Ryan's Viaje a Espana

Hey! So Ryan just left a few hours ago =( But let me give you a little rundown of our week.

Madrid (Sat - Mon)

Even though Ryan was not thrilled about the 6 hour bus ride after his lonnngg flight, the Jason Mraz concert was awesome!! The venue was very similar to the House of Blues, and he was a great performer. We got there a little late because the guy at the door needed to see my ID (to confirm that I was 18!!!!!!!!) before letting me in. But we met up with my friends afterwards and ate at a pretty nice restaurant before heading to the hostel to get some sleep! This hostel was ok - the building was kinda old, but we had our own bathroom and the owner was really nice. Sunday we walked around the city and ate outside in Plaza Mayor (beautiful!!) before heading to the bull fight. The Plaza de Toros was really big and the entire experience was very cool. We really had no idea what was going on most of the time, but we cheered when everyone else did. haha I think the killing of the bull would have bothered me a little more if I would have worn my glasses, but for the most part, the atmosphere was very similar to a baseball game. The last bullfighter got knocked over by the bull a few times, and a different bull knocked over a guy on a horse, but other than that it was pretty routine. After the bullfight, it was already getting dark and we walked around the city a little more. We went to Parque Retiro and there was a huge celebration going on inside. It would have been cool to see but Ryan got nervous when he heard the music and saw people peeing in the bushes! haha like I said before - very different environment than what we are used to. On Monday, we left early to get to Granada.

Granada (Mon - Fri)

We got to Granada around 12:30 on Monday, and the hostel owner was not there! So I dropped off Ryan's suitcase at my apartment and we went for lunch. Ryan tried Paella at this restaurant for the first time (traditional Spanish rice dish) and I thought it was really good. We sat outside, and 5 minutes after talking about TJ and Christina (Katie's brother and girlfriend), we see them walking down the street towards us! haha their hostel was on the same street we were having lunch. Then we headed back to the hostel which ended up being very cute! The owner was really nice and there was a gorgeous terrace on the roof that I wish we spent more time on. The only down side was that we didnt have our own bathroom and we had to go up a few flights of stairs...so I brought all of my shower stuff home and got ready at my house every day since it was so close. After showering and unpacking and everything, we went to the Hammam (arabian baths) in the Albaicin. Oh my gosh this was amazing! It was one of the highlights of the trip for me. We went in kind of nervous, changed into our bathing suits in the locker rooms and then walked out to the cold room that had a small pool of cold water. Then we went into the hot room which was like a shallow hot tub and a cute sitting area with heated floors! And then the warm room was the biggest and had fountains and stairs and it was really like a pool we could swim in. We went back and forth throughout the rooms before our numbers were called for our massages. The whole environment was just so calm and awesome. There was music playing and signs in the rooms saying to speak in low voices. It was really cool. After the massages we drank arabian tea (which I really liked haha) and went through the rooms a few more times. We also spent a few minutes in the sauna which was really hot! It was just a cool experience. Afterwards, we went to Plaza Nueva to meet Katie, TJ, and Christina. We went for tapas at some of my favorite places, went to a shot bar, and then to a discoteca which was virtually empty because it was Monday night! Before going home, me and Ryan got kebabs for the first time of many throughout the week!

Tuesday
We went to the Alhambra with Katie, TJ, and Christina. It was my first time there and it was really amazing!! Before going into the palaces, we ate lunch in a restaurant up there which was interesting. I got chicken gizzards when I ordered chicken =( but the sangria was great! We saw so many amazing things - you will have to look at the pictures to check it out. We met up with Pilar around 8 for tapas and went out with Katie, TJ, and Christina later on that night. We tried going to a tapper bar, but by the time we got there it was closed! We went to a few bars and played this awesome arcade memory game before heading home.

Wednesday
I showed Ryan more of the city. We saw my school and ate lunch in Plaza Nueva (this crazy pizza that was really good haha) and then met Pilar at El Parque de las Ciencias which is a science museum that Granada is famous for. (If I have sent you a postcard, it is probably on the stamp) It was really really cool. I wish we had more time to spend there, but we did not know it closed at 7:00. We saw an owl show, a butterfly garden, a robot that talked on command! haha and a lot more science stuff. It was very hands on and I really liked it. They also have a huge tower where you can go to the top and get a good view of the city. After the museum, we went with Pilar for tapas and went to a Granada futbol (soccer) game. It was really cool and there were a lot of people there, but the game ended with a 0 -0 tie...haha - It was still really fun. After the futbol game, we went home and changed and went to a discoteca with Katie, TJ, and Christina. It was ladies night and there were male gogo dancers - haha hilarious!! There were a lot of people there and it was really fun. Ryan and I and TJ and Christina even danced on little stages! haha (Ryan also danced on the stage by himself for a while =))

