Day trips and discotecas...

Last weekend was a little crazy (in the crazy-busy sort of way) and definitely a lot of fun! Elena Pappas, a friend from Ellington, visited me from Thursday evening through Sunday morning. Elena's a senior at UMASS Amherst and this semester she's studying abroad in Thessaloniki, Greece. She arrived via bus on Thursday afternoon and we spent our first night together catching up and walking around the city. We found her hostel, which was actually in a great location in central Granada, and then went out for a few tapas and drinks at two of my favorite bars in the city.

The next morning we met up at 10:00am and made the most of the day. We started out by shopping for trinkets, scarves and souvenirs in the center of the city, on the small streets near the Catedral and the Plaza Bib Rambla. Later we walked up to the Alhambra where we bought tickets to enter the monument later that afternoon. The Alhambra is the thing to visit when you visit Granada, think of it as the Eiffel Tower or the Times Square of Granada- it's that important and rich in history. It was built in the 14th century by the Moorish monarchy first as a military fortress. It later became a citadel, containing much more than just the military fortress but the royal palaces, summer homes and gardens as well. While waiting for our appointed visit time, Elena and I walked over to the Albaicín, the old Moorish quarter of Granada, located close to the Alhambra. There we explored the narrow streets (getting lost only for a few minutes...) in search of the Mirador de San Nicolas, a small plaza known for its beautiful views of Granada, the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada. At 2:00pm we headed back up to the Alhambra for our visit. Here are some photos I took from within the Alhambra... you'd never believe that it was the end of October what with all the flowers and bright colors!

Inside the Generalife, the summer palace and gardens of the Alhambra.

One of the palaces in the Generalife and the Patio de la Acequia.

Windows in the Generalife adorned with arabesques.

A view of Granada from inside the Alhambra grounds. I love this city!

Elena and me on top of one of the towers of the Alcazaba, the fortress/military headquarters of the Alhambra.

After touring the Alhambra, it was late in the afternoon... almost 4:00pm or so... and being as starving as we were at that point, we stopped for a quick bite to eat. Around 5:00pm, Elena headed back to her hostel for a bit and I headed home to take care of a few things for the upcoming week and to get ready for going out later that night. I met up with her again around 7:00pm and we did a little more souvenir shopping until meeting up with John for tapas at 8:30pm. That night we went out to a few different bars in the city before heading over to botellón with a small group of friends.

Saturday morning we got up early again, this time for a day trip to Ronda, a small city in the province of Málaga. We met up with some of my friends, most of whom are teaching English here in Granada, and packed ourselves into two cars for the two hour drive. Despite being exhausted on the way there, we had a great day with everyone walking around and exploring Ronda. While it's a really small city (you can see everything there is to see in 1-2 days) it is absolutely beautiful! The region is very mountainous and has some spectacular viewpoints. The Guadelevin River separates the city into two sections that are connected by the Puente Nuevo, one of the most famous bridges in all of Spain. The views from this bridge are incredible... you can see for miles and miles canyons, cliffs, mountains, fields, rolling hills, de todo un poco. We spent our day walking around the city, taking in the views, and hitting the major sites, like the Puente Nuevo and the Plaza de Toros, a bullring built in 1785 and one of the oldest in Spain. Here are a few of the photos that I took during our trip to Ronda:

One of many incredible views in Ronda.

John, me and Elena.

Puente Nuevo. This bridge was constructed in the 18th century over the Guadelevin River.

The English teachers! (L-R) Kelsea, me, Lauren, Jillian and Lindsay.

A shot of the canyons taken from the bridge.

After returning to Granada, we took a quick nap before heading out again that night. After meeting up with a group of friends, we headed to a club (discoteca) called Camborio, where I had never been before. The club was really cool... built into a cave up by the Albaicín, it has a few different floors, outdoor terraces and awesome views of the Alhambra which are even more impressive as the sun starts to rise! Unfortunately, Elena and I couldn't stay out "too" late, as she had to take a flight to Barcelona early the next morning. So, at 6:00am we left the club to take a "nap" before heading to the airport at 9:00am! It was a non-stop, on-the-go weekend with practically no sleep, but it was definitely one of the best weekends I've had here so far!

Tomorrow, I'll be traveling again... this time to Madrid! John and I are leaving Granada at 9:00am tomorrow morning and making the five hour bus ride up to the capital to visit Anais, who's taking a few courses there until February. We'll be there through next Monday evening and are trying to plan a day-trip to Segovia, another pretty city outside of Madrid. I'll post pictures next week when I have some free time!

Hope everyone's doing well back home! Sending you all lots and lots of love,
-Katie