Guadix and Cabo de Gata

Today is Spain's Labor Day, which means that all the stores are closed, no one has work, and no one has school. So, the university was conveniently closed, and I went on a school trip to the beach, with a few stops along the way! My UNH group had already gone on this trip (while I was in Barcelona) so I was by myself, but I quickly made some new friends.

We left Granada at 8AM and went to the town of Guadix, which is outside of Granada. It was really cool because all the houses are built into caves. The front of the houses look normal, but if you look closely, they're built into the hills and rocks, and there are smoke stacks popping up all over the hillsides. It was really fascinating.

We then went to Castillo Calahorra, a castle up on this giant hill. It was a little hike to get up there but very pretty. 

Finally we made it to Cabo de Gata, a region in the south eastern part of Spain that is famous for its beautiful beaches. I must say, it held up its reputation because it was gorgeous. It ended up being a perfect day with minimal clouds and just a slight breeze. We went to a beach where apparently part of Indiana Jones was filmed. I spent some time exploring the area, proofreading one of my essays, and relaxing on my towel. The water was surprisingly not too cold either!

All in all it was a fun day with new friends (some were even from Canada) and taking in the sun. Not too bad for a Wednesday in May!

Hello, Weekend!

Nerja, Spain

Last week was very stressful. With finals coming around in a few weeks, teachers are assigning big projects and papers. So, the workload has been high in comparison to other weeks but I'm managing. I was very happy when the weekend finally came around. On Friday, a bunch of my friends and I went to Nerja (Costa del Sol) for a beach day. We took us bus at 9 (which me and Nicole almost missed but didnt!) and spent the afternoon exploring the rock formations and taking in the warm sun. The water was fairly refreshing considering it's only April; probably the equivalent of a typical day in the ocean in NH. I got some yummy strawberry gelato to finish off the trip which was very satisfying.

Nicole and I rushed home from the bus station and showered quickly. One of the teachers at the high school we volunteer at invited us to a concert at the Palacio de Congreso in Granada, which is right near our house. Apparently it was a fundraiser for "Viva la Vega" which is a field/vegetation area outside of the city. They are trying to raise money so that the city doesn't plow over it and build more buildings. The concert was really fun, the music was all in Spanish and there were 4 bands that performed. The first, called Ninos Mutantes, was an alternative band that I enjoyed. The second singer was Miguel Rios, a man who apparently introduced rock in Spain. The crowd went crazy when he came on stage, and it was really funny to see my teacher and her husband singing along to the songs and dancing in their seats. A third band came on, but it was really late and Nicole and I were falling asleep in our seats, so we went home and passed out in bed.

Ninos Mutantes and Miguel Rios

Miguel Rios

Saturday morning we got up super early for a class trip to Cordoba, Spain. We spent the day in the historical district where the Mezquita (an old church thing that's famous in Cordoba) is located. In my opinion, the city wasn't much different than what I have seen in Granada and other cities, but it was still pretty. A lot of the windows were decorated with flower boxes, and the Mezquita was pretty cool. All in all it was a good trip, but I couldn't have spent more than one day there.

We stopped for bread with olive oil and tomato, and orange juice at this little restaurant.
It used to be an old train station, now it's a restaurant famous for its pure olive oil. It was very yummy!

The train cars out back that got transformed into a little dinning area

Some train stuff outside...I think

Cordoba!

Mari Carmen explaining some cultural stuff

The courtyard outside the Mezquita

Inside of the Mezquita

As I had said before, I am swamped with projects. One of which is a reflection presentation on my experience in Spain. All the students in my UNH group are required to do one, and this picture was in one of the student's presentations. It really captures everyones' good sides...

Weekend in Granada

This was my first weekend in Granada since Semana Santa. Despite being in my normal city, I found plenty of fun things to do. Friday night my UNH group had an excursion to the house of Manuel Falla, a compositor and writer. The house was very small and the tour didn't take long; all I really got out of the tour is that my tour guide was from Italy and had a funny Spanish accent, and he had the hairiest arms I have ever seen...he looked like he was a wolf from Teen Wolf or something.

House of Manuel Falla

The girls outside of Manuel Falla's house

Pinonos and Iced Tea

After the tour our professor took us to the Hotel Alhambra Palace, one of the fanciest hotels in Granada. We drank ice tea and got pinonos, a Spanish dessert that is specially made in Granada. I wasn't a huge fan but I ate it anyway. We spent about two hours hanging out at the hotel chatting; our professor's father met us there, he looked like the old monopoly man with his white hair and suit. All he needed was a monocle and a top hat, he was adorable.

Carmen's Daddy...Mr. Monopoly <3

My awesome egg tortilla sandwhich...
Made perfectly by me!

Finally we went to a theater to watch a classical music concert featuring the music of Manuel Falla. The  band had a lot of string instruments which I find very beautiful, and the conductor was very passionate about the song movements-he got very animated while conducting. Overall the concert was fun. The best part was that everyone in my group dressed up and looked very cute!

Saturday I went to Los Cahorros, a hiking area right outside of the city of Granada. Me and four of my friends took a city bus to the bottom of the mountain, which was only a 20 min ride or so. We had to hike up a huge hill just to get to the start of the trails, but once we got there it was fine. The place was gorgeous. My friends had gone the weekend before while I was in Barcelona, but they loved it so much they wanted to go back. I found it to be so peaceful and exciting!

There were rope bridges and waterfalls and rocks that you had to hold onto just to pass on the trails. It was so cool!! It was like out of an adventure magazine!! At one point we climbed up a narrow trail that we probably shouldn't have, only because it led absolutely nowhere, and it was quite the struggle back down. We all ended up sliding down on our bums.

We then took the high passage back, which was a tough hike but worth it for the views. I had a wonderful time, especially being able to see greenery and nature again!

Lauren and I scared to go back down the mountain

We ended up going down on our bums

So colorful!

The rest of my afternoon was pretty relaxing, although no night is complete without a Flamenco show from Ana. She came home with her Flamenco dress and we made her put it on, and then she danced for us. I of course had to join her, using one of my cardigans as my flowy skirt. But then she let me stop and gave us a solo show.