Malaga!!

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Whew, sorry I haven't updated this in a few days, I've been busier than normal! I had an exam on Thursday so I was studying for it on Wednesday night. I went out on Thursday night with people from my program and then I met up with my Finnish friend who was still in town. It ended up being a pretty late night because we went to club Abril again (where women got in for free, hehe) and staying until around 4 a.m.

On Friday we had to wake up early to go to an included trip to the neighboring town of Italica to see some old Roman ruins. I wish I could say it was really cool, but I didn't personally find it very interesting.

However, on Friday night my roommate Samm and I went to Malaga with about 8 other people from the program for the weekend. It was a 2.5 hour bus ride to Malaga, which is on the coast of Spain, on the Mediterranean side. By the time we got to the hostel it was already around 10 p.m., so we checked in and got everything situated. Luckily our hostel was above a bar, so instead of going out and looking around for a cool bar or club, we could just walk downstairs and hang out. They even offered us a free Sangria for staying with them. The hostel was a little sketchy -- the door was really difficult to lock and the water in the showers was pretty much freezing, but it was located in the city center, so that was nice. Anyway, the first night we just went to the bar and hung out.

Breakfast was included the next morning, so we woke up, ate, and then logically headed off to the beach. The skies were clear with a high of about 70 and a light breeze, so pretty much perfect weather. We ended up finding this restaurant on the beach and drinking these little bottles of beer. You got a bucket with 4 little beers for 3 euros, so it was a pretty good deal, and we stayed there for quite some time.

Eventually we got dinner and then headed back to the hostel. The hostel offered to take anyone who was willing to go on a pub crawl for 10 euros. It included 2 bars and 2 clubs, and 5 drinks for 10 euros. Not a bad deal, so we took them up on that. Much easier than blindly walking around trying to find places to go.

The next day we went back to the beach. We went to a different beach because we found out the one we had gone to on Saturday was the less popular beach and that we should try the other one out. Boy, were they right. The other beach had a much better view. Part of the city of Malaga is set on cliffs, and there was an excellent view of these cliffs at the other beach. The sand was also a lot cleaner and whiter. Sunday was even warmer than Saturday, so we all stripped down to our swimsuits to soak up the sun. Even though it was cold, I did work up the courage to jump in the Mediterranean. It was really cold (and I'm from Wisconsin, I'm used to cold water) and very salty, but still totally worth doing. The water was this gorgeous blueish greenish color, and there are palm trees everywhere. It was pretty much paradise, and we loved it. In fact, we loved it so much that we decided to change our train tickets and stay an extra night. Doing this was totally worth the extra 20 euros it cost for food and another night in the hostel. We went back to the beach again yesterday and spent more time just laying there, enjoying the sun and the view, and just hanging out. Probably one of the most realaxing and fun weekends I've ever had. I was sad to stay again last night since we didn't have class today, but we decided to save the money and go home.

Today is Andalucia's holiday, so we don't have any class. My roommates and I went down to the river and soaked up even more sun and relaxed. I think going back to school tomorrow is going to be difficult after this relaxing weekend!

I should upload the pictures to facebook now.

Ciao!

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