The last blog post in Spain ? how did time go by so quickly?? Since school has ended, life in Spain has been full of traveling and exploring new places. It has been a cool experience getting to see different cities in Spain and noticing the differences between them. When I found out that we would only be able to travel within Spain, I was a little disappointed. Looking back now though, it has been such an awesome opportunity to truly get to solely explore Spain and all that it has to offer.
During this past week, I had the opportunity to visit Madrid. It was incredible to say the least! It was interesting to explore the different areas and notice the different social scenes in each of them. In the beginning, we were worried that only older people visited Madrid, but we were so wrong! That night, we visited the Sol area and met a lot of young locals. It was cool seeing the way they spent their free nights ? going to the club and listening to a local DJ mixing music. The next day, we walked around Retiro Park and that?s when I fell in love with the city. Touring the crystal palace while a couple played the violin felt like a scene out of a movie! There were a lot of locals tanning, reading, and doing yoga in the green areas of the park and it reminded me of a beautiful version of Zilker Park in Austin. That night, we went to a local flamenco show and it was wonderful ? the dancers were so talented. Our trip came to an end and we headed back home just in time for our day trip with the program.
On Tuesday, we traveled to Girona and Tossa del Mar. It was one of my favorite day trips! Girona was the most beautiful town and I enjoyed simply walking on the cobblestone through the narrow stone streets. I appreciated hearing about the history intertwined with the Jews ? the town must be so proud of its hand in saving some of the Jews. After a couple of hours and an authentic lunch in Girona, we headed to Tossa del Mar. I could have stayed in Tossa del Mar all day! It was movie scene beautiful ? literally since there was a famous movie filmed there! While walking around the town, we enjoyed some yummy gelato and entered a couple of stores. Time flew by and it was time to head back home! The exhaustion of traveling hit and we grabbed a quick dinner and went to bed.
On Wednesday, the exhaustion leaked into our morning as we all slept in and had a lazy day. That afternoon, we had a cooking class with some of the other girls in the program. While we were cooking the paella and tapas, I quickly realized that I could make these at home on my own! I am already looking forward to making authentic Spanish meals for my roommates in College Station. The food was wonderful and I appreciated learning everyday cooking tips from our awesome cooking instructor, David.
Thursday came and we packed our bags again and headed to Granada! On our first day there we had a rude awakening to the insane incline of the city! We quite literally hiked through a neighborhood to reach a recommended Arabic tea restaurant, but the view and food was worth it. We spent the rest of our time in Granada visiting the Alhambra and hiking through its national park. Granada has a heavy Arabic influence and it was interesting learning about where that influence came from. Our trip to Granada was a wonderful experience. I am hoping to take in every moment that I have left in our last week!