Friday July 27, 2007 continued..
I had dinner with madre one last time then she went to bed. I finished packing, watched some tv and wrote madre a thank you note. I woke her up to say good bye and it was actually more sad than I thought it would be. She watched me get on the elevator and that was the last time I saw her. I walked to Liz’s apartment and waited for her. She came down with her madre and sister. We all said goodbye then Liz and I got a taxi to the train station. We met up with Annie and Caleb and settled into the train station. Caleb and I went for one last walk through Valencia and got some good pictures. I am really going to miss Valencia- it was an awesome experience being there, learning, meeting new people, and really getting to know the culture. We walked back to the train station and boarded around 12:50am. We all had beds in a sleeping car. It reminded us of Harry Potter. The rooms were separated by sex and this nice old Spanish man helped caleb and I lift our very heavy suit cases above the beds. It was a room with 2 sets of bunk beds- it was tight, but sufficient room for its purpose. I had a top bunk and after putting everything away I tried to go to bed. It took a little while to fall asleep on a train that was moving, but I fell asleep and was out for a while.
Saturday July 28, 2007 Granada
I woke up in a moving train and I have to admit it was a really unique and cool experience. The bed was comfortable and I slept ok for a few hours. I woke up and walked to the sleeping car to have breakfast with Annie and Liz. Caleb decided to sleep more because his throat was hurting. We had a large breakfast of 2 croissants, toast, coffee and juice for 5 euros which was not a bad deal. The problem was that almost as soon as we got our breakfast, we arrived in Granada around 8:40am. I ran back to my sleeping car to grab my stuff and we all got off the train. We bought a map of Granada and we were going to walk to our hostel, but we decided to get a taxi. We managed to get one large enough to fit the 4 of us and all of our large luggage. We arrived at Hostel Nevada and I was impressed how nice it was considering we only paid 14.95 euros for the night each. We could not check in yet, but left our luggage at the hostel and went to explore the city. We went to several shops to buy gifts for family and friends, but I did not see anything that stood out and decided to wait until later on in the trip. We went back to our hostel to check in and we were amused by our room. It was one decent sized room with 4 beds, a sink and a shower in the middle of the room (not in it’s own bathroom). We dropped our stud, went to the super mercado to buy water and stuff to make lunch. I hit my led on a large metal pole sticking out of the ground. At first glance I thought I saw mu bone, but after a closer look, it was just skin that didn’t start to bleed yet. It was painful, but the pain wore off. We walked to the El Alambra. We walked past a bakery which smelled great and then part of the way up a mountain. We stopped along the way to make sandwiches with the food we bought and had lunch. It was good and really cheap to do it that way. After a little confusion as to what gate we were to enter we figured it out, got our tickets, bought audio guides and entered the Alambra. The Alambra is described as follows: “A magical use of space, light, water, and decoration characterizes this most sensual piece of architecture.” It was built under the Nasrid Dynasty and the aim was to great their idea of paradise on earth. The views were amazing as it sat above Granada on a Mountain and the Alambra itself was awesome. The pictures do not do it justice and is something you have to see in person to fully appreciate. We spent several hours there and I loved it. The gardens were some of the nicest I have seen and the architecture was awesome as well. We walked back down the mountain and Caleb bought a really cool skirt for his mom from a small shop along the street. We all stopped at a bakery for a snack and orange flavored Nestea which is my new favorite drink. I really hope that I can find it in the United States. We walked around to some more shops where Liz and Annie found some other cool stuff to buy. We went to a restaurant for a cheap dinner of sandwiches. We got a taxi and went back up the mountain to see Flamenco. For 20 euros we got a ticket for 2 drinks of sangria and a great show of Flamenco. The venue was great too because it was small and we were right there in the middle of the flamenco. Caleb, Liz and Annie even got to get up and dance with the dancers. I was kind of glad that I was not picked, but I got some great pictures and videos of it all. We walked out and got another great view of the Alambra lit up at night. We walked back to our hostel and got to see all of the Spanish people still having dinner and dressed up to begin their night at midnight. We were tired and headed back to our hostel. We figured out that we needed our ticket numbers for the bus the next day. I tried calling my mom a few times and my brother, but they did not answer their phones. Caleb and I set out to find an internet café and food for Annie. We finally found one and got our ticket information. We bought some Nestea and after searching for a bag of chips we ended up stopping at a restaurant and buying a 4 euro gigantic bag of chips. We walked back to the hostel and they were amused. It was good that we left because it gave them a chance to use the shower in the room which offered no privacy. We all talked and then went to bed. Granada was an awesome city- we got to see a lot and I had a great time.
