So after a 5 hour train ride south from Madrid, we made it to Southern Spain and were ready to gallivant around Granada. The day we got there it was beautiful and sunny. We could see the mountains covered with snow in the distance which was a little sad. My roommate Sean and I were kicking ourselves that we didn’t know you could snowboard there because we totally would have taken advantage of it.
That afternoon, we decided to take a nap to catch up from the lack of sleeping we had been getting that week. That night we decided to go on a tapas tour. In Spain, they have what are called tapas, basically appetizers. In the old days, the king of Spain didn’t want his citizens getting drunk and embarrassing the monarchy so they passed a law that said any alcoholic beverage must be served with some sort of food. Typically they just bring you any random tapa that they have, but the bars our tour guide took us to had menus of tapas so we were able to choose from a selection. We went to two bars, one with some of the best calamari that I have ever had, and then we went to a bar for the remainder of the night. They had a pool table and a foosball table so we took advantage of that. We had a little ASU vs. Pitt tournament; Max and Sean vs. Skyler and me. After three games, Skyler and I won. It may have been by a eight ball getting knocked in, but hey, a win is a win.
They next day we got up and went to the palace, Alhambra. It is one of the coolest places I have ever seen. All of the walls had more detail than anything else I have ever seen. We spent a couple hours there just walking around and headed back into town. After that we came back to our hostel and asked about going on a hot springs tour. They usually do it at night but made an exception for us because that was our last chance to do it. We drove for about an hour and then spent an hour and a half at the spring and just relaxed for really the first time all week, so it was highly welcomed. On the way back, I was looking at pictures that we had taken that day, and set my camera down. I then proceeded to leave it in the van, and wanted to die when I realized it. I got a hold of the company and asked them to send it to me, and it should be here this week sometime and that is why I have not included any pictures in the past two posts. That night we met up with some of Max’s friends who were studying in Granada to go to a club. Considering the club was free entry and free sangria for an hour and a half. After that we went to another bar and then decided to go get some food and take the other girls home. After that, we decided that it was just too late to even go to sleep, so we went back to our hostel and waited to catch the bus to the airport for our flight to Barcelona. One of the longest nights I have ever had but we still had a lot of fun, probably because we were so delirious for being tired, but it was still hilarious.
Once getting to Barcelona, we checked in our hostel and then slept for about 5 hours. One of the most magical sleeps I have ever had. That night we decided to go to a restaurant on Calle las Ramblas, the major Barcelona Street. We had traditional Spanish paella, which consisted of rice, vegetables, and steak. It was pretty good, but not the best food I had had in Europe so far. After that we went out for another night out, with some friends studying in Barcelona. They took us to a bar called Espit Chupitos, which is a shots bar with over 500 different shots with all different kinds of names; some favorites were Harry Potter, Boy Scout, and Monica Lewinski. The fun part about this place was that they lit almost everything on fire. When taking the Boy Scout, we took the roasted a marshmallow on the bar then took a shot, and chased it with the mallow. Like I said, awesome. After some time there, most of the group went to a club on the beach but Sean, Deanna, and I went back towards the hostel and just went to a pub for a pint, which is much more of my style so I was pretty happy about that.
The next day, as it was our last full day in Spain, we went on a walking tour of the city. We chose the Antonio Gaudi tour, which took us all around and showed us the different buildings that he built during his time. He was one of the most unique architects I have ever heard of. The pinnacle of the tour was his crowning jewel, his church, la Familia Sagrada (the Sacred Family). It was easily the most amazing thing I have ever seen. It is a giant church with 3 different facades representing the life of Jesus. The first side of the church is very gothic which is called the nativity façade, which represents the birth and early life of Jesus. There are giant engravings in the side of it that depict the various moments in his life such as the birth, marriage of Joseph and Mary, and him going to school. The other side was the passion of the Christ, the time leading up to his ultimate death. This side was a lot less detailed, but at the same time it was a lot easier to see the various stories played out on the wall. It showed him on the cross, the betrayal of Judas, and him being whipped by the guards. The last façade is still under construction, which is the Glory façade. This side is the main entrance and it is still under construction, even over 100 years later with at least another 16 years to go. It is going to show the glory of Jesus and the salvation. It is also going to say, “Father give us our daily bread” in 50 different languages which will represent the unity of religion which I thought was really cool. All in all it was absolutely amazing, including the inside. It looked like a cathedral, but at the same time it was modern and didn’t feel as cold as Notre Dame did. There are so many windows that it lights the whole place up, and it is beautiful with all the stained glass. It is also one of the tallest buildings in Barcelona and it is still only about half of the way there. Gaudi, being very religious designed it to be 1 meter shorter than a hill in Barcelona because he did not want to create something larger than his creator, God. It was easily the most amazing thing I have ever seen and want to go back one day when it is finished and would recommend it in a heartbeat to anyone who has the option. It also kills me that I didn’t have my camera for Barcelona because if there was one city that I wanted it in, it would have been there.
That night we went to a club on the beach which was really cool, but as clubs are not really my thing, I decided to leave with Max, Sean, and Deanna. We went back to the shot bar and had a great time. The next day, our flight wasn’t until about 6, so we had a nice and easy day of exploring. Of course, for really the first time all week, we had AMAZING weather, I felt like I was back in California. We went down to the ocean and walked around the harbor for a few hours. I wanted to go to the beach, but it was just too far out of the way, and I will have plenty of time for that this summer, so I was ok with passing on that. All in all, it was one of the most amazing spring breaks I have ever had, and cannot wait for next year to see if my last spring break ever will be able to top it.
In conclusion, Good Luck Spring Break 2012, you have a hell of a lot to live up to.
PS. Sorry it was so long, I only have a month left, so I am going to try and do this more regularly, which means they will be a little shorter.
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