Jacque

With only a week left, we are all trying to fit in last minute things---we´re not ready to leave! Last week we went to the Spainish coast to an area called Roquetas del Mar and got a tad bit more tan. Then we came back to Granada to find ourselves in the last week of classes and needing to study for finals. My last few nights have been full of fun tapas bars, enjoying the crazy night (well, and early morning) life and eating shwarma on the way home. We´ve been to our Spanish friends´ pisos just hanging out or at the clubs with the Spanish music turned on high (except for the occasional Britney). We´ve been enjoying the last of our señora´s tortillas, manchego cheese and fresh pastries. And, not going to lie...the flan will ... read more

Since we booked our trip to the Canary Islands in Januray, we never thought April 20 would come! But, it finally did, and the week was amazing! Laura, Natalie and I left Granada the night before and took an overnight bus trip to Madrid, where we waited at the airport for our time to board our flight. By 3 pm that afternoon, we were checked into our hotel, only 150 meters from the ocean, and were sitting next to the pool soaking in the rays of the Canaries. Next to the coast of Africa, we knew the sun was a bit stronger than we were used to so sunscreen was a necessity, something Natalie and I would learn later! The first night we were there, after traveling for 24 hours without much sleep, we went to ... read more

At 8am on Saturday morning, Laura and I took a bus ride to the 19th century. Well, not quite, but pretty close. We headed for Sevilla to see their festival that occurs every spring. The women dress in Flamenco dresses and the men in three piece suits or riding outfits. Horses and carriages line the streets, filling quicker with each hour, and the sidewalks are transformed into city-like blocks with ¨casetas¨lined from one street to the next, back to back with others, for five blocks one way and five blocks the other. In these casetas, there is dancing, the traditional flamenco, eating, drinking and fellowship with friends. However, for people who aren´t from Sevilla, it´s not as fun as it sounds. These are casetas privadas, or private areas, where you must be invited in or have ... read more

We made it back to Granada safely where we met Kejal and Charlie and showed them a bit of what we call ¨home¨! Semana Santa (or Holy Week) is a huge celebration in the Catholic country of Spain, but especially in southern cities such as Granada. There are processions that go on all week starting Wednesday and go until the wee hours of the morning on Easter Monday. Some are at night, some are silent, some are in central parts of town while others are in small neighborhoods, but they all have the same concept. To continue the 500 year old tradition of carrying heavy items from the church that are images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary and their lives as a penance. On Maundy Thursday, we caught a silent procession on our way to a ... read more

Is there any better time to visit Ireland than March 17? We think not. The night before, Laura, Natalie, her boyfriend and I all flew into Dublin and grabbed some food before heading to bed for a good night´s sleep. From 9am on March 17th when we woke up, there were people in the streets dressed in green and simply enjoying life---a trait of the Irish! We watched the parade go through downtown Dublin where colorful floats, Irish dancing, and marching bands abounded. All of us dressed in green showed our spirit, Irish background or not! Most of my pictures are on my disposable camera since I wasn´t risking my digital in crazy Dublin that day, but I´ll hopefully get them up soon. We had lunch at a nearby pub before meeting up with Chelsey and ... read more