Thursday
We ate lunch on El Paseo de los Tristes (a really pretty terrace with a great view of the Alhambra) and ended up seeing my friend Dorothy there. I got a Spanish tortilla and Ryan ordered "salmonettes" which we thought would be salmon and ended up being full fried fish - haha they were really good though. Afterwards, we went with Dorothy and her two friends who were visiting to the Albaicin. It is the hill facing the Alhambra and it has a lot of Arabian influence. There is also a famous plaza with an amazing view of the Alhambra and the city there where we got some pretty pictures. After the Albaicin, we headed to Sacromonte (yet another hill) which ended up being a hike to the caves. A lot of people live in caves built into this hill and there is a museum right below giving information about the lifestyle and everything else. It was my first time and it was very interesting, but I definitely did not wear my hiking shoes! and afterwards, we were exhausted. But we made it to the Capilla Real to see the tombs of Los Reyes Catolicos (and I got some pics this time!) Then we headed to the famous Frederico Garcia Lorca Park and walked around and Ryan played on the trampolines for a while in the kids section haha. That night, we went to a flamenco show in a cave which was awesome!!! It was much different from my first experience because it was such a small area and the music was so close and loud. Afterwards, we went to Hannigans with Katie, TJ, and Christina and got kebabs at the end of the night one last time. Granada was my favorite of course ;)

Malaga (Fri - Sun)

Although Malaga was really fun, I cannot say that I like the city itself very much. Right now there is TONS of construction going on and it just doesn't compare to Granada where everything is lit up and the main streets are very wide and populated. Being there at night was not nearly as fun as it was in Granada. We also stayed in an actual hostel in Malaga which was not fun either since there were 12 English guys staying in the room next to us and it was very hard to sleep (and the bathroom was gross lol) but on Friday, we went to the Picasso Museum which was AWESOME! I could not take any pictures but it was seriously so cool to see his real works and read about them and learn about his life. Then we walked around the main strip of stores, and there were a bunch of statues along the entire strip (which was not a street for cars) and I really liked that. The weather was pretty nice and we ended up eating dinner at this AMAZING restaurant called Vino Mio. I loved it so much that we went back the next night too! haha - On Saturday, we took an early bus to Nerja (a town in Malaga that makes up part of the Costa del Sol) There were a TON of old people on the bus - it kind of reminds me of Florida only 20 times better, and I think a lot of people retire and vacation there when they are older. We ended up accidentally missing the beach stop and taking the bus up to Las Cuevas de Nerja (The caves of Nerja) and I am so glad because they were awesome!!! We walked through the caves, which were discovered accidentally by 5 teenage boys and are now a historical monument, until around 12:30. After they discovered it, a lot of prehistoric information was found (tools, human remains, paintings, etc.) and it was seriously really cool to see and read about - but we were not supposed to use flash on our camera so there are not that many great pics. There is a column in one of the main rooms of the cave, and it is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest in the world!! Afterwards, we took the bus back to the center of town and went to the beach which was absolutely gorgeous!! The water was too cold to swim in, but we ate lunch at this cool place that Katie went to a few days before and ended up staying on the beach until about 5 when we went to catch the bus back to Malaga. When we got back, it was raining! So good thing we went to Nerja =) and then we had to pack everything up and prepare for the next morning which turned out to be a disaster!

Apparently Ryan's booking from Malaga to Madrid was cancelled because of some mistake the travel agency made with his ticket number which left him ticketless. We got to the airport at 4 AM and the check in desk did not open until 5! haha so then we get up there and find out it is cancelled and we are sent to the ticket office which did not open until 6! Then we were with the wrong carrier and we had to go back and forth talking to people and he was supposed to be on the plane by 6:50! We were really stressed out and they could not figure out what to do so he was put on a waiting list for his ORIGINAL flight that he was supposed to be on which he did not make because the plane was full....so then we went back to the ticket office and he was put on another waiting list for the 9:30 flight to Madrid...they told us that there was a small chance and that he had priority but that the flight was already overbooked. So we sat around until around 9 when they told him he could go on and I THINK he is flying first class right now =) so everything worked out fine in the end. I got home around 12 - I know - rough morning - and now I have to cram for my midterms tomorrow and read an entire novel!!!!!! But it was so worth it. It was a great week!!