Well, aside from poor internet connection, Spain has far exceeded my expectations. The tapas are fabulous, the sangria is wonderful, the people are friendly and the sun is the best thing in the world. Not to dwell on this too long because I've seen the forecasts at home and I don't want to brag too much but let me just say, being able to walk outside with just one pair of pants and no gloves is really quite lovely. We were in Barcelona for two nights and had we not been completely exhausted I'm sure we could have experienced the city a bit more. Even so, we saw the sights - Las Ramblas, the ocean, and ate the best paella in the city according to our tour guide.
For the past few four days we've been staying in Marbella in southern Spain. Any ideas we had of a relaxing lie in the sun kind of vacation hasn't really lived up to its potential just because we're not really those kind of people. So, we've had some lovely day trips. Lots of driving along the coast and seeing resorts and high rises. We went to Gibraltar for the day and what we thought was just going to be a big rock was really an adorable British town (who knew?). We enjoyed fish and chips and British accents and for the first time in 5 months I saw english on every sign I saw. It was like a little taste of America. (sidenote: if blue oceans, old buildings and fish and chips feels like America for me, I may be in for quite the culture shock in a few days time). We went up the cable car to see the top of the rock. I should mention, I really really really dislike cable cars. But I was rewarded at the top by some terrifying apes. They look cute in the picture don't they? Yeah...no. Check out the warning sign on the right. These apes are just running around and chasing each other and about every five seconds our audio guide warned us not to feed or touch or go near the apes. Okay, then tell the apes not to run right next to me. It's safe to say I have never been so happy to get into a cable car as I was on the way down. Give me a cute little British town any time.
A two hour, slightly nerve-racking journey up some mountain roads and we made it to the best day-trip ever. Here's the beautiful town of Ronda. Gorgeous views and the birthplace of bullfighting. Mostly the beautiful views! (Though after the harrowing drive down during which I broke my no nail-biting streak, we all agreed we needed some wine).
New Years Eve involved a lovely trip to Granada. One of my best friends, Molly, spent the semester here so I was excited to check it out! We saw the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada mountains and made it back to enjoy the New Years Eve celebration in Marbella with mostly other tourists but it was fun. Apparently there's a tradition that you eat a grape each second for 12 seconds leading up to the new year. A lovely German woman offered us some grapes and I chomped down with quite a few other confused tourists and we celebrated the new year attempting not to choke and washing down some grapes with champagne. Cheers! Happy 2013!
All and all live in Spain has been lovely. The sun is wonderful and the ocean is beautiful. I think it's safe to say, however, that this traveling thing is getting to be quite exhausting. Eating and sleeping all day shouldn't be this tiring but it is. Today we didn't leave the house until around 2...we had to watch the next two episodes of the Great British Bake-off after-all (who knew strudel was so complicated). Not that I'm complaining but it's seems about time to sleep in my own bed. It's been quite a while. Thank you Spain though, you've really outdone yourself.
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