Day 6

On Today's Menu: Experiencing Granada

I have been in Granada for six days now. My roommate and I were just talking about how it seems like we have been here longer than that...I think that is because this week has required us to adopt our respective daily routines. Now that we are comfortably situated into our "homes" and have regular eating hours, regular class hours, etc. we are all in agreement that our little vacation in Madrid seemingly happened a month ago. 

I like Granada. I hasn't really been too difficult to adjust to...not for me, anyway. Of the seven girls in my group, only two of us have travelled outside the United States (myself being one of them), and two others have never travelled outside of their home state. So, this is a whole new experience for them. For me, Granada is a typical European town: small cafes, narrow roads, crazy drivers, the usage of Euros...but it does have its own Spanish flare. Sometimes the high, wide mountains remind me of California, but the random billboards cut out in the shape of bulls indicate that I'm somewhere very different. I like it. 

Granada

Yesterday we visited the Alhambra, located in the northern region of Granada. This magnificent palace is what puts Granada on the map. It was the last Muslim stronghold in Spain, so the architecture is purely Arabic and so incredible I decided that pictures really can't do it justice. I tried...

Alhambra

but I'm not sure I succeeded. I do know that it was very, very, VERY hot. It is a different kind of hot here than the hot you experience in Kentucky. At home when you walk out the front door to go to your car you feel like you might suffocate before you get there. Here, there is no humidity...it's awesome. However, since Spain is at such a high altitude, the sun is so much closer. It feels like it is sitting right above your head and you can actually feel your skin burning. I understand now why they have become so accustomed to siesta time. That kind of heat just wears you out. 

Anyway, so far Granada is making a very good impression on me.