Granada

So I just got back from Granada, Spain yesterday at like 7:30 after the metro and what not. And I will say one thing first: I have never had such an amazing and awesome vacation ever.

This is sooo true. I can´t really describe it. I mean, nothing went wrong. There were 7 girls and no one fought or bickered. The guys from the Granada IP program were the best tour guides/photographers/big bros/waiters/cooks we could have asked for. I mean, they bought extra blankets and pillows for us and food so we would have something to eat when we got hungry. Who really goes that far out of their way for people they met briefly a few weeks ago? It was so awesome... and two other boys allowed us to crash at their pads a few of the nights too. Which was greatly appreciated becuase 4 of us on the floor in one piso was a bit much.

So here is the day by day play by play, and hopefully some pictures if I can figure it out.

Friday:
We all met at the Dar, Emm, and Ellie´s place, then trucked over via the metro to get to the bus station. After an interesting situation where my friend Sara got yelled at by what we think was a bumb asleep on the bench, we made it to our bus on time and headed out of Madrid. I sat next to Ellie and we watched the weird movie that was playing on the bus and listened to our ipods and hit each other when we wanted to show them something out the window. The bus stopped about halfway through at a rest stop kind of thing so we could eat, strech, and use the restrooms. I have to say that driving through Spain seemed very similar to a drive through the 5 from nothern California to southern California, without really hitting any major cities though. Only Granada once we got there.
We had all packed for a rainy weekend and most of the girls had nothing other than winter clothes. So the slight rain and intense wind didn´t bother us too much when we were getting in to the taxis to head to James and Aaron´s house. After a brief botellón and a the arrival of a few more of the Granada kids we all headed out to a club about 12:30 or 1. We would get a free drink if we arrived before 1. Haha... So the place we went to was soooo cool! It was basically a cave. We had to climb up a really huge hill, or a few I should say, but it was worth it. The area that all the IP kids live in is covered with EARSMUS students, so we heard a lot more english being spoken as we walked down the street as opposed to Spanish. Apparently one of the Granada guys, Ferny, had his 20th birthday the previous Monday so he bought 2 rounds of tequilla shots for all 12 or so of us that were there. The music was very american and we all had a blast dancing and sweating up a storm until 6 am. Our only relief was to go out on to the beautiful deck and enjoy the strong winds blowing. On the way home we stopped by a Döner Kebab place calle Kebab King and enjoyed our first delicious bites of kebabs. Then me, Ellie, and Emma crashed out at James & Aaron´s place while the rest of the girls went with Fern to his house since he had more space.

