Una visita granadina

After an amazing Friday in Nerja, we spent the rest of the weekend in Granada.

Granada is one of those must-see cities in Spain, not just because Evan Moore studied there, but also because of the history and beauty of its buildings and scenery. Since it is only about an hour from Malaga, we got to sleep in a bit later, meeting at la Manquita at 9:45. As per usual, a few people were late and we were on the road by 10 AM. I slept a little, but watched the countryside and felt excited about a new city.

Our first day in Granada was much more relaxed than the usual first day of our excursions. We had a little free time to use los aseos and grab a coffee when we arrived. Most of the bus piled into El Corte Ingles (it is similar to a big Macy's), and feverishly went up and down the escalators, desperate to find the bathroom. After successfully completing my mission, I saw one of those Espana futbol scarves on sale in a display of Copa Mundial (World Cup) stuff. Knowing how much it would enhance my college dorm room, I bought it.

We reunited with our directors, Heidi and Raquel, and took a leisurely walk down the colorful streets of Granada on our way to the Catedral de Granada. When we got there, Raquel warned us not to accept rosemary from the gypsies--if you take it, they will harass you for money. I do not think that system of business can be very successful. Instead of visiting the main cathedral, however, we went around the corner to visit la Capilla Real (Royal Chapel).

Once inside, I saw the hateful sign that said I could not take pictures, so my memory will have to serve to remember it. La Capilla Real was built by los Reyes Catolicos (Fernando y Isabela) after they conquered Granada. It serves as a mausoleum for five people: them, their daughter, Juana la Loca, her husband, Felipe el Guapo, and their oldest grandson, Miguel da Paz. Like every religious building in Europe, it was ornate, beautiful, and overwhelming.

After the chapel, we took a little paseo (walk) with our guides. They took us down a scenic path from where we could see la Alhambra up on the hill. At this point, we were all hungry and grouchy and wanted to take siestas. We walked to our hotel, got our keys (thankfully more than one this time!), and found our rooms. As always, Matteo, Felipe, and I shared a room, and when we got inside, we discovered that my bed was in a separate room, giving me a "private room." Since Matteo usually gets back two hours after I do, and Felipe two hours after him, this worked well. Its amazing how this pattern always plays out, even if I do not come back until 4 AM.

The three of us headed off with Alejandro, Zach, and Jordan to find a buffet house for which a man on the street had given us fliers. We arrived and stuffed ourselves with salad, paella, pizza, pasta, and ice cream. Honestly, we ate so much that we almost just took naps outside on the street. The walk back to our hotel seemed to take forever and when we finally got there, Matteo, Felipe and I collapsed in our respective beds, taking four-hour siestas.

After our siestas, we got up to prepare for our "surprise" that was listed on the itinerary. We headed out at 8:30, and Raquel lead us up the narrow streets of Granada, always going up and up the slanted streets. She told us we were "entering Morocco" due to all of the Moroccan shops and a nearby man said, "No, es Granada!" We had no idea where she was taking us, although many people hoped it would be a flamenco show.

Eventually, we stopped at a lookout point and were amazed by what we saw. The whole city of Granada was beautifully laid-out and filled with the glow of sunset. Directly in front of us, across the city we saw the beautiful La Alhambra, a fortress/city/castle built by the Muslims and the final defense against the Christians during la Reconquista. We also said that that was all the surprise we needed, but I think in our minds we all hoped there would be more, especially after all that walking.

Raquel then lead us down some more narrow streets, eventually stopping outside a Flamenco theatre! It was small and authentic, and we were so very excited. They sat our group on the left side of the room; the right side was filled with Japanese tourists. I sat in the very front row with Andi, Brandi, and Meghan, literally three feet from the stage. The waiter came and took our drink orders (Coca Cola Light for me!), and we got ready to enjoy the show.

Two different groups performed that night, made of six performers each. Some sang, others played guitar, and one person danced at a time. Flamenco involves a lot of stomping and clapping and at some points reminded me a little bit of Step Up or Stomp the Yard. The dances were beautiful, and I got to see an old woman dance while clicking her castanets, my favorite part of flamenco. I eagerly took video clips and photos, hoping to make a compilation video when I got home.

At the end of the show, the dancers began to snatch people up from the audience to participate. Alejandro went first, followed by a student from another Study Abroad group. I always get chosen for that sort of thing, so I put down my sunglasses and gave my camera to Andi in preparation. Sure enough, the old castanet lady looked at me, smiled, and crooked a finger so I jumped up on the stage. I made a complete fool of myself but got a lot of cheers, especially when I shook my butt. Basically, it was just a wonderful night.

