Casablanca Granada

... the hotel, watched the movie (quite funny) and headed to bed early again in anticipation of Torrey and Mom's early arrival.
Just as we had expected, Mom and Torrey arrived at the hotel shortly after 9am and after they took a brief nap we headed out for the day to see the Alhambra. Unfortunately it rained most of the morning and afternoon but regardless the visit to the historic site was still fun (although quite wet). It ended up talking over an hour to figure out ...

... is typically Moorish; ornate archways, mosaicry, marble by the bucket load and water features everywhere. An absolutely enchanting and dramatic structure overlooking Granada. We spent the best part of the day there, and very much appreciated Amanda and Gavinīs jovial company (thanks guys). Following the Alhambra, we headed down into the old town and commenced a night of beers, accompanied by free tapas. Each round consisted of a beer with a ...

This weekend I went on an excursion to Granada with the study abroad group that I am with back from the states. I didnīt necessarily want my first visit to Granada to be with the group, but itīs all good. Granada is about 135km from Malaga or an hour and a half by bus. The first thing I noticed on the bus ride was that above and outside of Malaga the trees that have leaves were all changing colors. Itīs the middle of November and for the first time ...

... reasonable... if I only have to prepare materials can I come early on Tuesday and do it then? No. Then another 30 minute argument began. There is just no flexibility. After a half hour I stopped her and just said, clearly there is no changing your mind about this even though I see it as so simple.

With all of this I have been so overly stressed out and have hated going to school. Juan really helped me think about things differently though and ...

... views from the windows. Well worth the early start!

More flamenco in the evening - this time we went ot a large stage performance in the gardens of the Alhambra. We loved watching the male dancers do their stuff - absolutely amazing how fast they can move their feet!! And the women were great too, but they all had really big dresses on so we couldn't see their feet half the time.. Boo!

Our last day was spent enjoying the city again ...

After a long bus ride though miles, miles, miles, and more miles of vinards and olive tree groves, we were in Granda!! The City is beatuiful! We had no trouble finding the Hostel, but we did have a hard time lugging our bags up tiny narrow, market filled streets. We dropped our Stuff, and proceded to make a plan. We went to the store! Got food, made sandwhiches, and then headed out ...

... trip, everyone jamming long into the night around the fire, drums and Guitars, violins and harmonicas, an awesome jam session and also some very talented musicians !! Beneficio was an interesting experience made all the more pleasant by the company of Amy and Kerryn. thanks again :-) after a couple days at the camp i hitched a ride to Travelez where i would begin my accent of the mountain. by the time i had sorted myself out with some food and found a hotel ...

... It was delicious!! On our second day we ventured to the Albaicin part of town, which has great views of the Alhambra and a nice church.  Had a nice lunch at a Moroccan place. Our lunch included a Moroccan salad, white bean soup, homus (as they call it) and vegetable couscous. It was great to eat some authentic Moroccan food. Later we checked out the cathedral and the attached chapel, which ...

... the surface. and the beach was beautiful. got checked into the hostel, and had a more or less uneventful night hanging out with the Canadians I was sharing a room with. the next morning I spent an hour waiting around the reception to give the lady a key to my room, since they overbooked and needed me to change rooms. no problem eh? ended up at the beach watching the surf comp, with a couple from UCSB, the girl was my age, the guy just graduated, and she lives across ...

... who gets randomly drug tested at work like I do, it was a little scary. The younger adults (described by locals as hippies) perform music for the tourists while getting high. I relocated several times while waiting for the sun to set as someone new would come sit next to us and light up. It was frustrating and upsetting. So after waiting out the sun and freezing we headed to the closest bar for a hot chocolate. Then ...