Hesperia Granada Hotel

... with the intent to go somewhere, anywhere within a few hours from Málaga and stay for the night.
We ended up choosing Córdoba. Here is a little wikipedia blurb about it if you are interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Córdoba,_S pain
The bus trip there was very scenic while the sun was still up. We arrived after dark and walked towards the centro hístorico to search for a hostal. We ended up staying at a really art-oriented albergue ran by the ...

... and got ready to go out. Thinking I was back in L.A., I brought a red dress and heels with me. Everyone else had decided that the beach was a casual place, so flipflops and jeans would be perfect. Trust me, you'll notice the contrast in the photo I post! Anyway, we walked around the small city until we settled at a tapas bar. Cadiz is a very small city with little cobblestone streets and antique looking buildings. We walked around the ...

... to communicate. We were able to watch Flamingo dancing at the center in town as there was a special performance that night and the star was a young man who grew up in Cadiz and Loly and her husband have known as a child. After the show we went to lunch with Sergio and Oscar their sons. Oscar is older and speaks a little English and looks just like Jon Vaglio. Crazy. That morning both sons were at a casting call for a movie to be made with Tom ...

Today was the second and last excursion we did through Holland America. Jacqui had wanted to see the Andalusian horse show, and we could also get in a sherry tasting with it!

First off was the tour of the Gonzales Byass winery. I'm not a big fan of the normal sherries, but I love the sweet sherries. And it was cheap. I got a ...

We got up really early (for us vacationers). It was about 8:15am. We decided we would drive 2 hours to a city called Jerez de la Frontera to see the famous dancing horses of Jerez. The tour guide said it was worth the drive... We arrived to another city. Not as big as Seville, but a city nonetheless. Shae was super excited to see the dancing horses. The show started at noon and lasted 1.5 hours. Shae lasted about 20 minutes - which was pretty good for her ...

... There is simply so much to look at (and in my camera-happy case, photograph), that you could spend a week there and not have taken it all in. The palace and military compound are chock full of beautiful patios, rooms with intricate carvings literally on all 6 surfaces (4 walls, floor, ceiling), and hallways covered in mosaics and carved plaster walls, so much so that it is almost overwhelming to take it all in. My favorite part of it all was actualy the Generalife (pronounced hener-al ...

... few hundred feet, was very picturesque. It took all day to make the trek.

Next day, we drove in the opposite direction to the coastal city of Cadiz. This became the landing site of all the Spanish fleet returning from the New World with their riches, beginning with Columbus’ 2nd voyage. Cadiz is also the oldest city in Western Europe (1100BC) having been home to the Phoenicians, Greeks ...

Michelle, being ever the gracious host, has been translating and guiding me around the city non-stop for the past few days! I am quasi in love with Granada as there is a profound Arabic influence here...evident in the many tea houses (teterias), shisha bars and the architecture...I've even used my Arabic more than my sub-par Spanish while here... The city is beautiful and I have been enjoying myself very much. Unfortunately in my weak state ...

I h*ven't been keeping up too well l*tely so I'll do my best with remembering wh*t went on the p*st couple d*ys. Millis *nd I slept till *bout 12:00 in the *fternoon, which felt pretty nice. My first step in the b*throom w*s equiv*lent to stepping out for * nice stroll in the Ant*rctic. Freezing! We leisurely m*de our w*y to school *nd stopped *t * pl*ce c*lled The Punisher for lunch. I h*d the s*ndwich c*lled "the punisher," which h*d h*m (of course), pork loin ...

... Real World" experience, where the 16 of us will all live together, cook/eat together, and have a week of work challenges together for a week. Then I will be exploring around Europa for another week looking for adventures and life lessons about different cultures. It should be interesting! After leaving my study abroad experience in Barcelona five years ago, this is my first ...