Playing Catch Up

Hola!

Well after a 2 week hiatus I have decided to resume the blogging.  We have been constantly on the go and I never wrote about Granada which was the time of our lives...i'll just give a brief synopsis...

We left Friday morning and it took 3 ½ hours to get there by bus.  We had all been out late the night before so we pretty much slept the entire way.  Granada is smaller than Sevilla and definitely cleaner. It is also interesting to see the strong Arabic influences present in the city.  The first day we hiked up to the Albaycin, which is an old Arabic quarter located on the hill opposite the Alhambra.  We spent awhile in the Plaza de San Nicolas, where the view was absolutely incredible. You could see the entire city, all the little houses, the beautiful mountains and the Alhambra across.  We found ourselves comparing the city to Colorado because it had the same mountain feel, but taken to the next level. There were gypsies at the plaza selling jewelery, painting, singing and playing the guitar.  Great place for people-watching.  There were little kids playing on top of this little rock mount thing, so Katrina and I decided join and and made new little kid friends.  We went to a little bar that night and were up early for a tour of the Alhambra itself the next day. It was beautiful and our tour guide knew about every facet of the place.  The Moorish architecture, courtyards, statues and fountains were beauuutiful and very interesting, especially after learning the stories behind them.  GeneraLife, the summer palace and country estate of the Nasrid sultans, was even more gorgeous with its gardens and fountains everywhere. 

Plaza de San Nicolas

Overall, it was an awesome kick off to our travels and gave us an itch to start booking trips.  One of the highlights was also being able to take as long and as hot of a shower as we wanted and have our own big space to call our own!  There is so much to say about Granada that I’m not going to elaborate with any more details-see haley’s blog-www.talesofhales.blogspot.com :)

At our hotel before going out!

Haley, Me, Katrina, Mindy, Hanna, Laura, Melanie

 My very own shoe store in Granada!

Oh! I almost forgot.  We visited a gypsy market on the last day and I got Jasmine pants.  They are so great and I cannot wait to rock them in the states.  I don’t think any of my friends were jealous...but on those days that I feel like acting like a princess (ok-so every day) I can totally whip them out.

Annyyyways…

I’m keeping a running list of things I did not like/mostly chose not to eat before I came here but now have incorporated into my weekly routine…so far I have:

1.ham

2.green olives

3.coffee

4.garbonzo beans

5.peach jam

6.sangria

7.ketchup (they don’t have Ranch here)

8.apples (I can now eat them by biting into them...weird I couldn't do that before, I know)

Basically, I’m starting to fully understand the phrase “When in Rome…”

Carnival (Europe’s version of Mardi Gras with a Halloween twist) in Cadiz this past weekend was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen.  Every costume ever thought of was represented…everywhere you looked you saw a different group of people.  There were cows, large man-babies, elves, pirates, chickens, clowns, penguins…aaaaand many inappropriate themes that I won’t go into.  Basically, you name it-I saw it.  

The Mizzou crew chose their outfits carefully/randomly:

Katrina=Angel

Haley=Virgin Mary gone Cinderella

Laura=Rainbow colored mullet/Mohawk girl meets the 80s ensemble

Me=Purple/red flowing mass of curls meets the 80s (Laura and I had matching vintage-y/heinous overalls...that we decided was totally worth it because we will definitely be wearing them again for costume parties back home)

Nick-John Lennon

Trav- Rastafarian

All in all, quiiiiite the eccentric group that made for ridiculous pictures.

Can you find us amidst our new friends?

Our bus left at 9:00 at night and we got home at 8:00 the next morning…Cadiz is the oldest city in Europe and this occasion brings over one and a half million people every year.  It goes on for 11 nights and is said to be the third largest Carnival celebration in the world, after Rio de Janero and Trinidad.  There were decorations everywhere, garland hanging above the alleys, stages set up for different musical acts and street vendors selling every kind of food, candy or toy you could want. 

It. Was. Awesome.

Haley, Laura, Heidi, Kelly, Katrina and I

Random facts:
We have come to know and loveeeee the river here.  It is about a 20 minute walk from our house and our new thing is going to hang out by the river, drink some wine, play some cards and enjoy the nice weather.  Katrina bought a blanket for us to spread out and it is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon.  It was perfect river-hang weather last week and unfortunately this week has been nothing but rain.  When it is warmer, we are going to go out on the river.  You can rent little paddle boats or kayaks for a pretty cheap price.


We also discovered El Parque de Maria Luisa, the loveliest park in the world.  I can't wait for all the flowers to bloom and see it then.  There are trees, birds, flowers, ponds, fountains, little cafes and still so much to explore.  It is one of my favorite parts so far.


We had a little event with our "intercambios," the people who we practice our Spanish with last week in Plaza del Salvador.  One man/boy/adolescent declared he was my new boyfriend and we all started planning our wedding until his friend told me my Spanish was bad, so I dumped him.  Hah pretty entertaining.


We went to Aracena, a nearby little town and visited a cave! We got to go inside and walk all through it-there were lots of different lakes inside it was awesome to look up and see the different twists and turns. Apparently caves are always changing, so if we were to go back in a few years it would look different.  At the end of the cave, they showed us the one plant growing in the whole thing.  It was using artificial light from a little lamp to grow.  I was wondering if there were any other life forms inside and my dad said there were probably crickets with no eyeballs.  Sounds kinda cool!  I heard there was recently a Planet Earth on caves, if you want to check it out.


We also went to a museum all about ham.  It was pretty disgusting.  Laura and Haley stayed in Sevilla for this trip, which is probably good because I'm pretty sure Laura would have reeeeally disliked this place.


That was long...ooonly because it's been awhile....


Oh yesss also--we might get to go to AFRICA!  Morocco is really close, we are trying to figure out the plans.  We want to ride camels.


Hasta Luego!!!