Granada and Toledo with NORA!!

Wow, how is it already March?! That seems impossible! I can’t believe how fast time is passing here!

I just got done with one of the most exciting, fun, and stressful weeks I’ve had here. Nora, my really great friend from Scripps who is studying abroad in France right now, came to visit me from Tuesday to Friday, and then we went to Toledo together for the weekend. We stayed in a hostel together during the week while I ran back and forth between classes and sightseeing with her, and it was sooo much fun, but also incredibly busy. We had fun exploring the different neighborhoods of Granada, sipping tea at a Tetería, eating greasy churros con chocolate, and all the fun touristy stuff I don’t really get to do on a regular basis. We were lucky to have great weather while Nora was here as well—I think it only sprinkled once or twice the entire time. On Thursday, we had lunch with Concha, and unfortunately Nora got sick, so our plans for the afternoon kind of went out the window. It happened to be the birthday of one of my best friend’s here, Katie, and as much I wanted to stay in and be with Nora, she reasoned that there wasn’t anything I could do for her anyways, so I went out for a bit to wish Katie a happy birthday. It was actually really fun to hang out with my new friends, but I was worrying about Nora the whole time, so I guess it was a mixed fun and not so fun night.

On Friday we traveled to Toledo, which was really quite a journey! The bus from Granada to Madrid takes about 5 hours, with a stop in the middle for food/coffee/bathrooms. It was a beautiful ride from what I could tell—I was asleep for much of it—but my booty certainly didn’t appreciate sitting for that long! Then, we took another bus from Madrid to Toledo, and a taxi to our hotel. Both Nora and I were pretty exhausted and feeling under the weather, so we stayed in Friday night and just chatted, watched part of a weird movie on the TV, and went to bed. Saturday was our one full day in Toledo, and I actually feel like we managed to see a lot of the city in only that one day. Toledo is a lovely, well-preserved old city with tiny labyrinth-like streets and a lot of awesome artwork and historical buildings/museums. I was so excited to get to see a lot of work by El Greco, not only because he was a great and important artist, but also because we just studied a few of his pieces in my Art/Lit class!! And the few that we studied were all in Toledo, and I saw them!!! It was so cool to be able to tell Nora what my teacher had told me about the shapes, colors, themes, etc. It was super fun. We also went to a Jewish museum that is in an old Synagogue, and that was both beautiful and really informative. It had a few really lovely courtyards, too, which we took advantage of for little recuperation breaks (Nora was still not feeling very well, and my arm was bothering me for some reason).

On Sunday, we woke up early to get back to Madrid in time for Nora’s flight, and for me to get a bus back to Granada. I met this really nice lady in the bus station in Madrid while waiting for my bus home, and we talked for a good 20 minutes. I like random nice people.

Once I got home to Granada, I took a quick shower and then went out for coffee and a snack with my friend, Katie, which was super fun bonding time. :) That night, we also went out with two other friends, who I absolutely adore, and it was so nice to just hang out with these wonderful people. OH, guys, by the way, one of my new friends here, Luis, CAN DANCE. AND LIKES TO DANCE. WITH ME. It’s maybe the best thing ever. I have missed dancing SO. MUCH. I have missed dancing with a good lead on a regular basis more than I thought I had. And yeah, ok, it’s not exactly like we’re waltzing around the bar (ha.ha.) but he knows salsa and merengue and, um, just how to move his hips. Haha. I know my dancers out there are all rejoicing on my behalf—thanks, guys! Anyways, I hope we end up being good friends so I don’t have to be creepy and stalk him and force him to dance with me. :P

Yesterday was Día de Andalucía—basically a day celebrating the region—so we had the day off of school today! Yay! It was great, I did homework all day. :P No, but really, I needed to catch up on my homework, so it actually was a good thing we had the day off. Tomorrow, it’s back to life as usual, and I’m not unhappy about that. I loved traveling and being a tourist and hanging out with Nora, but I’ll be glad to be back to my normal schedule, and to have some down time again this week.

Oof, time to get back to my reading! Love you all!

Pura Vida,
Kelsey

One Month in Granada!

Oof, what a busy week! Wednesday, the 17th, marked one month of me living with Concha, and we celebrated by having wine with lunch and then watching an old Fred Astaire movie on TV that evening—of course, accompanied by wine and chocolate. ;) I also got a wonderful surprise in the mail!!! A Valentine’s day package from my big brudder with chocolates and a sweet card and a movie and a wonderful, soft, pink teddy bear I am naming Rosita—basically “Pinky” in Spanish. It’s nice to have something soft and lovely to snuggle at night. Between Concha and Heashen, I had a pretty fantastic day. :)

Also, my friends and I bought super wonderfully cheap plane tickets to go to Barcelona for a long weekend in April! I am realllly excited; I think it’s going to be fantastic. I can’t wait to start exploring Spain more in earnest—Madrid, Sevilla, Toledo, and Barcelona for sure, and probably Bilbao and Córdoba and Valencia and god knows where else! Spain is such a fascinating and beautiful and historical place, and it’s very different from anywhere else I’ve ever lived or traveled to. I feel so very lucky to be here.

I noticed something about my Flamenco music teacher yesterday as well—the really cute little old man I want to put in my pocket and take home, remember? He has beautiful long fingernails on his right hand, and short fingernails on his left hand. Which means, I believe, that he plays the guitar! You see, I remember from playing the violin that in order to play notes precisely it is important to have relatively short fingernails on your left hand, which holds the strings down. I assume it’s similar with guitar. And I bet you he uses his longer fingernails on his right hand as picks to pluck the strings! Ok, so I might be really wrong, because I don’t play the guitar, but this is my hypothesis, and I’m just super proud of myself for making such a cool observation!

I’ve also been noticing that I seem to have a penchant for depressing music. Haha! It doesn’t bother me, I just think it’s interesting that when I have the choice between happy and sad songs, I usually prefer the sad ones. I don’t think it’s because I’m sad, because I certainly feel quite happy here in Granada—which was, and continues to be, a really pleasant surprise.

Oh my, I am just so tired today! I think it must be because I just finished classes for the week and I still have to go back to school to buy plane tickets to France, and I haven’t really decided on which I want to buy yet. That sort of stress is very exhausting to me. But it’s so worth it—my plan is to fly to Paris to visit Kristin (with Elisa) and take a train to visit Nora in Nantes over spring break. How exciting! But the details always stress me out—hostels and trains and planes and buses, and what all do I need to arrange in advance?! Oh boy. Ok, well, off I go. I send my love, please forgive me if it feels a little lethargic today. ;)

Pura Vida,
Kelsey

PS. It is raining almost constantly. I'm trying to perfect my sunshine dance so that I don't have to buy any damned umbrellas...