yes, I´m still alive!!

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Hola a todos!

So it´s the first day of December, and I figured I should write a blog since my last entry was a month ago! Here´s a quick update of the past month of my Spain adventure:

A day after I got back from London, my family came to visit me in Madrid! The first day they were here, I took them on a walking tour of the city. Looking back, this was probably not the best idea because they still had jet lag. We had tapas that night with my profesor and also went out to dinner. The next day (Saturday) my aunt Lindy and her friend Linda came. It was rainy so we had to find stuff to do that was indoors. The sad thing was that it continued to rain for the rest of their visit until they left. I swear Lindy brought the bad weather with because as soon as she left, it was beautiful again in Madrid. Anyway, that Saturday night, we went out for tapas again to a restaurant that Linda´s guide book recommended and then had paella for dinner! Later on, I took my sister April out to a few discotecas so she could get a taste of the night life in Madrid 😊 Sunday, my family went to the Rastro, Retiro Park, and the cathedral in Madrid. Monday, I had class, but afterwards, we went to the Reina Sofia museum, and after dinner, we went to McDonalds and played cards for a few hours!! They left Tuesday morning. Then began my crazy week were I actually had to study 😞 Wednesday, I had a test. The following Monday, a final paper due in theater. Tuesday and Wednesday were our final exams.

That Thursday (Thanksgiving), Furman put on a play for our university in Madrid! It was so funny because half of us can´t act and we were all so excited to be done with classes that everyone was just acting crazy! For Thanksgiving dinner, Nebrija (my university in Madrid) took us out to eat to celebrate the end of the semester. We had turkey (surprising NOT ham!!), mashed potatoes, spinach, and cranberry sauce. For dessert we had pumpkin pie, but sadly it really was not very good. I left the restaurant around 8, got back to my casa by 8:30, and had to pack up my whole room in less than an hour. I packed 3 suitcases: 1 for Andalucia, 1 for my two week independent travel, and 1 to take back to the US. It was really kind of funny because I was counting out my underwear, socks, etc and trying to divide it evenly between the two trips becuas Im having to go a month without washing my clothes! Yikes! I left to go out for the night around 9:45. The whole Furman group first went to OConnells (a bar). Then (around 1) we went to Kapital, the biggest club in Madrid (we had to end it with a bang!!) It was so much fun and the time just flew by. I left around 5. The metro didn´t open til 6, so Oli, Ashley, Sebastian (our German friend), and I went to Sebastian´s house and made a pizza. I took the metro home at 6, got back to my house at 7, took a shower, and was at the bus ready to go to Andalucia that morning at 8 a.m. I was hurting a little that day to say the least 😊

We arrived at our hotel that night (this is the Friday after Thanksgiving) at 6:30ish. Well, dinner isn´t til 9, so my roommate and I decided to take a little nap. I set my alarm for 8:50 p.m. and go to sleep in my clothes. Next thing I know, I wake up and it´s 1 a.m. I really don´t know what happened with my alarm because I am positive I set it. So, I put on pajamas, wash my face and brush my teeth, then go back to bed. My roommate didn´t wake up until 8 the next morning. We missed dinner, but we really felt great that next day!

Right now I´m in Granada in Andalucia (southern Spain), so I´ll give you a quick update on my Andalucia trip so far.

Nov. 25: (the day I was falling asleep b/c I hadn´t slept) Trujillo; saw an alcazaba (fortress) then went to a cheese factory (don´t ask...)

Nov 26: Caceres; saw the Old City then went to a park where we climbed rocks for probably a good 3 hours. (another random but fun day)

Nov. 27: Merida; saw the Roman ruins of an old theater

Nov. 28: Cordoba; visited the mezquita (mosque) there which is the third largest in the world! Then we drove to Sevilla and that night we watched a flamenco show!

Nov. 29: Sevilla; visited the Plaza de España and the cathedral in Sevilla (the third largest in the world behind St. Peter´s in Rome and St. Paul´s in London) Also, Colombus is buried here...how cool!

Nov. 30: Jerez; went to an equestrian school where we saw Andalucian horses (the biggest horses Ive ever seen!). We also went to a place where they make sherry.

Dec. 1: morning in Benalmadena. In the morning, we took a walk on the beach. Then we drove to Granada and this afternoon we took a tour through La Alhambra, a Moorish palace.

And that´s a really shortened version of the past month here in Spain. My access to the Internet is very limited (as in it costs me a Euro every 15 min. to use a computer if there even is one...) but I will try to write at least one time while I am on my trip across Europe. Our plans are set now and we are going to Paris first, then Amsterdam, then Munich, then Florence, and ending in Milan. Should be tons of fun!!

I miss all of you so much! And sorry there are no pictures but I left my cord in the suitcase going to the US 😊

Mucho amor siempre,
Laura

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