Saturday:
We all woke up around 1 I believe and began getting ready. I was the first one at our place to take a shower and as soon as the hot water turned on the house almost went up in flames because they´re water heater had been smoking up for a few days already. Haha... so needless to say we all enjoyed cold prison showers instead. You only use the water when necessary and be prepared for a headache if you decide to wash your hair. Haha. Once we all met up again the boys took us up the same hill as the night before and then some so we could see the city from one of the best vistas in the town. Apparently we brought perfect weather with us becaus it wasn´t to hot and it was far from cold. It was perfect. After our mission and a half up the hill we made it to the wall they recommended we climb. One of the boys, Ben, had almost convinced me not to (pretty much did) climb the wall because it wasn´t worth it. But once I saw the rest of the girls making their way up, freaking out, and making James spot them as the scaled the small wall I decided I would do it too. Because there is a slim to none chance that I would ever get the opportunity again. Without guidance from anyone because they were either up on the wall already or they were taking pictures I made my way up the wall. And it was SO worth it. It was still pretty windy when we got up there so we didn´t stand much, but the second it slowed a bit we were all over that wall. After we climbed down with a bit of verbal guidance from the ones already on the ground we headed back down the hill.
The guys took us to get gelato at what they said was the best place in town and then to see the Cathedral and the market surrounding it. All of which was amazing as well. I bought 2 pairs of earrings from one of the vendors, but happened to leave them at James´ place so he´ll have to bring them next time he´s in Madrid. At this point we decided to reconvene later on for tapas and to head out to a really cool club that we had to be ridiculously dressed up to get in to and we couldn´t let on that we were americans. So I was nervous because I don´t do clubs. I certainly don´t have the proper attire to go out to them either. But luckily I pulled something together and borrowed a pair of heels from Darlene for the night. We were all starving by the time we made it to the tapas bar and literally inhaled the food the second the boys would put the plate down in front of us. I think most of us were more interested in getting food as opposed to drinks. Haha. We headed back to James´place to pick up the rest of the crew and pre-drink a bit before heading to the club. By this point my feet were already killing me and I was not in the mood for a night full of painful feet.
We headed out to the club, Mai West, I believe is the name and I walked over with one of the guys named Ben, he´s from Chico and knows my friend Torrie that has lived there since we were in 8th grade. So it was cool. To prepare ourselves we kept our convos to spanish only and we were planning on going in in small groups so they couldn´t really deny us entrance. But somehow while me and Ben were in line a group ahead of us had been denied so we walked over to another club. Knowing that this club was a walk in the complete opposite direction I took the heels off and went barefoot until I got to the line. Haha... This club was so much fun! I think almost all of the Granada group made it there and we all danced and drank (I was stoked on getting 2 free drinks with the price of admission & didn´t spen any money at the bar). A few of us headed back to James´place a tiny bit earlier than the rest, but once they all came in with kebabs again I was determined to have one too. Me and Sara were going to be the ones to stay at Ferny´s that night and since Kebab King was on the way, I took one for the road. Haha.. I don´t think I said a single word the whole walk there.
Sunday:
Sara, Fern, and I woke up around 2 when the other girls called to see if we were headed back yet because they had just woken up and were getting ready. We had planned on eating and going to see the Alhambra. Sara and I went to James´place and I took a quick cold shower without washing my hair because I still felt gross from the night before. I still felt gross because I hadn´t washed my hair, but it was manageable. We stopped at a tapas bar for a meal before we began climbing the staircase that would lead to the Alhambra. While we were sitting there, we not only saw one man dressed in a Spiderman suit, but 2! Haha... And they both went in to the mexican restaurant nearby. We think the younger one lost because he came out first. Haha...
After nearly dying on the walk uphill again we walked through an aquatic display near the Alhambra. It had posters filled with pictures and facts about the worlds water supply and usage. Some of it was rather heartbreaking and others were just plain interesting or cute. Like the picture of an elephante swimming. We found out that the Alhambra couldn´t sell any more tickets for the day and went out towards the terrace where access without tickets was still allowed. Then we went back to James´place to rest and watch Weeds and Entourage on his laptop.
Around 7 we decided to get ready to go to a Flamenco show/dinner. Only James and Fern joined us this time. Gabi, Ben, and Aaron chose to stay in for a bit instead. They missed out. The show was absolutely breathtaking. We believe the guitarist and the dancer were a couple by the way they would stare in to each others eyes and she had so much expression while she danced. It almost made my eyes water. And the dinner was delicious. Most of us opted for pizza since it was the cheapest thing on the menu and and we all shared jarras of sangria. Dar, Fern, Sara, and I grabbed some ice cream and watched one of the coolest street performances ever. Monday was a holiday so all the performers were in renaissance attire and there were bagpipes, flames, drums, clarinettes, and a unicylce involved. haha... so sweet! And I almost forgot to mention that earlier that afternoon while watching tv a firework went off right next to James´ place and scared the crap out of us! Especially Jacque, me, and Sara... Me and Jacque ran for the bedroom and Sara hit the floor. Haha... it was too funny. I think I had a mini heart attack. Haha
We decided to take it easy Sunday night since we planned on going to the Alhambra at 7:30 so we were sure we´d get tickets and enough time to see the place. So we went to the pub across the street and watched american football (Woo! the 49ers lost!) of course the SF boys were all pretty upset about that. All the girls except for me and Dar went home at around 11 or 12, but I had planned on crashing at Fern´s house again so I could have a warm shower so I stayed out for while too. After noticing Darlene across the street with a kebab I got one too and headed back to James´place to eat and watch tv with the girls. I didn´t end up getting back until about 2 and James came pretty much at the same time. There were already 3 girls on the floor and one on the couch, so I was going to see if I could join Dar and Jacque at Gabi´s, but Dar didn´t feel like waiting for the show to end so I found a comfy spot and watched tv til I fell asleep.
Monday:
Sara´s alarm clock went off at 7. Then her phone rang at 7:30 and it was Jacque asking if we were up and getting ready yet to head to the Alhambra. After hanging up Sara asks us if any of us are ready to get up, I don´t remember who, but they responded with "no, its still dark outside. We can´t get up." And it was settled. Haha... All 6 of us stayed sleeping. Then about an hour later the doorbell rings and I had to get up and answer it. Looking like crap and without shoes, Dar, Gabi, and Jacque weren´t very suprised to see that we were all still sleeping. That changed almost immediately and none of us showered, we just got up, put clothes on, brushed our teeth, did our hair and make up and we were off. We stopped and got Napolitanas de chocolate y crossaints on the way and headed up the hill again.
The Alhambra was beautiful. I took soooo many pictures. If I can figure it out I´ll try and make a blog just with the pictures from the Alhambra. Most of us weren´t able to enter the main building of the Alhambra until 12:30, so we just roamed the rest of it and took lots of pictures. Around 12:30 though we started heading back to James´ place to pack and grab one last döner kebab for the road and we left. I ended up leaving the two pairs of earrings that I had bought behind and Ellie left her Klean Kantine which she takes everywhere. We ended up back in Madrid at about 6:50 and I was at home and showering by 7:30. It was very necessary. Haha.

This was a life changing trip I´d have to say. I would really love to go back again before I leave Spain. And if the day were to ever come and it were possible for me to fly my entire family over here... I´d get married in the Alhambra or one of the churches I saw in Granada. It was that beautiful. Wow.