:)

First weekend excursion...

FRIDAY

Friday night after class our house managers told us that we were having a Mojito party to celebrate the new school year and new roommates... He made a huge bowl of Mojitos and we all drank and got to know eachother. During the party some of our new friends invited us to go to a club after, we wernt going to because we had to be up early for our first excursion in the morning but we knew it would be fun so we decided to go anyway... We got back to the house around 4:30 am on Saturday, slept for a couple hours then packed and headed to our bus.

SATURDAY

The buses were off and luckily our destination was about 2 hours away so we got another 2 hours of sleep on the Bus. We finally arrived to a small city called Úbeda. It was very beautiful and had a lot of culture. Here is a picture of me and alex in front of a cathedral a man specifically designed for himself and his wife to be buried in. Our guide told us that his house was small and he put all his money into this cathedral because really the only thing that was important to them was the Afterlife.

After seeing a little bit of Úbeda, we got back onto the bus and headed up to the Sierra Nevadas. After having to turn around a couple times we arrived to our campground. Me and 3 other girls shared a small cabin together and took a quick nap before our first activity...

For our first activity our tour guides took us on a little hike and did not tell us what we were doing. Then I saw this ropes course that was high in the trees and I almost died ahha. For those of you who dont know, I am really afraid of heights, but I really wanted to do this so I put my fear behind me and tried my best. I was hooked up to a harness and wire so if I fell I would be caught but it still was very hard for me, and I was shaking the whole way. But I did it and I am so proud of myself :) Here are some pictures...

After our tight rope adventure we had dinner, and talked about the next day's excursion. I found out that the next day we would be going canyoneering, I was sooo excited until they told me I would have to jump off a 30 foot cliff into the river, and that there was no way around it. So after that I made up my mind that I was not going and I would go on a hike with other people instead.

SUNDAY

We woke up early to eat breakfast then everyone took the bus over to where the canyoneering was going to take place. As I was watching everyone put on the wetsuits I decided I will just go and suck it up, because this could be the only time in my life I will have the same chance. So luckily they had an extra wetsuit and I was on my way. Now I am SOOO glad I went, it was probably one of the most amazing things I have ever done in my life. We followed the river for about 2.5 hours, down waterfalls, rapids and through pools. The wet suits made the crystal clear water not even feel that cold and the jump was not even that bad. The best part about it was the jump was through a cave, that had vines growing around the opening and that looked like it could have been on the movie "The Goonies", into a crystal blue pool of water that was along side a big waterfall. If anyone has a chance to go canyoneering I HIGHLY recommend it. Thankfully a guy from our group had a water proof camera that he brought along with him so here are some pictures from the trip (Unfortunately there are not many action shots because he was climbing down at the same time as us):

After the excursion we hiked through the Sierra Nevada Mountains back to the bus and went back to our cabins. We had a quick lunch then headed back to Granada. Overall this weekend was one of the most amazing weekends of my life, and I am hoping there are many more to come :). Also after this weekend I am living by the motto "When in Spain" so pretty much I am going to experience everything I am able to because when is the next time I will be living in Spain?!

MONDAY

I had been craving Persian food soo bad, so while I was at class Alex went to the store to buy all the ingredients I needed to make some chicken kabobs and saffron rice. We made an awesome dinner that tasted pretty close to Persian Kabobs. Then, after dinner our new Spaniard friends invited us to play Poker. I was the first one out :/ but its cool, I still got to practice Spanish and Alex lasted until 3rd. With this amazing weekend, Persian food, and Poker, I pretty much can say that I am loving my life in España!!

Interesting cultural event

FLOWERS

Alex and I heard loud band music coming from outside and went to investigate. When we got there we saw a band playing music in the direction of an old cathedral that is next to our house. The music was awesome and I remembered that today was a special day in Granada in which they honor a specific saint. Different groups of people, bands, dancers, cowboys etc lineup and

drop flowers in front of a cathedral. Then people stuff the flowers into a beautiful net to make an amazing display of flowers. Here are some pictures/ videos:

Outside of the cathedral by our house:

Band Playing that we followed to the main cathedral:

Main Cathedral with all the flowers:

There were people lined up for miles to drop some off.