Sunday July 29, 2007 Leaving Granada and heading to Cadiz.
We woke up at 10 and I felt so refreshed. I slept so well the night before. Annie and Liz left to go buy us food for breakfast and lunch while Caleb and got showers. We packed up our stuff and the hostel called a large cab to pick us up. The cab ended up being too small so they called another one. We were a little crunched for time but the next taxi that we called for was large enough. The man was very nice- he loaded our stuff and even gave us a quiz in Spanish after he found out we spoke Spanish. He drove a little slow so when we got to the bus station we had to run. We got to the bus in time and even got our large luggage loaded, but then we found out that we had to go get our tickets at the ticket counter. That was not true in the past when all one needed was a confirmation number which we all had. We ran to the ticket counter and asked for our tickets. We found all of them except mine. They kept asking for a localization number but we did not know what it was. Luckily we had e-mailed our tickets to Annie’s blackberry, but it was not on the e-mail. We were all stressed out and about to miss out bus we got one ticket printed and Liz went to ask the bus driver to wait. We finally found my ticket- they had changed my name to Roberto instead of Robert. Then we could not figure out how to spell Annie’s last name. We finally figured it out and ran to the bus. We mad everyone else wait 15 minutes, but they were not too mad. We were able to calm down once we got our seats. Thus began our bus ride to Cadiz. We made a stop in Seville to let people off the bus. Annie, Liz, Caleb and I made sandwiches with the stuff we bought at the store. We got back on the bus and got all of the money issues taken care of. I owed Annie 90 euros for some train tickets and hostel booking deposits. Then I owed Liz 200 euros for other train tickets, hostels, and other stuff. We also figured out who owed what from Granada. We would take turns paying for taxis and groceries, but it was never even. It was complicated to figure out, but after we finally figured it out, we decided to have a general pot for common expenses which will be much easier in the future. We got to see some field of sunflowers, but because it is late in the summer they were mostly dead. We got to Cadiz and the view was amazing. We crossed the bridge to go to the island and got off at the bus stop. We walked to our hotel and we were very impressed. We did could not find a hostel that was available so we ended up booking a hotel for 3 nights. We are paying much more than the other nights, but it is really nice. Caleb and I are sharing one room and Annie and Liz are sharing another. We have a nice flat screen tv, a refrigerator, and our own bathroom. We got directions from the receptionist at the hotel and walked around Cadiz. The streets are very small and the town itself is very unique. It is the oldest city in Spain and Columbus even set off for a voyage to America from here. We went to a Catholic church and mass was about to start so we went in and stayed for the service. It was interesting. I did not under stand much, but I under stood the Lord’s Prayer I had to learn in Catholic school in Spanish. We went to telepizza and got a pizza for dinner. We took a walk to the ocean (about a 5 minute walk) and watched the sun set over the ocean. It was an amazing sit. I have now seen the sun rise and set in Spain. We went for a walk through a garden along the coast and the views were great between the ocean and the gardens. We stopped to get ice cream at a little ice cream store and sat in a park to enjoy it. We shared stories about our pets and talked about how grateful we are to have the opportunity to be in Spain and traveling. We walked back to the hotel to relax and enjoy the ac, watched some tv and went to bed early. Cadiz is awesome!
