Last couple weekends

Ahh its been awhile, so here's my attempt at playing catch-up on the last couple weeks....



Three weeks ago, my friends and I decided to take quick weekend trip to the beach in Malaga. The weather was finally getting nice enough....So I did my best to invite all the girls I'm closer with in, from our program. Long story short, we invited some Spanish boys and they were interested in going, but invited us to one of their Grandma's beachhouses. We took them up on their offer, but since there was 7 of us girls and 6 of them, we didn't have room in the 2 cars to drive there. Two of my friends and I went by bus and layed out on the beach until we met up with them later. We walked around Malaga a little bit and then squeezed into cars to drive to the beachhouse. We went to the supermarket to buy food and drinks and cooked paella. The beachhouse was absolutely gorgeous and we enjoyed hanging out together in a "house setting". (That hasn't happened since I've arrived to Spain...) The next day we went to the beach and just enjoyed laying around. We took the bus back home on Sunday.



The following weekend was my last full weekend with my French roommate, Thomas. He said he really wanted to go to the beach, so we took the bus for a day-trip to Nerja...2 hours away. The beach was absolutely beautiful. I went with all my French friends, so I was a little out of place when they spoke so much French. None the less, I had a great time! We stayed the entire day and brought our bocadillos. The town reminded me of visiting my Grandma in Arizona. Everyone was very kind. We walked around until our bus left at 7pm.



The following Thursday, I had to say goodbye to Thomas as I left for Barcelona to meet my parents! Thomas walked me to the bus stop and I was on my way to Barcelona...(really Girona, which is 1hr. and 20min. outside of Barcelona)



I finally arrived in Girona, no problems. I took a bus into the city and from there it was slightly complicated figuring out the Metro system. My friend had given me maps and I knew the route I needed to take. I didn't realize there was underground and street-level metro stops, but after talking to many people, I was directed in the right direction. I arrived at the hotel to meet my parents around 9:30pm and we went to the consigiere suite to have a drink before dinner. We left for dinner and went to a nice authentic Catalan restaurant across from our hotel. The next morning, we walked around site-seeing. We saw the two houses built by Gaudi and walked down by Plaza Catalunya. We found La Ramba, possibly one of the most famous streets in Spain (said my Barcelonean friend)...As we reached Subway, I couldn't help but want to eat there. We stopped for lunch and continued walking around. We went back to the hotel and as we were enjoying happy hour, we met people from Philadelphia, whom my parents continued to run into everyday. We talked so long with them, that when we went for dinner at 11:30pm, nothing was really open. We found a cafeteria open and ran in to get served before they closed. We liked talking with the Arabic owner who was quite well-traveled.



The next day, we decided to take a trip to Parc Guell. As we followed all the signs, we took escalators outside to get to this high point! It was a park full of mosaics. We had lunch in the park as well. We enjoyed drinking sangria outside and we got calamari (sooo good!) , pasta, and desert! We walked back down and went to the part of the city where the Olympics were held. We saw a fountain with music and light show. We returned to the hotel and I went to meet my friend, Uwe. Uwe and I met in Rome when we were both traveling back in January and staying in the same hostel. He took me to a sausage/ham place and then brought me around the city. He showed me the Roman ruins and I got to meet 2 of his friends. We had a good time and hopefully he will come to Granada to visit us! The next day, we went to the Truimphi, the highest mountain in Barcelona. We looked at the cathedral there and enjoyed the look-out over the entire city. We took the bus back to the city centre and left for the airport. We got to Granada and went out for a quick dinner after my parents checked into the airport.



Monday, I showed my parents my university and after lunch I met with them to walk to the Albaizin. When we reached the higher point overlooking Granada, there were hippies playing flamenco. That evening, we enjoyed going for tapas with my Senora Rosa. My mom did her best to converse with her, while I translated for my dad. My Senora invited my parents over for a nice lunch on Wednesday. The next day, I met my parents to go to La Alhambra, the site where the Jews were driven out. It was a huge monument we walked around for a couple hours and then had lunch up at the top. That evening, we had dinner while we enjoyed watching a flamenco show. My parents got to meet my roommate, Dorothy. The show was great, especially since there was only 2 other tables at the restaurant! On Wednesday, I met my parents after school to bring them to my apartment for lunch. My Senora had gone all out cooking paella, little fritter balls, and cheese cake for dessert. My parents got to meet my brother, Roberto too. When they were introduced, it is customary to give two kisses, one on each cheek. EXCEPT, for males, you just shake hands. We all got a kick out of my dad trying to kiss my brother while he was shaking hands and giving an awkward hug. HAHAHA, he didn't know any better. We stayed for about 2 hours talking and enjoying lunch and then left to walk around towards the Universidad de Granada. We went in the small shops and went to eat kebabs for dinner (my favorite!!!). It seemed like the visit was too quick, before I realized it, my parents left this morning. :(



They are headed to Madrid and will be headed back to the US on Saturday. We had such a nice visit, I can't believe we are half way through our trip in Granada! Midterms are next week and I leave a week from tomorrow for Portugal!!! WOOOO