Flamenco Dancers:

Dancing Horses:

Lots of People:

After watching the show for a while we left the main cathedral and got gelato, then met up with some friends to play fútbol. Overall it was a good night :)

Parque de García Lorca Y Zaidín Fiesta de Rock

Parque de García Lorca

We decided to take a little walk outside of the city to get some fresh air and relax on the Saturday afternoon... We came across this amazing park.

The park is in the once the countryside surrounding the home of famed poet, author, and playwright Federico García Lorca. There are rose bushes fountains, and a little pond. We brought a blanket to sit on and some wine, over all it was a great day.

Here are some pictures from the day:

These are exercise equipment they have in the park.... just after taking this picture I dropped and broke my camera :(.

Fiesta De Rock in Zaidín

This festival was the talk of the town all week in Granada so obviously we wanted to go. The only problem was we had no idea where it was but decided to try anyway. We headed off into the direction we thought it was and walked for about 20 mins when we decided this could not be right.

Finally we asked some young, intoxicated Spaniards where it was and they said they were heading there so we could all go together. On the way there the Spaniards were shouting Disney sounds at the top of their lungs in Spanish, "un mundo ideal", so we chimed in, in English. Once we got there we were astonished by how big this thing was. There were carnival rides, food vendors and a HUGE lot with a stage in the back, all for free. It was SOO much fun!

Camera Obscura

"Let's get out of this country

I'll admit I am bored with me

I drowned my sorrows and slept around

When not in body at least in mind

We'll find a cathedral city

You can convince me I am pretty

We'll pick berries and recline

Let's hit the road dear friend of mine

Wave goodbye to our thankless jobs

We'll drive for miles maybe never turn off

We'll find a cathedral city you can be handsome I'll be pretty"

A day in Granada

Chelsea and Alex's Date Day

After waking up pretty late Alex and I decided to go roam around the city and get lost. We headed toward Plaza Nueva, which is the main tourist center in the city. Plaza Nueva is lined with vendors and restaurants that sell tapas and different souvenirs.

We passed Plaza Nueva and followed the river that runs through Granada up a cobblestone street toward the outskirts of the city. The river has beautiful arch bridges and historic buildings around it. Also a lot of stray cats drinking water and lounging in the shade the trees provide.

After following the cobblestone streets around a bend in the road we came across the most amazing view of the Alhambra up on a hill. We decided to stop for lunch at one of the many restaurants that lined the streets and ate an amazing meal while taking in the view.

Alex was very pleased with the discovery of his meal. Its called a Shawarma or as we like to call it, a Spanish style burrito. Its the closest thing they have to a burrito in Spain. It's a kebab wrapped in a tortilla with lettuce, really good sauce, and chicken. Probably one of the best things we have had here, and it was as big as Alex's arm.

Also, this little guy hung out with us through out the entire meal (Jessica FYI Isis followed me to Spain), and a very talented street performer was playing beautiful music on a flute/recorder.

After enjoying our meal and cervezas we carried our adventure on up the cobblestone street further away from the city central. We came across a huge hill and got almost halfway up when we stop to debate on whether to turn around. Just then we heard English coming from behind a wall. I took another step further and saw an old little door opening into a huge beautiful garden.

The English speakers I heard was a family and the dad was actually wearing a Chargers jersey. They were just leaving so me and Alex ignored them and went to explore this secret garden. We were literally the only ones in there. It was AMAZING. Here are some pictures...

After exploring for a good while we headed back to Plaza Nueva, got some gelato and walked the 5 minutes back to our house. Overall this day was an amazing experience. I am so thankful I get to live and explore this gorgeous city. :)

Our House!

We Found a House!



This is just a basic video of our house... there is actually 10 people living here and a lot more rooms but it kind of gives you an understanding about what it looks like.

Our managers are super nice and they decorated everything amazingly.


~Please forgive the typo- door war is supposed to be doorway :)