Monday July 30, 2007 Cadiz
We slept in until 9 and went to get our continental breakfast. It was good they had assorted pastries, juice, cereal, coffee, tea, fruit and more. It was much more than we were used to and it was good. We decided to walk around the city. Cadiz is very small so if it looks like it is far away on the map, it really is not. We were able to walk everywhere in a short amount of time. We visited the cathedral of Cadiz. We did not go in, but we did pay to climb the tower. It was the tallest point of the city and it was right off the ocean so the views were great. I got a lot of pictures. We then went to an museum which was a little disappointing, but it was included with the cost of walking up the tower. We did some more window shopping. Caleb got some more stuff for his family, but I did not see anything I wanted. We went to the super market to get some food for lunch. We are really good about eating very cheap. I got some Nestea naranja as well. We came back to the hotel to make sandwiches and relax. We went to the beach that was closest to our hotel. It was nice because there was lots of shade, but the water was not so great. The locals said that the change in wind had messed up the water color. I was tired of the beach so I went back to the hotel. I got a shower (it is nice not to be limited to one shower a day) and went shopping. I found some stuff that I liked, but did not buy anything yet. I came back to the hotel to meet up with the others and we went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. It was really good and really cheap. After dinner on the way back home Caleb called me out on how I make fun of people. At first I was really pissed off, but when we got back to the hotel and talked about it, he made me realize that I do that to Dylan all the time. We went down to the girls room and all had Tinto de Verano sabor lemon. I was tired and went to bed right after that.
Tuesday July 31, 2007 Cadiz
We slept in until 10 and had another great continental breakfast. We decided to go to the nice beach today. We walked a little further and went to the beach Cadiz was known for. It was nice and we walked a little further to avid some rocks and people. We even rented some nice hamacas y sombrilla (beach chairs and sunshade (umbrellas)). It was worth ir for the day. We basically sat on the beach and relaxed all day. I brought my goggles and went swimming. The water was nice and clear so I got to swim along the bottom and see the fish and plant life. It was awesome. I called my mom from the beach to talk to her for a few minutes. I started reading Mere Christianity. Last time I tried to read it I never finished it. Caleb and I were in charge of getting lunch. The first 2 super markets we went to were closed for siesta. We found a Supersol to buy lunch. We only spent 6.25 for lunch for 4 people. What a deal! We went back to the beach and ate. I swam some more, went for a walk with Caleb on the beach, took a nap in my beach chair, read, and listened to music. It was very relaxing. We walked back to our hotel, showered, and got ready for dinner. I went back to a store and got a shirt I liked for really cheap with rebajas. I almost got my dad a tie, but the one I liked had a tear in it. We all went to the Chinese restaurant for dinner again. We had some more good food for even cheaper than the night before. We also had really good talks at dinner about how there is much more spousal abuse in Spain and the women just take it, how guys and girls send mixed messages, etc. It was really interesting. We walked around Cadiz some more and stopped for ice cream. We ended up getting a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone and then got the ice cream dipped in chocolate. It was so good. We had a talk about our grandparents which was really good as well. We walked back to the hotel and al talked in the girls room about how our parents met. We just had a lot of good conversations today. Caleb and I went back to our room and I fell asleep shortly thereafter.
