Granada!

Lots of traveling as of late! I spent the weekend before last in Nerja, a tiny tourist town along the Southern coast of Spain. I went with 7 other friends; we rented a little villa/apartment for the weekend, which was absolutely fantastic! The villa was pretty big, with a front yard, fully equipped kitchen, comfy couches, and some American TV. (: Oh, and we got 2 free bottles of champagne, which we popped open right away, of course! Nerja was cute, lots of white buildings, palm trees, flowers….and, unfortunately, rain. We were able to get a little beach time in though. We mostly just hung out in our villa, cooking, sleeping, drinking, and watching TV. It was nice to just be away for the weekend and have time to hang out with friends in a home setting. I came back to a very short 2-day week of school, and then left for Madrid, Segovia, and Toledo with my program. Madrid was huge and overwhelming, but it was also exciting to be in a big city. We went to the two big art museums (Prado and Reina Sofia), which were both great. I liked the Reina Sofia more, lots of Picasso (including Guernica) and more modern art. The Prado has very traditional Spanish art, by Velazquez, El Greco, Goya, etc. We also visited Valle de los Caidos, which was built after the Spanish Civil War, and is where Franco is buried. It’s pretty creepy, basically built into this cliff with a giant cross towering over it. It was supposed to be built to honor those who died in the war, but only two names are commemorated, one of them Franco of course. Segovia and Toledo were both very cute. We took some day trips there, did a little sightseeing. I had a great lunch with friends in Toledo, paella and quail (cooked Toledo style!). Our hotel room in Madrid had a balcony, so we spent lots of time outside, just eating and drinking and hanging out. The weather was fantastic, in the 60’s or 70’s most days! I frequented H&M too many times (of course!) and went to a very cool Cave Bar with friends one night—the drinks come out of stalactites and you get free candy! We also went out for some really good Indian food. I’m excited to go back to Madrid (during Semana Santa) with Sam to see more of the city. Miss you all tons. Keep in touch! I love getting your emails! Anna