We headed back to a night life center close to our hotel head-over-heels in love with flamenco. I had a nice talk in Spanish with Heidi, asking her if she put Matteo and I together as roommate because we both have badonkadonk butts. She said no. When we got to the center, Pedro, Brandi, Lisa, Alejandro, Jen, Rubia and I decided to go for tapas. We went to a little restaurant where I got Spanish tortilla and split some sangria with Alejandro and Pedro. Our tapas left us wanting a little more, so the girls went for ice cream while the boys got kebabs. Classic.

Since we had a big day at the world-renowned Alhambra the next day, we decided to call it an early night and get a little sleep. I went on my computer, checked a few things, and went to sleep. Matteo followed the two hour rule, but Felipe did not get back until after 8 AM. Oh Felipe... We got up in the morning at 9, had a delicious breakfast buffet at the hotel, and then rode the bus to La Alhambra.

We were all quite excited about La Alhambra. Our guide lead us through some gardens first, followed by some sort of stables. La Alhambra really is a city filled with houses and castles, gardens and fountains. I walked with Raquel most of the time, having a Spanish conversation about our mutual love for Crepusculo (Twilight). Although Raquel is Spanish, she read the books in English. I think books are always best in their native language. Raquel told me she had already bought her ticket for the first showing of Eclipse in Spain. Twilight unites everyone.

There was so much beauty within the various buildings and gardens of La Alhambra--I really cannot even describe it. Look at my pictures; they do a better job. Within the walls, there is one hotel which used to be a Franciscan monastery. Our guide told us that it is super expensive to stay there, but some people do it. There was also a palace built by Christians which was never actually used. We saw the power and majesty of the Sultan within his buildings, and the ever pervasive marks of a Moor dwelling: fountains and orange trees.

After leaving La Alhambra, we had a little free time for lunch. Aftyn, Katie, Brittni, Andrea and I went into one restaurant, but when we saw they did not have menus we ran for it. We met up with Rubia, Elena, and Lisa at another outdoor restaurant, and I ate delicious veal ravioli. By the way, they do not really eat ground beef in Spain. If you eat cow, it is going to be veal. Always.

Halfway through la comida, some of our classmates joined us with their recently purchased fake Ray Ban sunglasses. Wanting my own pair, I set off to find the Africans who sold them to them. I had almost given up hope and was about to get on the bus home when one walked my way and approached me with his sunglasses display. He wanted 15 euro for the glassed but there was no way I was paying that much. We haggled for a while, and when I finally walked away and started to get on the bus, he agreed to let me buy them for 8 euro. Thank goodness for my Spanish skills.

When we got home, I showed them to Tere. She asked me if I had bought them at a real store or from "un negro." (This is actually the politically correct word in Spain, so don't be hatin'!) After I told her how I got them, she taught me the Spanish verb for "to haggle" (regatear) and gave me supper. I was surprised by how much I liked returning home after trips and saddened at the thought of returning to my permanent home in a little over a week.

Granada was beautiful--I am not ready to return to America.


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Nerja > Clase

I never got to do Senior Skip Day in high school.

As part of their communist-totalitarian coalition, my principal and vice principal decided that Senior Skip Day was a violent uprising against their supreme authority and declared harsh penalties for anyone that participated my senior year. Robbed of the chance to take a day off and enjoy the company of our classmates before graduation scattered us to the wind, my classmates and I trudged our way through classes while a dozen foolish individuals still skipped.
The administration called their parents, and they were all back by noon.

With this tragic history, you can imagine my excitement at the change to take a skip day in Malaga. Two Fridays ago, June 18, we decided to take the day off and go to Nerja, a nearby city. On Thursday, we informed our teachers that we were skipping class, and they responded by suggesting places to go and things to do. I love Spain and Spanish teachers.

Our group met by la Plaza de la Marina at 9:30 the next morning to buy our bus tickets. We got on the bus, napping during the hour-long bus ride. Nerja is known for both its beautiful beaches and also its epic caves, and while most of the group was only interested in the former, Daniela, Meghan, Cristina, Andi, Polly, Rubia and I wanted to see the caves. We paid the bus driver an extra euro to keep going after he dropped the rest of the passengers off in the center of Nerja.

