Granada

It is mind blowing how fast the time passes here.  At the beginning of the semester I remember seeing our trip to Granada on our schedule and thinking how far it was into the semester.  And now, our last scheduled trip has come and gone.  It was bittersweet spending the weekend with my program in Granada because it was the last time we knew we would all be together.  I still can’t believe how much we have grown as a group and how close we have become in such a short time.  I am truly blessed to have such a great group of students who have made my study abroad experience more than memorable.

Granada is a beautiful city, seated between two mountains and overlooking the Sierra Nevada (no, not the mountains in the U.S.).  Besides the breathtaking mountain range, Granada is famous for its old Moorish palace, called the Alhambra.  The two days we spent in Granada we jam-packed with tours of the Alhambra and other parts of the city.  Regretfully, I can’t say I remember much of what we were learned on the tours.  I was too busy taking pictures and catching up with everyone in my program to be paying enough attention to the tour guides.  Oops!  I can say, however, that the architecture inside the Alhambra is unbelievably intricate and detailed.  I have never seen anything like it. 

During our tour we visited the “monjas” (nuns) of Granada who have sworn to never leave their convent.  In Andalusia, the monjas are famous for their baked goods.  They sell their muffins and pastries to the public at many of their convents even though they can’t show their faces to the public.  We visited a convent in Granada and Anna, one of the girls in my program, volunteered to order a sweet for all of us.  She rang the bell and recited the phrase to ask for magdalenas (a sweet lemon-flavored muffin): ''Ave María purísima''.

The tomb of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand II is located in Granada and we had the opportunity to visit it.  Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside but I can say that the Church was incredible.  Everything was gold-plated and exceedingly spectacular.  It was very exciting to see the tomb of two of the most famous rulers of Spain.

We spent the majority of our free time eating and drinking together as a group.  There’s one thing I love more than food and that’s food I don’t have to pay for.  In Granada, a free tapa is given with every drink.  Soda, Coffee, Beer, Tinto, whatever you want to have, will come with a free tapa at every restaurant.  It is amazing.  We must have tried out four of five different restaurants in total and they all served amazing food.  I can’t decide what was better, the food or the company.

Traveling with CIEE definitely has its perks.  We were put up in a very nice hotel right next to Alhambra.  It was much more comfortable than the hostels my friends and I have been using to save money.  We were treated to breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets at the hotel.  I was very excited when I found out there was a salad bar and even more excited when I found the Ranch dressing!  In Spain, all of the salads are flavored with olive oil and salt.  I don’t mind this and know it is healthier for me, but I miss the variety of options I have in the U.S.  I felt like I had found gold when I found the Ranch dressing at the hotel.  Unaware of when I would be able to have salad with Ranch again, I ate it as my main dish at both lunches and dinners.

Granada has a strong population of college students and, as a result, a vibrant night scene.  After relaxing a little after dinner, I went with two of my friends, Maddy and Becca, to meet up with some girls from Becca’s sorority who are studying in Granada.  They took us to one of their favorite restaurants (to have tapas, of course) and then to a discoteca that was built into a mountain!  It was really cool.  It was designed like a cave and the second floor overlooked the Alhambra, which is beautiful at night.