My 145 Day Journey: Weekend Warriors, part 1

Well, I successfully made it through my first weekend warrior trip!

On Thursday, I packed my bags and prepared for a weekend in the mountains with my friends Michelle and Erin. I actually had to take my bag to my last class on Thursday so I would be safe on time from class to the train station. Erin met me outside FCEYE (the business school if you don't remember), and we lugged our suitcases to the station. Because Michelle had class at night, she decided it would be best if she arrived early Friday morning. After waiting for only a little bit, Erin and I boarded our train-- destination: Granada. This was Erin's first ever train ride so it was fun to see her experience it all for the first time. Americans in general tend to have a certain stereotype of trains, possibly from all of the old westerns on TV, or the fact that taking a train in the US is typically impractical. But trains in Spain (without rain in the plain), are efficient and a common way to travel.

The train ride was about 3 hours long (this was not the high speed AVE), but it allowed me to do some of the homework that I had for the weekend. When Erin and I arrived in Granada, it was about 9:30pm and dark so we went straight to the hostel to check-in. This particular hostel was recommended by Rick Steves in his guide book for Spain (I recommend his recommendations). The room was great, we had 3 beds, and our own bath, all for a very reasonable price. Erin and I quickly decided that we needed a good meal, so we went to La Castellana, to get a pizza. In Granada, they have a tradition of giving free tapas when you order drinks. Naturally, we embraced this and had an amazing meal! Also, I am all for this tradition spreading to the rest of Spain. After watching the end of the Seville F.C. (soccer) game on the TV in the restaurant, we decided to call it a night. We knew the next day was going to be pretty full of sightseeing and activities.

In the morning around 10, Michelle got to the hostel and we headed out for café and pastries. The only proper way to start a morning! The weather in Granada was rather brisk, probably around 55 degrees for most of the weekend, but at least it was sunny on Friday! After our breakfast, we attempted to walk up to the Alhambra, which is on the top of a hillside. Although the hike up was beautiful and scenic, we soon realized that it was going to take a little longer than expected, so we hopped on the Alhambra bus and went on a very scenic tour of the entire town of Granada for only 1.20 euros! We were dropped off at the top of the hill, collected our tickets to go inside (although we couldn't enter until 2pm), and went on another walk to the top of the hillside. The view from the top was incredible. It was very Sound of Music-esc. Flowers in a field, with trees and a beautiful terrace to overlook the city. And let's not forget that you could see the snow covered mountains so clearly from the top. It only made me want to go skiing, but alas, I will have to wait until my next visit to Granada to go skiing. We took the views in and took pictures to show the gem of the spot we found.

After we left the hilltop, we had lunch (where I finished my first ever beer.... an Alhambra beer, just to be as cliché as possible), and headed to the Alhambra. For those of you who do not know, the Alhambra is the last home and fort of the moors of Spain before they were kicked out in 1492 (easy to remember because that's when Columbus sailed the ocean blue.) The tour was fantastic. I regret not buying an audio-guide to listen to as I walked through because there were not any signs describing what each place was. Lucky for me, I've been there before with my family, so I remembered bits and pieces. Plus, Michelle, Erin, and I somewhat tagged on to a tour to hear what they had to say. After the tour of the palaces, we headed to the gardens, which weren't in bloom but still were beautiful. The detail in every aspect of the Alhambra, from the architecture and the wall designs, to the gardens, to the water that was everywhere (water was very important to the moors), was amazing. By the time we left the Alhambra, it was about 6pm, and we headed back down the hill (thanks to the Alhambra bus again).

We decided it was time to enjoy a nice Spanish siesta, so we took naps for a little, and then went out for tapas afterwards. After tapas in a very authentic Spanish restaurant, we met up with a guy who is also in our program in Sevilla for a couple drinks at a local bar. The atmosphere in the bar was a mix to two cultures: the American college students, and random Spanish groups of friends, including a bachelorette party. It was definitely a fun place to be for the night.

The next day, we shot out of bed at the crack of 10am. Saturday we had planned to be very low key with the only major sightseeing excursion to be at the cathedral. After our café and breakfast, we (as girls) walked around the town, looking for good shopping deals... since it's the last week of the holiday rebajas (discounts) in Spain. For the most part, it was a lot of window shopping, but it was fun to see the people of Granada out and about during their Saturday. We had lunch, and then headed to the cathedral. The cathedral in Granada is the second largest cathedral in Spain, behind the one in Sevilla. In short, it was gigantic, and beautiful. One of the most interesting tidbits was that the cathedral was painted with lime around the 18th century for hygienic reasons since it was during a time of diseases. Visiting cathedrals always reminds me how much power and money the church had/has. Regardless, it's always nice to see beauty that makes you speechless.

Michelle had heard from someone else in our program who had gone to Granada already for a weekend, that there was a cool viewpoint on the opposing hilltop from the Alhambra. So, before sunset, we hiked up the hillside to the viewpoint, which ended up being packed with onlookers as well, since the best time to be there is at sunset. Once the sun had set, the "show" began, and the lights started turning on at the Alhambra, which was truly beautiful with the mountains in the background and the city below. It was also very cool to see the lights slowly turn on like a wave across the city. We could even see the lights turn on on the mountains for all of the ski slopes (which made me jealous I wasn't there, again.) We took it all in, and then eventually headed back down the hill.

After yet another siesta, we got all dressed up in anticipation of going out after dinner. After dinner, around 12:30am, the "hot" discoteca in Granada opened its doors, and we walked in and got our free drinks that came with the cover charge. There, we met up with a few other girls from our program that were also in Granada for the weekend, and started to get in the mood to dance! The discoteca was in an old theater building that was very sizable and had a very cool atmosphere. After some mingling with other people in the discoteca (good practice of Spanish!) and lots of dancing, we ran back to our hostel around 3:30am in the rain. (At that point the rain didn't matter because we had managed to look fabulous while still inside!) Chances are, we would have stayed out longer had it not been for the fact that we had to catch our train back to Sevilla in a matter of 8 hours.

Our morning included our final cafés in Granada, and we packed our bags, ready to head back home. Although Granada was gorgeous, and had breathtaking views that only made me want to move to Boulder, Colorado when I'm done with school, I missed Sevilla. I've truly become emotionally attached to Sevilla, and I love it.

I entitled this blog Weekend Warriors, pt. 1, because part 2 is coming up this weekend in Madrid. Part 3 follows the following weekend in Barcelona. But first, school and homework!!!