To Visit with Friends

After being in Spain for about two months I was ready to see some friendly faces from home as I planned my trip to Granada. My friends from Georgetown College, Rachel and David, were studying abroad in Granada this semester too. Aside from getting to see people from back home going to Granda would present the opportunity to visit another very popular city in the south of Spain. So I booked my trip through another travel company, the same one I used to go to Morocco to be exact. Once again I had no idea if anyone I knew from my program in Sevilla were going but I knew I couldn't let that hold me back. As it turns out a small group of girls from my program ended up going and we even ended up in the same room as each other.

We had to get up early to make the bus because it was about a four hour bus ride to Granada. After we arrived we had about an hour to get in our hotel, which was really a hostel but they kept calling it a hotel, and get lunch. I had had my senora make me a bocadillo, small sandwich, so I just ate that to save on money. Then we all met and walked up to the Alhambra, a Muslim building that survived the reconquest. This was no easy walk either. Granada is in the Sierra Nevada, a mountain range in the south of Spain. So this walk was all up hill, reminding me painstakingly how out of shape I am right now.

At the top of the hill rest the Alcazar over looking the entire city. We went on an unguided tour of the buildings and gardens. The view was spectacular. Everything was so detail and beautiful. It reminded me very much of the Alhambra in Sevilla that I visited earlier in the semester. Nonetheless it still had it's own individual beauties. It was actually a very nice day and not too cold. For the past two weeks it seemed like it rained every day. When it rains in Sevilla, it rains. Since I didn't have new boots I was glad for this nice day finally.

Next we went on a sort walking tour of the city. There honestly didn't seem like there was very much to see. Granted I was very tired at this point and didn't want to walk up and down hill any more. My knee had been acting up with all the movement. Our group went back to the hotel and we were given free time to explore the city and eat dinner before the program took us to a bar and a famous discotecha that is in a cave. During my free time I met up with Rachel and David for dinner. It was so great to see them!

The three of us went to an Italian restaurant that they had not even been to themselves. It was a very classy restaurant and I felt very under dressed for the occasion. The food was amazing as expected, I just ordered a spaghetti with meat sauce. I love Italian food so I was completely ok with this choice. Afterwards we went to a bar that they normally go to themselves for tapas. Tapas are very famous in Spain and essentially are small meals, you eat about three or more to make a meal. In Granada tapas are served differently than any other place that I know of. There you pay for a tapa and a drink is included in the price, so they say its a free drink with tapas. In actuality though they are paying for it since in Sevilla when you order tapas you have to order drinks separately but the tapas are cheaper for this reason. I like the way Sevilla does it better because that means that I can eat more and drink less. David had me try a beer I had never had before, which isn't very hard to do since I don't drink much, that was from Germany. I liked it a lot.

Once we finished our tapas and drinks I had to head back to the hotel to get ready for going out. They decided they would meet me at the discotecha. In hind sight I wish I had stayed with them some more since the bar that the program went to before wasn't very much fun for me. But I found them at the discotecha that night eventually. I even ran into my friend that I met in Ireland, Carly! It was so great to see people I knew in a strange city. Since I had a lot of free time the next day before I left we decided to meet up for lunch the next as well.

The next morning I slept in a little, as much as was possible before checkout. Then I roamed around with some friends from my program before I had to meet up with Rachel and David. Ironically enough we ended up at another Italian restaurant and all ordered pizzas for ourselves. No before you go thinking I'm a fatty these are very thin crusted pizzas so they hardly count as one whole pizza. I had not had churros con chocolate, not Mexican churros guys, in Spain yet despite the fact that all my friends talked about how they loved them. I just hadn't had the opportunity to. To correct this error the three of us went to a different restaurant afterward to order some. They were soooo good! There was so much chocolate though, and I'm just not a huge chocolate fan; I just can't eat that much of it is all. Once we finished we walked around and got some pictures together and then it was time for me to leave. I really enjoyed to break from Sevilla and the chance to see friends from home.