Day 5:
On Thursday we went to the Albaicín and Sacramonte, which are both on a hill near downtown Granada. The walk up to these locations was a little bit tiring because the weather was extremely hot, but once we started to get more into the Albaicín area it was better because the houses there were all built close together on purpose in order to create shade in the streets. The ground is mostly made up of cobblestone, and the farther up you go the more beautiful the view starts to become until you reach a point that has a PERFECT view of the Alhambra and the city. We sat in this spot for a while because it was so beautiful and we needed a break.
After a little rest, we kept walking—not so much uphill anymore because we had reached Albaicín—and we went through a little walkway which ended with an old arch and led into the little marketplace of the neighborhood. Gérman told us that the walkway and arch were created in the way they were specifically for war purposes. The walkway is narrow enough that only two people can walk side-by-side and only one rider on horseback, and no one can go too fast because they have to make a ninety-degree turn.
In this little downtown area we found a famous dessert shop and a few of us got ice cream. I got chocolate, which was very good, but it was weird because the cones here are taller and thinner than the ones I’m used to in California. Gérman also brought us a treat from a nearby shop of deep friend milk, which was really weird. It was kind of a gummy texture, but it tasted pretty good. Then Noelia told us that a little restaurant in that square was renowned because Obama’s wife had eaten there and there was a picture of her with one of the waitresses, who we saw that day.
As we drew closer to Sacramonte, we learned a little bit about las cuevas, or the caves, which the gypsies used to live in. They were simply part of the mountain, like the size of a room, and were used as homes. There is apparently a museum where they take you on tours of all the cave homes, which I definitely want to do! It kind of makes me think of an alternative hobbit home… haha.
In my pictures, the giant castle looking building is the Alhambra Palace, which as I have mentioned was the home of the last Arabic king. The white building to the far left of the castle was apparently the summer home of the king. The far right hand side of the Alhambra (which is less aesthetically beautiful) was built for the purpose of protection, not beauty, which is why it looks different than the palace in the middle. We are going to visit the Alhambra this week! Estoy entusiasmada!!! (I am excited.)
Sacramonte, which I believe is classified as a neighborhood, is where the gypsies are known to live, and is famous for its cave houses and its flamenco dancing. There is a building a little bit above it which is a theater inside/restaurant (I believe…) where you can go watch performances and eat while at the same time you can see the Alhambra illuminated through giant windows. I really want to go see a performance there! Also, there are tons of stray cats in Sacramonte, whereas in town I have only seen about two cats total. There are TONS of dogs, but they all seem to have owners, although the majority of the dogs here do NOT have leashes ever. They just roam free with their people… Very different than California where it is against the law to have an unleashed dog (with few exceptions.) I’m just surprised they don’t all get run over because the cars here drive SUPER fast and not very safely in my opinion. But whatever, “sea lo que sea” or “it is what it is.”
Day 6:
Friday I had class as per usual, and afterwards was pretty uneventful. We had lunch—which I believe was homemade lentil soup which was DELICIOUS. Lentils in Spanish are “lentejas.” Pues, me encantan lentejas! (I love lentils!) After lunch we had a siesta, and then my roomies and I went out in the evening to look around and get tapas for dinner. We ended up at a restaurant that did not serve very big tapas, just a plate of olives, so we each had to order our own. I tried to order snails, just because I wanted to see if I liked it. I didn’t like it, unfortunately, but I did try it. I also tried kalamarie which I didn’t really like… but there was something with jamón y frijoles (ham and beans) that I liked. Afterwards we were still hungry so we went to a different café and got desserts…I got some sort of chocolate ice cream thing which was HUMUNGOUS and really good but way too much food. I am starting to suspect that the meals here are meant to be shared…
Day 7:
Saturday morning I woke up early because there was a hike planned for my group in a place called Los Cahorros. We took a bus to a place called Monachil, and along the way the bus driver STOPPED at the gas station… Haha, my tour guide even told us that had never happened before, because I asked if it was normal here. Isn’t that so funny!? I have never heard of that happening in the United States. The cost per liter here is 1,403 and the bus had to get 123 liters which cost 172 euros! Anyway, after arriving at our destination we walked a little ways up a road until we got to a trail which led us through agricultural fields. There were olive trees, pomegranate trees, walnut trees… and sunflowers. I learned that sunflowers in Spanish are “girasoles” because “girar” means to turn and “sol” is the sun and they are supposedly rotating with the sun. Or something like that.
All along the trail there there is a small canal full of water from the Sierra Nevadas for irrigating the crops of the small town. It looks really beautiful. We passed a couple waterfalls on the way to our destination, and had to cross three bridges, all of which bounced and swung when we walked on them. They did not have solid support underneath, they were just hanging. It was really creepy, but kind of fun at the same time. I know my mom would have been freaked out! That’s all I kept thinking the whole time. Especially because the first one had giant holes so you could just look straight down.
