Home Sweet Home

I was so excited to return to Granada and show my parents where I had been living for the last few months. I love playing tour guide! We dropped their luggage off at the hotel and then walked towards my house. I had always wanted to try this cafe near my house, so I asked my parents to wait for me while I deposited my luggage back at my house. My host mom gave me a huge hug and Hare the dog was jumping all over me. Then I went upstairs and found my roommate Megan. She had just returned from Morocco and had a great time. I asked her to come to lunch with us and so we headed back to the cafe to meet my parents. We had a great lunch and then I walked my parents back towards their hotel. I walked back to my house and unpacked and got ready for dinner. Megan joined us at Poe, one of my favorite tapas restaurants. We also saw my friend Mariah and her mom while we were there. They had just returned from Italy and her mom’s luggage had gotten lost. She had to spend the whole trip without it. I can’t even imagine.  
The next day I had class in the morning, so my parents toured the Alhambra. I met them after my class and we walked to my house to have lunch with Amparo. Amparo had spent the last two days preparing paella for lunch. We had a great lunch where Megan and I desperately tried to translate. It was difficult to keep changing between English and Spanish, but we managed. At the end of lunch, Amparo surprised me with a cake. I had an afternoon class, so I walked with my parents back towards their hotel. We met up with some of my friends for dinner at another tapas restaurant.
The following morning, my parents and I walked around Granada. We went to the cathedral, which was covered with white marble. It was one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen. We then met up with Amparo and Megan and walked up in the Albayzin.

Cordoba

The topography along the drive was pretty. The hills were covered with olive trees and you could see the mountains in the distance. Once we arrived my parents wanted to go through the mosque/cathedral. Since I had already seen it, I decided to spend time walking around and seeing a little more of the city. My parents were very impressed with the inside of the cathedral. It is so ornate and I am still impressed that it is still in existence. After exploring the city a little bit more, we had a nice dinner and then decided we would head back to Granada first thing in the morning.

Lisbon, Portugal

The next morning we left the hotel early in order to catch our flight to Lisbon, Portugal. We spent the day wandering around Portugal and getting accustomed to the city. A lot of the buildings were decorated with painted ceramic tiles. Lisbon is an extremely hilly city. I felt like I was in San Francisco walking up and down the hills. The following day we climbed up to the castle and walked around. It was pretty much in ruins, except for the surrounding walls, but it had an amazing view of the city. I was surprised that I could understand some of the signs in Portuguese, but I had a hard time understanding people when they were speaking it. Later I talked to my host mom and her son about it and they said they can understand Portuguese to some extent and could have a conversation with someone from Portugal because the language is so similar. I woke up in the morning to my 21st Birthday!!! We had a nice breakfast and then flew back to Spain.

Looking out onto the bay. 

Dinner where I had steak for the first time in months!!!

Replica of the Christ statue in Rio de Janeiro. 

Ceramic tiles on the side of the buildings.  

At the top of the castle. 

Lobby of the hotel

Marbella and Ronda

Once we landed in Spain, my phone started ringing. It was my host mom calling to wish me a happy birthday. First we drove to Marbella, a beach city and had lunch. I ordered my first tinto de verano as a 21 year old :) It was quite windy, but the restaurant had a great view of the beach. After lunch we wandered around for a bit and then decided to drive to Ronda. I had already been to Ronda once with my program, so I was able to show my parents around. Ronda is the city which has the bridge connecting the city across the deep valley. Our hotel, which sat on one side, overlooked the ancient bridge. After I showed my parents around, we had a fabulous dinner at the hotel. To end my birthday celebration, my mom wanted to take a family picture. We set up the camera on a self-timer and let’s just say the pictures below speak for themselves. The next morning we woke up and saw the bull ring. Then we walked down to the Arab baths. On our way back from seeing the baths, we ran into this old man. He started speaking in Spanish to me and kept talking about the city and how he use to work the land. I was glad I was able to understand him, but after about 20 minutes we were finally able to leave. Ronda still remains one of my favorite cities. It has an amazing landscape surrounding the city, the ancient bridge, and it is a quaint little town. After checking out of the hotel, we drove to Cordoba.

Marbella 

It is a little windy if you couldn't tell. 

Looking out from our balcony. 

Our hotel from the other side of the valley. 

Trying to work the self-timer. 

Finally got a family picture!! 

Mis Padres en Espana

I met my parents in Madrid and I could not wait to see them. I had a little bit of trouble getting from the airport to the shuttle, but finally made my way to the hotel. Once I arrived, my parents were waiting anxiously. I was so excited to see them. We had a quick bite to eat as I babbled on about my experience and then we walked to a nearby mall. After our shopping experience, which was just to help keep my parents awake, we went back to our room, where my dad fell asleep almost instantly. I realized how much I had missed them and I was so excited to spend the next few days with them!

Madrid and Toledo

Two weeks ago, I went to Madrid and Toledo for the weekend. I took a night bus Friday night and arrived at 5:30 am Saturday morning. My friend Alex and I went to the hostel, left our luggage and then got a jump start on sightseeing. We walked around Madrid for a few hours, just getting a feel for the city and then we headed to the Museo del Prado. My favorite piece of artwork was Las Meninas by Velazquez. I have studied this painting in school, so to see it in person was amazing. The museum contains mostly religious paintings and famous painters such as Goya. After the Prado, we continued to the basilica. Most of the paintings were done by Goya and the inside was absolutely beautiful. A tour guide lead us around the basilica, pointing out important symbolism in the paintings. Once we had finished seeing the basilica, we decided to take a short siesta, since we had been walking for over 8 hours. After our siesta we went to the Reina Sofia to see the more modern Spanish paintings. These included paintings by Picasso, Dali, and Miro. The Guernica painting by Picasso is huge, it covers the entire wall of one room! The following morning, we got up early to visit the palace. This was by far my favorite spot in Madrid. The rooms were amazing. Walking around surrounded by beautiful architecture, paintings, and furniture. I felt like a Princess ;) We then went to the park in Madrid, which is similar to Central Park. We walked around, watched a soccer game, and saw the boat house. After an exciting two days in Madrid, it was off to Toledo.

We took the morning train to Toledo, which took about 20 minutes. Toledo is a beautiful city completely surrounded by a wall built for protection. When we reached Toledo, we did not have an agenda, so we just wandered around and stumbled upon different buildings, such as an old mosque and a church. After spending the day getting lost in Toledo, we took the train back to Madrid and then caught our bus home. Overall it was a great trip and I saw so many beautiful things.

Basilica 

Ceiling of the Basilica 

Inside the Basilica 

Guernica 

Alex and I in front of the Palace

Inside the Palace

Inside the Palace

Park

Boathouse

Toledo

Hasta Luego,
Elizabeth