When we got to la Cuevas, Meghan discovered that the sweet old lady next to her had stolen her clutch, containing 40 euro, her driver's license, a copy of her passport, and her credit cards. The bus driver helped her look for it and took her to a lady at the gift shop who spoke English to give Megan advice. Meghan called her mother to cancel the cards, and by the time her mother called, the woman had already taken hundreds of dollars out of Meghan's bank account. It is sad that you cannot trust anyone when you are traveling.

After that big mess, we headed into las cuevas. The caves at Nerja are HUGE, but they only let you see about 1/3 of them. We read some information about them at the entrance after having an awkward interaction with the photographers at the entrance, and then entered the main cave. I was immediately overwhelmed by the grandeur and immenseness of the cavern. We had met two little old British ladies earlier when we asked them to photograph our group, and they summed up my feelings perfectly when they began to sing "How Great Thou Art" while walking through the cave. On our way out, I found a floppy white hat they had left on a bench and gave it to a security guard, telling him it belonged to "las ancianas inglesas que cantaban." He knew exactly who I meant.

We took the bus back to Nerja, and then walked our way through town down to la Playa Burriana. In contrast to the sandy beaches of Malaga, la Playa Burriana consists of smooth, small rocks which I greatly preferred. Malaga has two main beaches and both fall short of Nerja's beach. El Palo leaves you covered in sticky sand, and La Malagueta dirties your towel, suit, and body with dust.

Upon arriving, I discovered that quite a few people had already gone to lunch so I went and joined them. Nerja has an amazing all-you-can-eat paella place right on the beach. I sat at a table with Matteo, Alejandro, Elena, and Pedro and quickly signaled the waitress to bring me a plate. She brought me a plate covered in delicious paella made with whole crayfish called langostinos and small clams called almejas. Elena taught me how to rip the head and tail off of the langostinos and how to remove its shell and legs. It was kind of an epic fail and I got crayfish blood on my shirt, but I ate until I was stuffed.

After lunch, I decided to conquer my fear of heights and jump off a cliff. While I was paralyzed in fear my first time climbing up, the rest of the times were much easier and I jumped six different times. At the top of the cliff, I met two Spaniards who apparently lived in Nerja and jumped off cliffs all the time. I felt a little like Bella Swan meeting the Quileute cliff jumpers. We chatted for a little while and they told me they were rooting for me. They also told me that you had to yell "Gazpacho" when you jumped. I love traditions and quickly embraced this one.

Stepping out on the edge, I gazed out all the clear blue water and resolved myself to the jump. I took a deep breath, launched myself from the cliff, and yelled "Gazpacho!!!!!" My body hit the water hard, but the adrenaline and rush of the jump kept me from feeling the frigidity of the Mediterranean. As my head broke the surface and I gasped the sweet air and tasted salt water on my lips, I felt complete euphoria. God clearly made cliff next to the sea so that we could jump off of them. Our whole group enjoyed the jump, and despite the fact that the sharp rock cut my hands and feet on the climb up, I felt like I could do it for the rest of my life.

After jumping over and over, I decided a nap was in order. I laid out my towel, put on Glee soundtrack on my iPod, read some Crepusculo, and then drifted off to sleep. Beach sleeping is so relaxing and has the added benefit of rewarding you with a tan. Over the next hour or so people began to head off to the bus stop to go home.

When I awoke, Lisa, Elena, Rubia, Alejandro and I decided to go for a little adventure before heading back to the bus. My culture teacher, Cristina, had told us about el Balcon de Europa which is a beautiful lookout spot in Nerja, and I really wanted to find it. We traveled down the beach, coming to a little cove where two teenage girls were hanging out with a much older man. It was a little sketchy. We ignored them and heading over to a broken stone staircase. Elena and I waited there while the other three went off to climb some rocks and take pictures.

After that extensive photo shoot, we climbed a staircase up the cliff, spotting a secret garden of cats. We walked for a while, and I fearlessly led the group as we wondered narrow streets, trying to find el Balcon. After about 20 minutes of walking, we found it. El Balcon is huge and extends out over the sea, giving us some more photo ops and letting us soak up the wonder of the Mar Mediterraneo.

After our photo taking adventure, the five of us hurried back to the bus stop, hoping to make the next bus. We made it with a few minutes to spare, finding the rest of the group ready to go home as well. Rubia and I shared a bus seat, and we read our respective books in Spanish. Everyone was exhausted and fell asleep on our way back to Malaga. As Rubia and I walked back from the bus stop, we saw a flamenco concert going on in the park. This country never stops fascinating me. When Matteo and I got home, Tere was already in bed but she had left us delicious bocadillos, chips, and flan. We love her.

