Semana Santa

It has been a rainy Semana Santa to say the least. On the bright side, Paul and his family came to visit which was very exciting. My host family and I went to the airport on Friday morning only to find out they had missed their connecting flight due to a delay from Boston to Madrid, and therefore had to take another flight into Granada. Nevertheless, we all went back to the airport later that afternoon and picked them up, I was very happy.

Thursday night we walked around the center of Granada; we got some gelato, and then went to Los Diamantes for dinner, which is known for its fish. It was pretty late so we headed back to the hotel for the night.

Friday was nice out, so we took advantage of the weather and walked into the Albacyn and up to Sacramonte. It was quite the hike and it got very hot along the way, but the views were beautiful. I also took them to the Mirador de San Nicolas to see the Alhambra with the Sierra Nevadas.

Saturday night Paul and I went out to a couple of bars. The first one we went to for the tapas, but it was too late and they stopped serving them which was quite a disappointment because we were a little hungry. That bar closed early, and it was raining, so we ran to a random bar nearby that had a lot of people in it. Turns out it was an Irish bar, and the first song that came on was "Im Shipping up to Boston" which pretty much made our night. The crowd was so fun and the music was a great selection of songs from the 90s. I don't think we could ever repeat a night like that.

Sunday was a pretty relaxed day, we got up and went to the science museum for a little while, followed by lunch and a nap. It was also the start of the processions, so we went back to the hotel to watch them. The hotel room was perfect because it had a window that overlooked the street where the processions took place, so all we had to do was open the window to watch them. It certainly beat standing in the crowds of people. The processions were unbelievable. I love the cultural aspects of being here, so seeing the processions of people and floats walk down the streets was awesome. The floats are held up by people who walk in unison, very slowly, down the streets. I don't know how they survive, the floats look heavy. The bands that played were also very very good. There were also people dressed in religious outfits that look like the KKK, but are not by any means. In fact, the KKK stole their dress code from these processions. Nevertheless, I found it very interesting.

Science Museum

Sunday's Procession

Monday we went to the Alhambra. It was much warmer than the first time I had gone there, so it was nice. I got to walk around the little town, which I had never gotten to do the first time I was there. Later that afternoon we watched the processions from the hotel window. Des Paul and I went out for tapas and then came home and went to bed, we were all pretty tired.

A wall in one of the gift shops with all different currencies 

Paul thought he was a model

Processions

Tuesday Paul woke up really really sick with a fever and cold, so I went back to my host family's house to get some medicine for him. After taking some Tylenol he felt a little better, so the two of us went on a walk and then ate lunch at a cafe, which was horrible. The food was pretty gross, but it was still fun.

Wednesday Paul and I walked around the city in the morning, followed by lunch at my host family's house. Paul's whole family, plus my host family, Javier's sister and mother and father all ate at the house, enjoying a typical Semana Santa feast. The food was never-ending. Javier's mom made paella and pork with pineapple for the main course. We then had flan and a strawberry yogurt dish for dessert along with homemade donuts typical of Semana Santa. Everything was very yummy.

After lunch Paul and I went up to the Albacyn to watch the sun set. It was kind of cloudy so we didn't get to see it as well as we had planned, but it was still worth the run up all the hills to get there in time. We went out for a goodbye dinner and then went to bed.

Thursday morning we all woke up and got breakfast in the hotel as usual, and then brought our bags to the lobby while Paul's mom checked out. They got a taxi, so we said our goodbyes and they headed off the the airport. I'm gonna miss having them here.