Wednesday August 1, 2007 Cadiz- Seville
We woke up at 7:30, I got a shower, and we packed. We met the girls downstairs for breakfast, ate fast, paid for the hotel (our most expensive one, but it was nice and there were no other options in the city), and walked to the train station. We boarded the train and we were on our way to Seville. We arrived in Seville and took a taxi to our hostel. Our hostel was interesting- it was one where there were a lot of young people who interact. We dropped off our bags then went to a café. I had fresh squeezed orange juice. We went back to the hostel to use the computers and check in which took a while. We got to our room and we laughed. We had 2 sets of bunk beds and the bottom 2 were on the ground. We were fair about who got what. We went to the super market and bought lunch for cheap and came back to the hostel to eat. We went to adventure into the city of Seville. We went to the Cathedral first and it was the 3rd largest in the world. It was impressive. We climbed the tower for a good view of the city too. As we left the cathedral we noticed 3 different Starbucks right around the cathedral. It was amusing. It was really hot and Liz blurted out and said. “where are the billets.” It was really funny, but I guess you had to be there. We went to an OpenCor and got drinks then we went to McDonald’s for McFlurries. They were good. Caleb had a beer, Gatorade, and a mcflurry and he felt sick, but it was comical. We went to the post office then we went to fnac which is the equivalent of a Best Buy and Barnes and Noble combined. We spent some time there and Annie got a book. Then we decided to go shopping. We all hit up a lot of stores. I got my mom a really cool gift that was hand made in Spain. Caleb was in love with H&M and spent a lot of money there. Liz and Annie were busy shopping else where. Then I ran into Burberry. I really like the store and went in to look. I never want to buy anything because it is so expensive, but I found a bathing suit that was on sale and I bought it. We all walked back to our hostel happy with our purchases. We went to the super mercado and bought pizza for dinner. Annie wanted to get a salad and I told her that was not in the budget. Then after we checked out we realized that we each only spent 3 euros on food for the day. That included breakfast, lunch and dinner- only 3 euros per person. I was amazed that I could eat 3 meals for that. We walked back to the hostel and cooked the pizzas and had dinner. Our conversations were awesome again. We all came back to our room and went to bed early because we were so tired.
Thursday August 2, 2007 Seville
We woke up at 8am afraid that there would not be breakfast with all of the other hostel people. We went down to eat and there was no one there. We all ate in silence and then came back to the room to sleep. I got up and got a shower then we left for the Alcazar Palace which is one of the many palaces of the king and queen of Spain. We got there and realized that the entrance fee was 7 euros, but free for students. We all got audio guides for 3 euros and Liz, Annie and I went to see the royal living quarters for 4 euros. My audio guide stopped working so I got a refund for the 4 euros to see the living quarters. We spent some time there walking around the palace and it was really cool. We left there and walked by the river to a park. We walked thought the park and saw bike rentals. We ended up renting a 4 person bike- we biked through the park for half and hour and just laughed up a storm. It was so much fun. We returned the bike and walked to the plaza de Espana. It was so cool. It was one of my favorite things about Seville. You will have to see pictures of this, because I can not adequately describe it. They had a mosaic devoted to every region of Spain. We went to see Valencia’s and there happened to be 2 americans sitting there. We talked to them for a while. They were from Maine and Massachusetts, bit going to school in Hawaii. They left and we got some pictures of the Valencia tiles. We all have such a deep love and respect for Valencia after living there for a little while. It was such a great experience and we are going to miss it. We walked around there for a while enjoying it all. We left and Liz and I got granozado- I combined lemon and orange- it was good. We walked towards the shopping district and ran into the American girls again. We went to opencor and mcdonalds for another snack. We sat and talked for a while. Talking with this group of people has been one of the most enjoyable parts about this trip. Annie got an message from her mom about a bridge collapsing in the united states during rush hour and many people were killed. We saw more of this new story on the news later. We left there and went to the shopping district. I went to Boss and then back to Burberry. I walked further and saw repeats of many stores, but they carried different styles. I like the other H&M I found. Caleb was in there buying more stuff he loved. I went to some more stores and have a better idea of what to get my dad and my brother now. I walked around some more then we all met back at the hostel. We went to the super mercado and bought pasta to cook for dinner and some light breakfast stuff. We came back to the hostel to cook and there was a line so we chilled in our room. We went to go cook and there were some Italians trying to cut in front of us, but someone explained that we were next. We finally had our turn to cook. Pasta takes a while, but these Italians were getting mad at us. Then they laughed at Annie and Caleb for burning the pasta. Caleb was so pissed off at them. We had our salad, bread and spaghetti. It was so good. We had a good talk about how a lot of people really hate Americans. Sure we do not agree with everything that Bush does, but he is still our president and we are not going to say we hate the leader of our country. That just wouldn’t be American of us. Annie informed us that the US Congress currently has a lower rating that our president because they have not passed anything in such a long time. Politics make me mad sometimes and I am going to have to do some research for this next election. We washed our dishes and then came back to our room. We listened to music, packed and got showers. We went to bed early again because we had an early train the next morning. Seville was a great experience.
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