Nerja was infinitely better than class.


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Una excursión sevillana

Excursions broaden the study abroad experience.

So far I have visited Madrid, Toledo, Ronda, Malaga, and this past weekend, Sevilla, with ISA taking care of hotels, transportation, and tours. They give us plenty of time to wander, buy touristy stuff, eat food, and experience culture first hand. ISA Malaga also sponsors weekly visits to buildings and museums within Malaga and sends us a weekly itinerary of cultural events. Somehow they are able to help us soak up as much Spanish culture without making us feel like kindergartners visiting the zoo, and I appreciate that.

The trip to Sevilla is a blur. After staying up late blogging, I felt tired in the morning so I skipped my usual cafe con leche to help me sleep on the bus. Tere packed Matteo and me a lunch of bocadillos, manzanas, and Cola for the trip--we love her. My first hour and a half on the bus consisted of an iPod-induced music coma followed by a fuzzy-brained trip to the rest stop. Like rest stops in every nation the food was overpriced but my sleepy brain wanted a bocadillo. Then it told me to get back on the bus to finish my morning nap.

An hour and a half later we arrived in Sevilla, a huge, beautiful city intersected by the Guadalquivir River which we learned to be historically important in Cultura class. Spain has a linear coast with irregular rivers so Sevilla is the only city with a puerto fluvial (port on a river). River ports are much easier to defend, making Sevilla an important port city that flourished during the days of los Reyes Catolicos when all sea voyages had to start in Sevilla. Cristobal Colon (Columbus) himself prepared for his New World voyage in Sevilla.

Upon arriving, we quickly left the bus for our first stop on the trip: el Alcazar, the royal palace of Sevilla. This palace is a blend of architectural styles from over five centuries of construction and additions. It is one big hot mess. Despite the confusion, it ended up being both beautiful and interesting. We saw plazas, bedrooms, gardens, and even the dungeon. We were told that one of queens had been murdered in the dungeon, drowned in the pool of water by her husband for having an affair with his brother.

Our guide told us about Rey Pedro I of Castilla on whom the legend of Don Juan is based. Each night he disguised himself to seduce women and then kill their husbands or fathers. Pedro I promised to behead whoever this horrible man was. When the alcalde (mayor) of Sevilla discovered it was Pedro I himself, he went to the king and told him he had discovered the perpetrator. When Pedro asked the mayor to show him the man, the mayor held up a mirror. Pedro had a statue made of himself and cut the head off the statue. Kings do what they want.

After seeing the dungeons, the guide led us out of the Palace through la Juderia (Jewery). During the many years centuries of Christian rule of Sevilla, Jews were permitted to stay and keep their own religion as long as they lived in this certain part of town. Having their quarters connected to the palace proved to be a helpful thing for the Jews, for whenever something went wrong (plague, drought, murder, war, depression), people blamed the Jews, and the king protected them from massacre. We took a little break there, and I ate my bocadillo.

Our next stop was la Catedral de Sevilla, the largest cathedral in Spain and the third largest Christian cathedral in the world. An entire football field could fit inside. It was overwhelmingly beautiful. It had a variety of different chapels where misa (mass) could be heard, and the main one had the largest chapel front piece in the world, covered in pan de oro (gold leaf). We saw the final resting place of one of Colon's sons and a famous painting of San Antonio from the which the image of San Antonio was stolen and recovered. Since St. Anthony is the saint of lost things, no one was too surprised when they got it back.

Colon's body is suspended in a box held up by four figures which represent the four kingdoms of Spain: Castillo, Leon, Aragon, and Navarra. There was a big controversy over whether Sevilla or the Dominican Republic had the real body of Colon. Sevilla tested the DNA of the sample with the DNA of many other relatives of Colon, both alive and dead, and found that Sevilla does have Colon's body, or at least part of it. The DR has refrained from testing what they have.

Our last stop at the Cathedral was a trip up la Giralda, the tower. The whole thing has a ramp instead of steps, so while the climbing is easier, it seemed like we would never reach the top. However, all the climbing was extremely worth it. From the top, we saw the entire city of Sevilla layed out beautifully. When you look from the tower, the city extends for what seems like forever in every direction and you see the beauty of the capital city of Andalucia in a whole new light.

