Granada

The weekend after my Spring Break, I with two other friends headed to the south of Spain to the wondrous city of Granada. (I have an exam tomorrow that I should be studying for but I lack motivation. And, it's bloody hot in Madrid.)

As always, a map reference:

This was the first trip that my friends and I decided to take the bus to our destination, rather than flying, and it actually wasn't too horrible.  The drive down and up took about 5 hours each way, and on the way back, we took a night bus (1AM bus, to be exact), so by the time I got home, it was 7:00 in the morning. Wowerz!

I really really liked the city of Granada. It's so interesting because there's such a heavy arabic flair to the entire city. I mean, their main attraction is the Alhambra.

This was a really short trip---we got in Friday morning, and left the next night at 1AM.  Friday, the weather was really great, actually. A bit chilly, but the sun was shinning, and things were great. But Saturday could not have been any more different.  When we were visiting the Alhambra, it rained really hard, and it was very cold.  But oddly, it was still really beautiful.

The Alhambra

Doesn't remind you of Aladdin? 

Cool graffiti 

Moroccan mint tea :) 

Actually inside the Alhambra

Lilacs everywhere! <3 

Here are some of the highlights of the trip:

- My friend and I went to a Arabic bath house Friday night at 10PM. It was so nice to soak in hot water, drink mint tea, and just relax. :) I grew up going to bath houses while growing up so it's not a completely strange concept for me, but I know people cringe at the thought.  Well, rest assured, this particular bath house was coed, so everyone was wearing swimming suits. I got the massage package, so I got a back/shoulder/arm/neck massage. Only if I could go and get a massage every week... By the time we returned back to our hostel, it was midnight, which we perfect, because we were relaxed and ready for a good nights sleep. (Sadly, that didn't happen.)

- The food! We ate Lebanese and Moroccan food, and my oh my. So yummy!

- The windy roads, with tourist-trap stores EVERYWHERE.  The shops were fun nevertheless. :)

- The market that we stumbled across on Saturday. So fun to haggle your price down, and one of the girls on the trip bought herself five rings.

- The Alhambra, of course. Such a beautiful place. Most definitely worth the trip!

- Moroccan mint tea. Just love the culture of getting tea, and sitting around, talking for hours.

Here are some of the negatives of the trip:

- The hostel we stayed at was by far the worst one I've stayed in all semester.  Granted, I haven't stayed in too many, but everything would have been fine if the rooms weren't freezing cold. It was so cold during the night that I kept on waking up every 2-3 hours.  By the time it was morning, I had been so tense all night because of the cold, my legs were aching. Ugh.

- The weather. Wish it could have been a little drier and warmer. :P


Now back to studying. Sigh.