Granada

^^^At the Alhambra with my friend Kerry Anne

^^^Inside the Alhambra--awesome detail!

^^^View of Granada from the Alhambra

^^^Cathedral in Granada

^^Ferdinand and Isabella's tombs

Granada, Granada, Granada!

This past weekend i went with my program to Granada, Spain.

Granada is about a 3 hour bus ride from Sevilla. It is situated near the Sierra Nevada Mountains and has a bit of a cooler temperature. This is a great place to visit for many reason. It is the home of the Alhambra. The Alhambra is pretty much a walled city or medina. Alot of history has taken place here including many events with Christopher Columbus as well as "Los Reyes Catolicos" -Ferdinand and Isabella.

We arrived in Granda early afternoon on Saturday. Unfortunately there was not very good weather- rain, rain, rain. We had a few hours to grab lunch and walk around but due to the rain it was a bit difficult. After this time we went as a group to go see the large Cathedral in Granada. Once again another gorgeous Cathedral! and absolutely huge! We also managed to see the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella. A little bit freaky but at the same time pretty neat!

Before heading to dinner we had a few hours to kill. Granada is known to have some great "teterias." Due to the Islamic influence here they are very abundant and have a great atmosphere. We went with a small group to have tea and crepes at a very authentic teteria. We had to climb a spiral staircase up to where we sat. The place had awesome decor and music that really made the experience. I tried a fruity tea and went for the chocolate and strawberry crepe!

That night we had a scheduled dinner at our hotel. We had heard that this dinner was supposed to be very good so we were looking forward to it. Well...the entire meal was white and plain, plain, plain. White soup, white chicken breast, white potatoes, vanilla ice cream. I sat at a table with 5 other girls and we did end up having a good time despite the boring food. We played some games and literally laughed until we cried. After our meal we made a mutual decision to head out for some yummy dessert for Valentines Day. We went to a little ice cream shop and all got some great dessert.

The following morning, we were ready to set off to our tour of the Alhambra. This was planned to be a 3-4 hour tour outdoors and we were very lucky that the weather cleared up for this. The sun did end up coming out for the day! We spent a majority of the day walking around the grounds of the Alhambra and listening to our great tour guide/professor Fernando. The Alhambra was absolutely beautiful and had some great views of Granada and the snow topped Sierra Nevada mountains. Later in the day we had a bus ride back to Sevilla to make it home just in time for dinner!

This week has been a fun week! School has not been to stressful because the previous week was full of tests and papers.

I was really fortunate to have one of my sorority sisters and good friend come to visit me this week! My friend Elizabeth is studying in Roubaix, France and made her way to Sevilla for a few days this past week along with her friend Kat. They arrived in Sevilla late Tuesday afternoon. I met up with them at their hotel right after class. It was so weird to see a friend in Sevilla! Definitely took me a little bit to get used to that. Hungry for dinner we headed into el centro to grab a bite to eat at one of Caroline and I's favorite little italian spots. We were lucky that it was not raining this evening and walked around outsite in el centro for a little bit after eating. After walking around for a while we headed to La Carboneria for some tinto de verano and to watch a quick little flamenco show. By the time the show was over it was time for us to head our separate ways for the night---in the pouring rain!

Wednesday morning i headed to class as usual and then met them at the metro station right by school after my class. I took them to our favority little greek place for lunch. They were loving the 5 euro meal deal because apparently that is much cheaper than in France. After lunch we were ready to start our tourist day. Let me mention that we were having the WIERDEST weather wednesday. It would pour rain for ten minutes and then be sunny as can be for like an hour the entire day. Our stops for the day consistest of Plaza de Espana (awesome plaza in sevilla, great for pictures and walking around. unfortunately at this time they are doing construction there but you still get the just of it. Plaza de Espana was actually Queen Amidala's castle in star wars.) Reales Alcazar (good thing the rain held off most of the time and we could walk through the gardens in the sunshine!) and the Cathedral (again, good thing the rain held off, we climed all the ramps to the top of the Giralda to look out over Sevilla). In the time that we spent walking from Reales Alcazar to the Cathedral one of the most surreal things happened. Well let me set the stage and drop a big hint by saying that the Gibbons Spain trip was in Sevilla this past week as well (this is the Spain trip from my high school). We had seen school groups all day in Sevilla and I always looked to see if anyone looked familiar. Sure enough in one of the groups I spotted one of my favorite teachers from Gibbons--Mrs. Gallagher! I was so excited and ran up to her, her reaction was perfect ---"oh my gosh Sarah is this for real!" It was great to run into them in the middle of Sevilla. I had actually previously planned attending dinner with them wed night so i was going to see them again later that night.

After touring the Cathedral with Elizabeth and Kat we walked through some of the touristy shops and slowly made our way to my favorite churro place! It was a little ways out of town but definitely worth it for a taste of some churros and chocolate. After our snack, we parted ways for a little and for dinner because I was meeting up with Gibbons and Sean for dinner.

I met Sean and one of our friends younger brother George near the Cathedral to head to dinner with the Gibbons crew. Sean and I really had a great time catching up with the two teachers on the trip--Mrs. Gallagher and Mrs. Williams. Both were teachers that we had both really enjoyed at Gibbons and Mrs. Williams is actually one of our friends mom. It was awesome to be having dinner with them in Sevilla. I am definitely glad that we took the time to do that.

After dinner, Sean and I met up with Elizabeth to hang out for the rest of the night and show her a little bit of the Spanish nightlife. Sounds like it is a little more exciting than the nightlife in Roubaix.

Today was a day to shop! I met the girls in the center and we grabbed a quick bite to eat at a cafe and then had big plans to shop (whats new!). Shopping in Spain is WAY less expensive than shopping in France so it was a bit of fresh air for them. It was definitely a successful shopping day minus the rain. We went to dinner at a mexican restuarant and then grabbed some ice cream at a little shop that i really enjoy in the center.

After todays fesivities it was time to say goodbye! It is weird that we are both living in different countries right now but have the opportunity to visit. I am so glad that they took the time to come see me in Spain! It is alot of fun to show people around. I hope to get up to France to visit them in the end of April and I am really loooking forward to that.

This weekend Caroline is out of town again! I will be spending the weekend in Sevilla because next weekend I am jetting off to Switzerland (I can't wait!!!!!). I am going to spend time this weekend with my friend Kerry Anne. We are going to venture around and try and find some new sites in Sevilla!

I am taking an intensive literature class and this coming up week is the last week so i am REALLY looking forward to the end. After the class is over, I will have entirely free afternoons to spend in Sevilla.

That's all for now!