After the Cathedral, our group had some free time for lunch, and Elena, Lisa, Alejandro, Jen, Rubia and I wandered for a while, going into gift shops and watching some tunos play their guitars and sing. I was kind of grouchy and tired, so as soon as we got to our beautiful hotel, I collapsed on my bed--Felipe and Matteo did the same. We took aggressive siestas for a while until I was awoken by a call from Rubia.

We wanted to watch the U.S./England World Cup match and decided to have a party in my hotel room. In true celebration of our American roots, Jen, Rubia, Alejandro and I went to KFC and Dominos and purchased a disgustingly large feast. We stuffed our faces in American food and watched the Americans tie. I should clarify that Alejandro and Rubia watched them tie--Jen and I were on my laptop, looking at facebook and skyping my brother and sister.

Alejandro left to go to bed and Felipe came back, ready to go out for the night. Jen, Rubia, and I decided to take in a little nightlife ourselves, so we put on nice clothes, crossed the Guadalquivir and met a bunch of our fellow ISA students. Jen, Rubia, and I were distracted by a marching band playing at 1 AM so we decided to investigate. On a backstreet, we discovered a huge mass of people crowded around a procession celebrating the Virgin Mary. The last part of the procession is the best, with dozens of men carrying a huge silver throne covered in candles and a statue of la Virgen. Every so often the throne would stop and a man would relight the candles while another man sang a song about the Virgen from a balcony above the street. We felt privileged to be part of a tradition that has been happening for hundreds of years.

Jen, Rubia and I felt tired after that so we headed back to the hotel. The hotel foolishly only gave out one key per room, so I woke up at 4:30-5:00 to hear Felipe kicking on the door. I opened it for him and saw a puddle of blood on the floor. On his way back to the hotel he had suffered a massive bloody nose, and he quickly hurried to the bathroom. I went into pool manager mode and quickly cleaned up the drops of blood, doing my best to make the hall and room look less like a crime scene. After making sure Felipe was ok, I crawled back into bed and fell asleep. I do not remember much of Felipe coming back--he told me about it in the morning.

While Spanish breakfasts are usually light, at hotels they are buffets and we all took advantage of that before heading out. One of the ISA directors, Iker, was our guide for this day, and he took to a park. We stopped at la Glorieta de la Palomas, a plaza filled with white doves and other pidgeons. He bought some pigeon food and gave us all a little bit--I am proud to say that I merely opened up my hand and a pigeon flew up and began to eat the food. After owning a parakeet, I must be a bit of a bird whisperer now.

We walked through the park and after seeing the world's tiniest and most adorable puppy, we arrived at la Plaza de Espana. La Plaza de Espana is breathtaking. It was built for Sevilla's World Exposition and now is open to the public. Each of the 52 provinces of Spain has a little booth painted with a characteristic scene and covered in symbols that define the region. Iker told us that part of Episode II of Star Wars was filmed there. If you watch the clip, you should know that the scene was edited slightly--however, that is basically how the Plaza looks.

For lunch, a bunch of us found a Tex-Mex and enjoyed some Mexican food in Spain. Believe it or not, Spanish food and Mexican food are quite different--Tere has never served me a burrito, taco, enchilada, or quesadilla for a meal. I ordered a giant bowl of guacamole and sank deep into avocado heaven. After eating, we made our way back to the bus (after stopping at Starbucks as Profesora Cristina had commanded us).

I slept the three hour trip back and groggily wandered my way back to Calle de Santa Cristina and up the elevator to my apartment. Sevilla was nice, but Malaga felt like home.


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Soy malagueño

Malaga has begun to feel like home.

First of all, I want to apologize for not updating my blog in a while. Despite the fact that my life is mostly free time, I feel like the days go so quickly. However, I do not really have an excuse, so I will man-up and try to be better in the future.

Wednesday (2 weeks ago) was our first day of class. Matteo and I got up at 7:45 since we had to be at the school at 9. Tere made us cafe con leche and gave us pan tostado with mantequilla and mermelada de fresa. In English, that is coffee and toast. I had purchased my bono-bus pass the night before, so Matteo and I walked half a block to the bus stop and waited for el Once (number 11). Here's a traveler's tip: Matteo couldn't buy his pass yet because he couldn't cash his travelor's checks. NOWHERE IN SPAIN TAKES TRAVELER'S CHECKS. Matteo FINALLY got them changed to money yesterday, and he has been trying for over two weeks.

