Las Almenas Granada

... though we searched, we were unable to find any places serving anything remotely close to a Thanksgiving dinner, and thus the 4 of us headed to a local restaurant reccommended to us by our hotel for some typical Spanish food. Though it was not the traditional Thanksgiving dinner that I so greatly miss in the states, it was at least a wonderful thing to have Mom, Torrey and Scott there to share the holiday with. The night ended after a brief shopping trip to Zara ...

... tapas... wonderful. After a few of these, we caught the bus to Bobadilla, which is a 10min walk to the campsite, and conveniently has a typical Spanish (loud men, even louder women serving) bar, where we continued to consume beer and tapas; 4 rounds later, we had spend just Euros 7 per person and felt sated not just Alhambra (the local beer, very good) but the variety of hearty tapas. We walked back to camp for a well earned sleep.

... did that. With the group I usually get a little frustrated and wish that I was off on my own, especially if it is the first time that I´ve been somewhere. Anyhow, I walked down the road to a plaza and the first thing that I really noticed about Granada was all of the trees. They were so big and they weren´t palm trees. From that point on I knew that Granada was going to have a different feel than Malaga. It was also neat seeing a kiosk in the ...

... everywhere, lettuce flying in the air, and one elderly Spanish woman at my feet. Who by the way did not speak a lick of English. I helped her up, she was saying something in Spanish, way to fast for my comprehension, and helped her collect her belongings which by this point were strewn about throughout most of the main street. Somehow Cassandra and I ended up escorting this lady to her home, which was at the apex of the ...

... fell asleep for a bit, but I stayed up and internetted. Then we went to get tapas. The streets were really loud, we thought they were rioting. Turns out there was a Barcelona Soccer game (I think championship match), and Barcelona won. Everyone was honking their horns and yelling in the streets at 11pm. It was crazy. They were also setting off firecrakers.

For tapas we went to the Meson Europa. Me and Wiz first ...

... walls and the most breathtaking views that I have ever seen. The castle is situated far above the city, allowing for some amazing panoramic photos. The gardens are equally gorgeous such that I could have easily extended our visit longer than the four hours allotted if I was not starving by the end of it. We spent the rest of the day shopping on a hidden Moroccan street and touring the downtown before heading to a tapas bar for a caña (small ...

... and thats about it.  One baggage claim belt.  No ATMs.  Good thing I had some Euros for the cab ride.  The road that taxis drive ends about 10-15 minutes walking distance from my apartment.  The alley one walks from the road to my apartment is made of cobblestone, framed in between white stucco walls and red roof tiles, in the part of Granada called Sacramonte.   I was given one key to open the puerta that leads from the alley ...

Today I got to see the English speaking councilor at the Science Department, she talked to her superior and then send me to the General International Relations Office, who in turn send me back to Filosofia Y Lettras, where I started, to pick up the application I send them back in July, this form I then had to bring back to the Science department, where the English speaker had again left ...

... relaxed, got a tan, swam, and had some lunch at a café. I got proschiutto con melone (as my family knows it's one of my favorites). We got some ice cream (also a favorite) on the way back to the bus and most of us slept on the way home. There is a volunteer organization that we are going to have a chance to meet with in the near future, and I think I am going to get involved with that. I have a lot of free time here, and any excuse to practice my Spanish ...

... kebabs and tortilla espanola. We had no idea where it would end. Then the idea struck and our eyes lit up. We decided we'd find out and opted to keep going and going and going to achieve our 'Roll of Honour'. It was hard but we were dedicated: anchoas, albondigas, jamon serrano, the list went on. A few bottles of Rioja later and we were tucked up in our shaky comas for another brief recharge ...