List 3

Funny Moments along the way:

1.) At the bullfight, the boy turned to his mother and said, ¨at least this is better than baseball.¨
2.) There was a man wearing a mesh shirt on the way to Malaga, some things never die.
3.) My boyfriend in Granada, and trying to have a conversation with him
4.) The ratio of tourists to locals in Toledo
5.) The 25 band-aids mom went through.
6.) Seeing a street named Puerta delicias right underneath a McDonalds
7.) A Socialist commercial saying look what happens when you vote conservative, and showing Bush montages.
8.) Mom pronoucing things.
9.) Trying to eat fishes with their heads still on, and fried.

Looking back, it was very fun, and I did a lot of things. I will miss it, but I am hopeful for whatever Denver has in store now that I am not going to school- scary!

List 2

What I am going to miss about Spain:
1.) Watching my favorite shows in spanish (Gilmore Girls, 90210, Buffy, Saved by the Bell).
2.) Walking everywhere
3.) The public transit system
4.) Paella, vino tinto, sangria, huge calamari
5.) Orange trees and olive groves
6.) Paseo at night and ¨learning¨the city
7.) Surprising people by speaking english
8.) Random dancing and singing outside
9.) English phrases on everyone´s shirts
10.)Intricate details within the city; such as tiles, Alhambra, cathedrals, and Gaudi
11.) Realizing I don´t need a map
12.) Reina Sofia museum
13.) Being able to make comparisons between spanish things (Alhambra and Alcazar)
14.) The Liveliness in Barcelona, Community in Granada, Beach in Malaga, History in Sevilla, and Soul in Madrid.

List 1

At the end of my tour in this beautiful country I have decided to make a few lists of my likes, dislikes, and favorite moments. So,

What I am NOT going to miss about Spain:
1.) Not being able to eavesdrop as easily
2.) Risking my life crossing the street (although that is not that different in some places in US)
3.) Nothing being open on Sundays or Mondays
4.) Fried anchovies, sardines, and whole fish looking at me
5.) The major PDA- less is more sometimes, worse than smittens!
6.)Having to search for communicaton with my people
7.) Carrying that stupid backpack
8.) Getting lost in Albaycin
9.) Paper thin walls
10.) Bullfights
11.) Eating in clouds of Smoke

Big Church

So, I went to the third largest cathedral in the world today. St. Peter´s Basillica in Rome is the largest and St. Paul´s in London is the second. And, I have to say, it is a big church. Oh, but so much more.. It even made the Guiness World Book of Records as the cathedral with the largest area: 126 meters long, 82 meters wide, and 30 meters high (they had a copy of their certificate behind glass to amaze all the tourists). This was a very nice cathedral, very ornate. Although, I do have to say I prefer the one in Toledo over this one. I think it is a step beyond, intricacy wise. I have to say, I just couldn´t see the love in this cathedral. The 65 foot tall alter with 44 scenes of Jesus´ life carved out in the walnut and chestnut, just wasn´t impressive. What was impressive was the 330 foot tower that riders on horseback used to climb up five times a day to call for prayer- they used to (maybe still do, I am sorry to say I am not really sure) pray five times a day (Muslims), that is dedication! I also went tooling around the Barrio de Santa Cruz which was an old Jewish quarter. Some of the streets within this area are called kissing streets because you could literally kiss the person with both your rear ends touching opposite walls. It reminded me of the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona, but more colorful. All the buildings are white with some color of trim, very mediterranean I heard someone say. I am not sure what I am off to tonight, but I am loving this siesta thing!

Bump in the Road

So, there were two slight bumps in the road today, but luckily, they weren´t huge problems. The first was when I had decided last night to take the 9:10 train this morning to Sevilla. The reception desk was supposed to open at 8, but I was still waiting for the woman at around 8:30. So, when she showed up, I kinda threw my keys at her and ran out- then stood on the street corner waiting and hoping for a cab! Luckily, when I arrived at the train station there was another train leaving at 10:40, and if I wanted the 9:10 train, I would have to pay double, so it happened to be a blessing in disguise. A later train, but half the price! While on the train, it was very interesting to see the landscape change from one thing to another. In Malaga, there were hills of olive groves ready to make delicious olive oil. After the hills went away, the olive trees (they most grow better on hills or something) turned into orange and lemon trees. There were tons of them all over the place. It just reminded me that I have to try some orange juice in Sevilla (or even an orange, if I can find a produce stand, they are surprisingly hard to find in spain). After the trees came the sunflower fields. I was unaware until recently that flowers were ¨farmed¨like vegetables. I just never thought of how all the florists got their flowers. But, thanks to my mom, I now know they are farmed and shipped to where ever needed. These fields were very beautiful and went on forever. Although yellow and green together usually doesn´t make me happy (Because from infancy I was taught to hate ST X, kinda like how I can´t wear red- UK fan), I found these fields just beautiful.

My second speed bump happened when I was going to check into my hostal that I reserved online before I left for spain. Well, it looks like I reserved the wrong dates! oh, no! so, I had to make sure the man still had a room I could have for two days, all the while him not speaking any english! What fun that was. But, it worked out well also seeing as how he did have a room , and I didn´t get charged for the nights I didn´t show up! Whew, what a full day, and I haven´t even had an icecream yet.

Ghost Beach?

So, here I am in Malaga, Spain five minutes from the beach, and you would never know because there is no one around. It is like a ghost beach or something. I was a little worried because yesterday there was a nice crowd at the beach, but today- nothing! When I went down at 11 this morning, I was the first one on the beach until around 12 30. And, even then there were only a few people. Granted the clowds didn´t look all that inviting at times, but I was determined not to let them ruin my time. Then, I went back down around two and I was literally the only one on the beach (well, in my inlet). Very strange. I have never seen a beach so disserted. I can´t imagine why this beach is not more inhabitted. The neighborhood does look a little run down and old, but not more so than panama city, fl- so I can´t imagine that as an excuse. Who knows why it was empty, but I enjoyed the fact that I wasn´t being annoyed all day by people trying to sell things or constantly have to walk over people to get to the water. Bring on the emptiness I guess.

Close Call

I took the bus to Malaga today, and there was a very close call for me. Field trips and family vacations were always exciting until I actually had to ride in the bus/car. You see, for some reason my stomach just doesn´t handle automobiles very well. I think I have overcome the airplane sickness, but the automobiles still get to me, unless I am driving. So, within 5-10 minutes of being on the bus, I could tell this was not going to be a pleasant ride. The constant stopping and starting, bumps, and turns were not helping my stomach. And, we weren´t even out of Granada´s city center. I was really nervous when I started to look for something I could use for my sickness. Then, I wondered how I might be able to communicate this with the locals, I did think I saw some tourists on the bus, but would they be able to help me out. Luckily, the sweat on my head started to cool me, and I calmed myself down, but it was very close call for a few minutes.

Now in Malaga, I am less than a five minute walk to the beach, so I am very excited. I am not staying in the city center because I came here for the beach and I did not want to get distracted. So, the plan is to lay on the beach all day today and tomorrow, and maybe Sunday morning before I go to Sevilla. I don´t need all that much relaxation, but I haven´t been to a beach in a while (besides Barcelona), so I am ready for the toasting to begin.