exploring & escapades

Wow, I can’t believe that this trip is already almost over! This week went by so fast. Everything has been so crazy, and I’ve been so busy trying to take advantage of my time here, so it’s been hard to keep up with posts, but I’ll try my best to get everything in.

Everyone woke up around 10:30 today to go have breakfast with Rudy’s host mom on the other side of Granada, but I decided to stay in, so that I could shower, eat, and organize my life. As unexciting as that sounds, it was definitely a great decision on my part- I needed the time to myself, especially after living in a hotel room with four other people for four days.

Around noon, I walked to the circle to take a taxi to meet up with everyone. It’s funny how I’ve only been here a few days, and I already feel comfortable walking around the whole city. Granada is very small and fairly easy to navigate. It’s also much safer than Paris, so other than the fact that I don’t speak any Spanish at all, I don’t mind being alone.

I met my friends at Aljibe, an Arab bath in the center of Granada. We had appointments at 12:30pm for massages and baths. The whole thing was incredible! The actual architecture and design was sooo culturally accurate; I felt like I was in the ancient Middle East.  Through a giant iron door, there was a giant dark, quiet room that was separated into various chambers with seven different baths at varying temperatures, lots of candles, and even pots of delicious Moroccan mint green tea. It was one of the most relaxing experiences ever! I would love to bring something like it back to the United States someday.

I lost track of time there, but eventually, a woman came and got me and brought me to a side chamber and gave me a massage. I had never had one before, but I think that now I’m addicted.  The whole sum experience was unreal. It was such a nice way to spend our last day in the city.

After that was over, we walked back to the hotel and stopped at the supermarket along the way to buy some food. I bought vegetables and fresh bread and cheese to make a sandwich- so satisfying! I have such a hard time eating here, because none of my friends eat healthy like I do, so we’re always at gross places. The whole week I’ve been craving fresh vegetables and fruit, and I get so happy when I can find them.

Once we got back to the hotel, everyone fell asleep pretty quickly. We were so tired from being out last night and waking up early. Thank God Siesta is part of the culture! We slept until almost 6pm, and then woke up and wasted another few hours just relaxing and hanging out, until we decided to walk into town to find dinner.

It was raining, so we didn’t want to walk too far. There was a small Italian place along the way that Sean wanted to eat at, so we stopped there. I didn’t really eat, but I had some bread and cheese and my very last European glass of wine. It’s been so nice being able to order wine with dinner here; it’s going to be so weird going back to America and not being able to do that for another six months. O well, it was fun while it lasted.

Now we’re back at the hotel again and my friends are getting ready to go out. It’s already midnight here. I know that I’m only in Europe once, but I have a flight at 10am tomorrow morning, and I would rather get some sleep and be organized. I like my healthy, normal lifestyle.

This time tomorrow, I will be home in Boston again- it seems so strange to think that! This trip really has flown by. It had its up and downs, but overall, its been absolutely amazing. It really reminded me how much I love culture, art, history, and languages- topics that I really haven’t been able to cover in college. I’m so glad that I did this with my best friends! And I am so lucky!

I can’t wait to see where we go next! For now though, its time to get everything ready for a crazy day of traveling tomorrow.

Adios!