After we got past the last bridge the path turned into a tiny one that was two feet wide at the widest point, right alongside the river on one side and a wall of rock on the other. The rock is kind of crazy because it is all uneven and juts out a lot—more in some places than others—and it is apparently a world renowned place for rock climbing. I didn’t like certain parts of the trail because you literally had to hang over the edge of the river holding on to the rock wall, which in the worst points had little metal handles to grab on to, but in other points that were still scary you just had to figure it out yourself. And in some places you had to crawl! It was really intense but beautiful. Also, on our way back to the bus I tried a fig straight off a tree… it looked really alien inside, but it tasted pretty good.
In the evening my roommates and I and a couple other girls from our group decided to go to a music thing in a nearby plaza, which ended up being a short acrobatics show. It was right in front of a building and there were two acrobats which were suspended from the roof and did dances/tricks for the crowd. It was not what we expected to see but it was pretty cool!
Afterwards we all went to get tapas again (that’s what you do here!) and I ordered a stuffed potato. FYI, “relleno” means stuffed. When I realized it I was like, “DUH! Like chile relleno!” haha. And I learned from my host mom that “asado-a” means “cooked in the oven.” The two other girls in my group got a plate of tapas which I took a picture of, and one of the tapas was deep fried little squids, totally intact. Another was shrimp with their heads, eyes, legs… todo! (all!) Our waitress there was super nice, she asked if we spoke Spanish and we said that we were learning and she kept telling us how that was great and how good we were. I know she was probably exaggerating, but it was still nice to hear from a native. Also, she taught us how to say “Have a good night!” which is “Que tengas una buena noche!” After we paid our bill she brought us a tray of little glasses with something that looked like coffee in them, which I thought was café because they have coffee at night here, but after smelling it and trying a sip I concluded that it was some sort of coffee alcohol mixture… It was SO disgusting, I only tried one sip and it tasted like Nyquil so I gave it to another girl in my group, haha.
Also, on a random note, I have also noticed that there are TONS of Magnolia trees here in Granada.
Day 8:
I have been home all day working on homework and taking it easy… nothing is really opened on Sundays here. After doing homework most of the day, my roomies and I went for a walk in a different direction than we had gone before. We found ourselves in a beautiful park that reminded me of Alice in Wonderland because it had a lot of tall perfectly flat bushes which made it look like a maze. Also, there were tons of plots with roses everywhere too. At the end of the park was a play area for kids where we found an AWESOME structure that at first we all thought was the play structure in parks where you hold on to two handles and glide to the other side of a bar... but it was actually something you sat on and then basically ziplined!It was awesome! I want one, haha. Then we tried the swings and whatnot... there were other people there giving us weird looks-I don't know if it's because they could tell we were American, or because we were too old to be in a park playing? Probably both, in all honesty.
After the park we kept walking until we came across a GIANT store called "El Corte Ingles" which is probably the biggest store I've seen here. It is the size of a small mall, and that is WAY bigger than the majority of stores here because most of them are the size of a really small room. I would say that on average they are the size of the inside of Cinco de Mayo in Clayton. Pretty small. When we were there I bought a book en espanol! It is "Ciudad de Huesos" (or City of Bones en Ingles) which I have already read, but I LOVE it AND it's great learning from a book you've already read in English because you can deduce the meanings of unknown words better since you know what it is about pretty much already. Also in the store they gave me a free sample of espresso... man, I had never tried it plain before. It's SO gross!!!
Oh, and as we were walking I saw a guy just standing in the middle of the road juggling... this is actually the second time I've seen it. I think it is to get money? I'm not sure, but he stood right in front of cars waiting to go... and then a friend joined him! Craziness...
After the store we returned to the apartment for dinner and then went to bed... a nice laid back day... Hasta mañana! We are going to a Flamenco class tomorrow evening!
Day 6:
Friday I had class as per usual, and afterwards was pretty uneventful. We had lunch—which I believe was homemade lentil soup which was DELICIOUS. Lentils in Spanish are “lentejas.” Pues, me encantan lentejas! (I love lentils!) After lunch we had a siesta, and then my roomies and I went out in the evening to look around and get tapas for dinner. We ended up at a restaurant that did not serve very big tapas, just a plate of olives, so we each had to order our own. I tried to order snails, just because I wanted to see if I liked it. I didn’t like it, unfortunately, but I did try it. I also tried kalamarie which I didn’t really like… but there was something with jamón y frijoles (ham and beans) that I liked. Afterwards we were still hungry so we went to a different café and got desserts…I got some sort of chocolate ice cream thing which was HUMUNGOUS and really good but way too much food. I am starting to suspect that the meals here are meant to be shared… 
Day 7:
Saturday morning I woke up early because there was a hike planned for my group in a place called Los Cahorros. We took a bus to a place called Monachil, and along the way the bus driver STOPPED at the gas station… Haha, my tour guide even told us that had never happened before, because I asked if it was normal here. Isn’t that so funny!? I have never heard of that happening in the United States. The cost per liter here is 1,403 and the bus had to get 123 liters which cost 172 euros! Anyway, after arriving at our destination we walked a little ways up a road until we got to a trail which led us through agricultural fields. There were olive trees, pomegranate trees, walnut trees… and sunflowers. I learned that sunflowers in Spanish are “girasoles” because “girar” means to turn and “sol” is the sun and they are supposedly rotating with the sun. Or something like that.
