The Alhambra

The door on the left is yes, the one of the right is no



















writing in spanish














writing in arabic



















one of the girls said i looked like LPGA so this is my golf stance

pretty flowers

The Alhambra is a monument in Granada... it was originally a muslim fortress and palace that took over 100 years to build. We went there yesterday... most people took the bus but I walked with a couple of others. The entrance is a huge arch with two small arches on either side. Once you go in, you have to walk up an angle that's probably about 45 degrees. It was ROUGH to say the least. However, I'd like to add proudly, that we walkers arrive at the same exact time as the lazy bus riders LOL.

Once up there you walk into the fortress through this crazy-thick door, and then walk through and up in the tower. From the tower you can see the entire city of Granada, as well as the Sierra Nevada in the background. At the top of the tower there is a bell that the young ladies would ring when they were ready to be married.

Then we exited the tower and went into the palace. It was really pretty. When you first walk in there are two doors. Basically when a visitor came, there were two options. Either they like the visitor and they get invited through one door into the palace, or they exit through the other door... both are indentical. The Alhambra was first occupied by muslims, and was later posessed by Christians, so the two religions show their influence through the architecture. There is writing in classic arabic and then also in latin.

Then we walked through some gardens.

More Spain...

So.... we live on the 4th floor, but in Europe, they have "ground" floor, so it's really the 5th floor. We have an elevator, but I decided to take the stairs the whole trip. Whooo!!! I'm half dead when I get to the top! LOL

















This is the HUGE cathedral in the center of Granada... we haven't gone in it yet and I've yet to see it in the daytime, but you can at least get a glimpse of how beautiful it is here













LOL Yet another reference to my baby!!!

Right after Spain scored against Paraguay!!

My feet, covered in sand, after playing on the COOLEST seesaw I've ever seen in my life!

outside the game watching tent in the park

Ppl in the tent getting ready to watch the game!

This is my room here in Granada... a pretty good size! We aren't here much, though so I don't spend a lot of time in here!

This is before orientation, after taking our placement test

This doggy was playing on the beach with her owner... she looks JUST like Lola, only shorter! And her name is Sola!

this is the beach we went to our first weekend here... it's in the shape of a horseshoe

Spain PICS

This is Malaga, where we flew in to in Spain. We took a bus to Granada, where we are studying.

This is our host in Malaga, Arturo. He was great with us foreigners!

This is a fried fish dish. I can't remember the name, but they are super small, like minnows and they fry them whole. You eat them mixed with a red pepper and onion sauce. They were really yummy!

This is a local drink called gaspacho... you can find it in other parts of Spain/Spanish restaurants, but it originated in Malaga. It is basically a ton of veggies... garlic, pimiento, tomato, and others. MMmmmmmm!

This is a photo of the beautiful beach in Malaga

SPAIN!!

Well, on our way to the airport, Tatiana's cousin's boyfriend heard us say that we were going to Malaga. Well, one of his best friends lives there and because we arrived at 1am, he called him and he picked us up from the airport. He was SO nice... he took us to a little beach bar and then we slept on his couches. The next day he took us out to lunch and ordered a bunch of local favorites for us... pics to come! Then he took us back to the airport and we caught a bus to Granada!
Our first day in Granada we had to take a placement test to make sure we were put in the correct class level. It took about two hours... I was put in level 8, the highest! :)
The following day we went to the beach, and it was NOT sunny at all. It was cold too, and since I've had a cold since I got to Europe I didn't want to get in the water. Everyone else got to kayak and go sailing, which looked really cool!
Then on Sunday we just hung out around town... we found this amazing cathedral in the middle of the city that has a little cafe/restaurant/bar in the plaza out in front of it. It was sooooo pretty.
Today was our first day of class. I have class off and on from 11-8. So far they have been good... one of teachers didn't show though!

This is a water fountain in Rome... fitting, huh?















This is a view that shows a lot of stuff from ancient Rome, including the colosseum to the right











MC Hammer pants are all the rage in Italy....

















This is a famous arch that the Roman soldiers would parade through upon returning from conquering some people.



















This is the inside of the colosseum... it's ridiculously huge.