Mbroodryk

Ok, so I know that I've been really bad about updating... part of it is that the last city we visited kind of got ripped off. Hopefully this will be rectified, but until then... here's what I can say. The drive up to Granada was incredible. I'm really glad that we decided to drive because it really allowed us to see a completely different side of Spain. On the flip side, we also got to experience the real traffic side of Spain. And unfortunately, that meant that we arrived at the Alcazar later than our reservation... by about 30 minutes. While I thought we would be ok because our reservation was for 1/2 hour, it turned out that the actual castle was actually 1/2 into the park. Needless to say, we did not get to see ... read more

Ok, so here are some driving pictures. I didn't realize that Spain's supply of olives and sunflowers are grown in Southern Spain, but they are. After about a four hour drive, we arrive in Nerja. Nerja is quite possibly the cutest little city in Spain. It doesn't have the same feeling as the rest of the cities that I've seen - it's more of a relaxed locals getaway. It also happens to house the world's largest stalactites and stalagmites in a cave on the hill. Pretty crazy stuff. In the cave I ran into the first rude person of our trip - a photographer in the cave. They take your picture as you come in, but I asked if they could take a group shot of our group. The photographer said no and basically took our ... read more

Yesterday we had the opportunity to visit the Spanish Senate. Interestingly enough, Spain's Senate has 264 members - 208 are elected by popular vite, 56 are appointed by regional legislatures. Terms are four years, but the seats appointed by regional legislatures can be recalled at any time. I also did not know that Spain is comprised of 51 territories. We were able to tour several rooms, which is well-documented by my pictures. We started off in a smaller new meeting room, which was built in 1991. After that we saw the actual senate floor that is used today and the original senate floor (built in 1820). The original senate floor was actually a convent that the King converted into the Senate instead of destroying it during the inquisition. We also toured an amazing historical library. The ... read more

Catch-up Entry #2: I explored downtown Madrid Thursday evening with a couple of friends. For once we decided to have dinner out... but it turned out that we just ordered frozen food. It was good, but rather disappointing, considering that we're in Spain. Next time we will definitely have to do a little more research before going to a restaurant. The Plaza Mayor is gorgeous. It's just a huge plaza that people congregate in for an early evening tapas and Sangria. But when we got there, it was really crowded because a summer evening festival was happening. I watched Flamenco dancers perform, which was really incredible. I was also really impressed with the music - everything was performed live and sounded great. Before we knew it, the clock struck midnight. But the funny thing was that ... read more

Well, one short half-day after getting to Madrid, our classes started. I'm taking three classes from three Spanish Law Professors. They all have really impressive credentials - 2 are partners at global lawfirms (who teach on the side for a different prospective) and the other one cancelled the first class (clearly a slacker). Actually, he was doing something in D.C. because he is an advisor to the government and couldn't get back in time for the first class. Interestingly, the professors were very nice and apologized for their poor English skills. I think that this is rather ironic - they were speaking perfect English, but even as partners at global lawfirms they were apologizing to law students. I just can't really see that happening at home. But I think it's a reflection of the Spanish culture ... read more