All along the trail there there is a small canal full of water from the Sierra Nevadas for irrigating the crops of the small town. It looks really beautiful. We passed a couple waterfalls on the way to our destination, and had to cross three bridges, all of which bounced and swung when we walked on them. They did not have solid support underneath, they were just hanging. It was really creepy, but kind of fun at the same time. I know my mom would have been freaked out! That’s all I kept thinking the whole time. Especially because the first one had giant holes so you could just look straight down.
After we got past the last bridge the path turned into a tiny one that was two feet wide at the widest point, right alongside the river on one side and a wall of rock on the other. The rock is kind of crazy because it is all uneven and juts out a lot—more in some places than others—and it is apparently a world renowned place for rock climbing. I didn’t like certain parts of the trail because you literally had to hang over the edge of the river holding on to the rock wall, which in the worst points had little metal handles to grab on to, but in other points that were still scary you just had to figure it out yourself. And in some places you had to crawl! It was really intense but beautiful. Also, on our way back to the bus I tried a fig straight off a tree… it looked really alien inside, but it tasted pretty good.
In the evening my roommates and I and a couple other girls from our group decided to go to a music thing in a nearby plaza, which ended up being a short acrobatics show. It was right in front of a building and there were two acrobats which were suspended from the roof and did dances/tricks for the crowd. It was not what we expected to see but it was pretty cool!
Afterwards we all went to get tapas again (that’s what you do here!) and I ordered a stuffed potato. FYI, “relleno” means stuffed. When I realized it I was like, “DUH! Like chile relleno!” haha. And I learned from my host mom that “asado-a” means “cooked in the oven.” The two other girls in my group got a plate of tapas which I took a picture of, and one of the tapas was deep fried little squids, totally intact. Another was shrimp with their heads, eyes, legs… todo! (all!) Our waitress there was super nice, she asked if we spoke Spanish and we said that we were learning and she kept telling us how that was great and how good we were. I know she was probably exaggerating, but it was still nice to hear from a native. Also, she taught us how to say “Have a good night!” which is “Que tengas una buena noche!” After we paid our bill she brought us a tray of little glasses with something that looked like coffee in them, which I thought was café because they have coffee at night here, but after smelling it and trying a sip I concluded that it was some sort of coffee alcohol mixture… It was SO disgusting, I only tried one sip and it tasted like Nyquil so I gave it to another girl in my group, haha.
Also, on a random note, I have also noticed that there are TONS of Magnolia trees here in Granada.
Day 8:
I have been home all day working on homework and taking it easy… nothing is really opened on Sundays here. After doing homework most of the day, my roomies and I went for a walk in a different direction than we had gone before. We found ourselves in a beautiful park that reminded me of Alice in Wonderland because it had a lot of tall perfectly flat bushes which made it look like a maze. Also, there were tons of plots with roses everywhere too. At the end of the park was a play area for kids where we found an AWESOME structure that at first we all thought was the play structure in parks where you hold on to two handles and glide to the other side of a bar... but it was actually something you sat on and then basically ziplined!It was awesome! I want one, haha. Then we tried the swings and whatnot... there were other people there giving us weird looks-I don't know if it's because they could tell we were American, or because we were too old to be in a park playing? Probably both, in all honesty.
After the park we kept walking until we came across a GIANT store called "El Corte Ingles" which is probably the biggest store I've seen here. It is the size of a small mall, and that is WAY bigger than the majority of stores here because most of them are the size of a really small room. I would say that on average they are the size of the inside of Cinco de Mayo in Clayton. Pretty small. When we were there I bought a book en espanol! It is "Ciudad de Huesos" (or City of Bones en Ingles) which I have already read, but I LOVE it AND it's great learning from a book you've already read in English because you can deduce the meanings of unknown words better since you know what it is about pretty much already. Also in the store they gave me a free sample of espresso... man, I had never tried it plain before. It's SO gross!!!
Oh, and as we were walking I saw a guy just standing in the middle of the road juggling... this is actually the second time I've seen it. I think it is to get money? I'm not sure, but he stood right in front of cars waiting to go... and then a friend joined him! Craziness...
After the store we returned to the apartment for dinner and then went to bed... a nice laid back day... Hasta mañana! We are going to a Flamenco class tomorrow evening! 
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