Apartamentos Nievemar Monachil

... Now that might not sound inviting more most people, it was a real treat after some of the welll...interesting hostels I had stayed in in the past.
Scott and I spent the early evening trying to figure out the internet situation at the hotel so that we could get in touch with Mom and Torrey before they left on their night train to meet us in the morning, Though it was a bit complicated, after an hour or so we figured it out and decided to rent a movie before ...

... experienced to be believed.

The Architecture, art, landscaping, and history of the fortress and medina are beautiful, but nothing can match the palace. The mosaics, sculpture, fountains, views, and stories are incredible. This was the place where Islamic Sultans ruled for hundreds of years. After the Moors were expelled, it was also believed to be the place that Christopher Columbus convinced Ferdinand and Isabella to fund his little voyage ...

... hacking and coughing going on by a few people in our car, it was a wonderful train trip (we referred to our car as the sick bay).

We spent the next week in the beautiful village of Frigliana, Spain (about 40 miles east of Malaga). We took a bus to the coastal city of Nerja and then a 10 minute bus ride into the hills of Frigiliana. Frigiliana is known as Las Villas de las tres culturas or the city of three cultures ...

... dog. There was a little run of chickens by the campsite restaurant, some of which seemed to escape into the field at the back, and of course there was the herd (flock?) of about 100 goats in the field over the road. All in all it was a lovely spot, just four other units, peaceful and scenic, until Friday evening. Then the Spaniards arrived. The local caravan club was having a weekend rally. A small van appeared and parked ...

... some tiles now bear the symbols of castille y leon, as well as the words "plus ultra" it is a magnificent space. Soon after our tour, we headed on to Granada. Without even stopping at our hotel, we zoomed up the hill where La Alhambra is perched. I was unspeakably excited, because this palace was one of the examples I had first found when doing background research for my paper. It's such a spectacular union of light, water and space - even now I can't quite ...

... toward the cathedral (Jaen is one big hill) which was having some cultural dance show its plaza. I felt for a minute like I was at Tulip Time in Pella...minus the wooden shoes. Turning down a cobble-stoned street, we made our way to Beatriz and Antonio's house. Bea and I met randomly in the cathedral after mass one day before Christmas. Since then, she and her husband have become my second family here in Spain. They had ...

... heard of them not letting people in, but tonight two of my friends went before us and got turned away! I have to admit I thought it was low of the club. Anyways, Julie, Jackie, Andrea, and I had no issues getting in. To make a long story short, we met a guy at Tantra Bar the other night who "supposedly" new people at Mae West. Therefore, us four went up to the bouncers and figured we would give it a shot. We mentioned the guy's ...

... to make us feel comfortable here and I'm so thankful that I ended up with her! That night I had tapas for the first time! I went with Julie, Amy, Collette, Jackie, and another Julie. The guy made us all order the same thing, probably to make it easier on himself, so we got some kind of pork sandwich with cheese and tinto veranos. Tinto verano is my new favorite drink! It translates to "summer wine." It is a red wine with some kind of added ...

... which is dinner for about 4 euros each. And let me tell you they are not stingy with the tapas! (I think i may have to move here permanently) So i generally end up happy AND full which ticks all the boxes. Next stop is Valencia where I am anticipating much difficult time spent lazing around on the beach drinking....sangria (are we all sensing a theme here?) So until my next lazy entry Adios! (Yep my Spanish really is that bad. Imagine the fun we have ordering things!)

... We did a secret santa exchange that night, which was fun because throughout the day I was able to find out that the person that I bought a gift for was a musician and the gift i bought was a mini drum. I had no prior knowledge of what his interests were and I just picked up something on blind faith. The next day (Cristmas day) was quite the same...dinner prep and relaxation. That night we ate just as good! Jerk chicken, a veggie dish, salad, left over ...