moorish sultans centuries ago. The majority of the palace was still in really good conditions and almost all of the incredible gardens had been restored as well. I think I could've lived there quite happily for the rest of my life. I mean, if you're going to be one of the sultan's many wives or concubines, that's the way to do it.
The city of Granada was great. There was a huge catherdral in the city that we visited, more recent than the one in Sevilla. There were also these gypsy/Morroccan/really amazing markets to shopping though. The stalls and shops were all squeezed in together with huge tapestries and blankets hanging from the street walls and scarves, tea sets and spices spilling out of doorways. It was definitely my kind of shopping trip. Everything was a lot cheaper (relatively speaking) in Granada as well, so shopping was way more of a pleasure than a chore.
Friday evening a bunch of the students and some of the teachers went out to eat at some of the tapas bars in town. Here is yet another thing that makes Granada awesome: at most of the bars, if you order a drink, you get a free tapa! This means that you can have a delicious and diverse meal with some tastey wine for pretty cheap! After tapas we went up to a mirador, or a lookout, where we could see The Alhambra lit up in the drakness. It was just so beautiful, my words and pictures can't do it justice. There were all kinds of people at the lookout too: Americans (ok, us), Spaniards, gypsies, hippies, etc. Some of the people even had a little jam session going with guitars and djembes, and that was quite fun! Granada had amazing food, too! Spanish, Morroccan, whatever, it was excellent!!!
Sunday we went to our first bullfight! I wasn't sure what my reaction would be, watching six bulls die right in front of my eyes, but I really enjoyed the fights. They were very theatrical, and hopefully I'll be able to put some video of it up soon.
In other news, classes keep me super busy, as does simple daily life in Spain. This coming weekend to going to La Rabida and Lagos, so that ought to be fun. I miss everyone in the States a TON, but not enough to come home yet. Things that have been hard to deal with:
-The language barrier, of course.
-Not having any church life. We've gone to a couple of Catholic masses, but since I'm not Catholic AND it's in Spanish AND they're only about half an hour here, it's not the same. Maggie and I want to meet up with some of the missionaries that Alyssa met last semester, but we've been out of town almost every weekend. It's just really hard, and I miss church and my church family A LOT.
-Not feeling at home. I mean, my host family is great, but I feel more like a long term guest than a family member. It gets old, after a while. I also miss just being able to hang out with friends at home. No friends at home here, that's for sure. This makes for a much more expensive social life in general, and my budget can only take so much.
-Cookies. I miss them. Mom, Dad, if you're reading this, I might need some cookies once I come back to the States.
Anything else I should mention? Oh yeah, I've booked flights for Barcelona, Paris and Switzerland (Milan, actually, but then we're taking a train across the border). Awesome!!! If, by some miracle, I have enough money at the end of the semester Britney and I are going to go to Rome as well. Let's hope my budgeting strategies pan out.
Some of the girls at the ruins of Zahara!
Just me, hanging out in front of an amazing view.
The super amazing bridge/gorge. We don't have one in the US.
This is how the professional matadors do it.