When the bus came, we quickly missed it because we had no idea what we were doing. Eight minutes later the next bus came, and we got on. At this point we were a little worried about making it to school on time. Our nervousness made us get off 4 paradas (stops) too early so we had a bit of a hike before making it to school. However, Spanish school never starts on time so our lateness did not really matter. We took a placement test, and I made advanced, exactly what I needed. Since I was not taking language, I had three hours off, so Jen, Andrea and I headed back home to la Playa Malagueta to catch some rays.

Since then, we have fallen into a nice pattern of school and nightlife. Each day I have culture class from 9-11 and literature class from 1-3. During the two hour break in the middle, Andrea, Jen, Kendra and I hang out, sometimes buying fruit at the fruit stand at the corner, getting bocadillos across the street, going to the beach, checking our email, napping, reading books, or watching the Bachelorette, although that last part is mostly Andrea. I have a love/hate relationship with the bus--I love the idea of mass transit but practically it is annoying.

After class I head back to Tere's piso for comida (lunch). I usually get home around 3:20 but Matteo gets home at 2:20. I found out today that he usually eats lunch with Tere's 8-year-old nieto (grandson) during which they both watch Kim Possible in Spanish. This makes me more jealous than I think you can understand. By the time I get home, everyone else has eaten, and Matteo is enjoying one of his 2-5 hour siestas. The typical Spanish siesta is 20-30 minutes, but we Americans tend to abuse the system a tidge. Sometimes Tere's adult son or adult daughter come for lunch, and that takes longer, giving me some dining companions.

I usually spend my afternoons at the apartment or at the beach in front of our building. Sometimes I watch a tv show, take a siesta, or go grab some rays. A few days we have gone shopping--there are some great malls and shops that we can reach with a short bus ride. Supper is usually eaten around 9-10, and Tere prefers 9 since she goes to bed a little earlier. Tere goes out a lot at night to visit friends and family, so she frequently prepares our bocadillos beforehand and leaves them in the toaster oven for when we are hungry. We love her.

After dinner, we see what the night brings. There are seven of us from ISA Malaga that live on la Playa Malagueta, so people meet on the beach every night at 10:30 to hang out. Sometimes that means just chilling; other nights it means hitting the Centro and going to the Discotecas to dance the night away. A few days into our time at Malaga Matteo bought a guitar, and now he brings that down to sing and play. He and I are collaborating on a recording of Kanye's Heartless. Other nights we go out for tapas or helado. Ironically, our two meeting points tend to be the Burger King at Plaza de la Malagueta and McDonald's at Plaza de la Marina. We are so American.

One night Pedro, Sarah and I went to el Centro Comercial Larios to watch Prince of Persia: Arenas de Tiempo in Spanish. Thankfully you do not need to understand much of the dialogue in action films. I highly recommend it--I really enjoyed the film. It has one of the happiest endings of any adventure film I have seen in a long time.

So many crazy things have happened, and I have more stories than I could every tell or write. I have been catcalled by a transexual, interrogated by an old crazy man about where the Weapons of Mass Destruction are in Iraq, dined in the shadow of the Arabic castle and the unfinished Cathedral, danced with Jen to protect Rubia from a creepy Spaniard that would not leave her alone at the discoteca, had several old ladies think I was Spanish and call me guapo, attended church with six other people, gotten very lost in el Centro, pretended I did not understand Spanish, eaten so many pitufos de tortilla, gone swimming in the Mediterranean, made friends with two kebob guys, climbed Mount Gibralfaro, met people from Australia, Germany, Italy, Holland, Spain, the DR, Cuba, Colombia, England, France, and Canada, and so much much much more. I cannot wait to tell people everything in person.

We have taken a few trips since coming here, and I have enjoyed them all. Iker, a native Spaniard and one of our directors, gave us a tour of Malaga on our first day. Since then, he also gave us a tour of la Alcazaba, a Muslim fortress and castle, and took us to the Museo de Costumbres y Artes (Museum of Customs and Arts). We also took a day trip to the picturesque city of Ronda which is divided by a HUGE ravine and may have the prettiest vistas (views) I had seen since coming to Spain. Tomorrow we head to Sevilla for the weekend, and I am excited to see yet another magnificent city of Spain.

Life is beautiful. Skype me!


Click here for photos of MALAGA
Click here for photos of LA ALCAZABA
Click here for photos of RONDA