On November 14th, we took our last trip as a group to Sevilla, traveling in our big purple and yellow, shiny bus. In less than two days we visited a castle, were toured around the city, visited “Hospital de la Caridad” (a church in which we were able to see some works of art we’d learned about in our art history class), rode/raced bicycle carts through “Parque de Maria Luisa,” grocery shopped, made dinner in the hotel, ate while listening to Christmas music, slept, woke up, ate, visited “Monasterio de la cartuja” (where I picked and ate an orange), then we visited ancient Roman ruins and stood in an amphitheater where two thousand years ago, gladiators fought wild animals from all over the world. We also were able to visit the Cathedral in Sevilla and walk up the very large bell tower to enjoy a beautiful view overlooking the city. Wowzers, it’s a lot to even write! It was a jam-packed 1 ½ days, but really enjoyable and a great way to celebrate midterms and the DELE exam being over. My favorite part of all had to be the dinner that we made in our hotel rooms. We cooked in 3 different rooms, but all enjoyed our food around a small coffee table in Kailey’s and my room. We ate salad, pasta, bread, and cheese.. a very simple, but delicious meal. It was really neat having the freedom to cook, and eat what we wanted (although, I do love the food my host mom makes us).
(Roman Ruins)
Last Thursday, a group of us were invited for dinner at my friend Chris’ parents’ piso (apartment) in Granada, as they were visiting for the week. We met in Plaza Nueva and hiked a little ways up into the Albaicin (neighborhood of Granada). Immediately upon entering we were warmly greeted by his parents and after looking around their neat, cabin-like place, dinner was ready! Baked potatoes topped with bacon, corn, cheese, butter.. whatever your heart desired.. or stomach that is J Garlic bread, warmed brie cheese, fruit salad, veggie salad, carrots, and tomatoes. Wow, I haven’t eaten food with such flavor in a long time! It was so delicious and comforting to be sharing a meal in a small setting with my close friends, great people. After dinner we found our way up to the terrace overlooking buildings with a view of the Alhambra Palace. Chris’ mom Cathy brought us tea and had warmed up the cake/brownie that Annie and I had brought for dessert. Delicious! We laughed, shared stories, and of course took “un monton de” photos. When we headed back down, we were greeted by an sweet aroma and the sound of running water. Cathy with a huge smile on her face invited us to soak our feet in the large Arabic bath they had in one of the rooms. No way were we going to turn her down. We rolled up our pants and all got in, sitting around the edges of the bath, and just relaxed. I think that was the first time my feet have gotten “pruny” in months.. due to the rapid-speed-shower-taking that I’ve been used to here. To say the least, it was an amazing night and we were all so blessed to have been invited to share dinner together.
(Delicious meal)
The following day, Friday, a group of us took a walk to “Parque de las Ciencias” (Science Park) here in Granada. We spent 6 hours, exploring all the exhibits. It was a mix between OMSI and the Oregon zoo and a pretty enjoyable way to spend our afternoon. That night Annie and I checked out “Picaro” a bar that has live music every weekend. We got 2 free drinks with our ticket to get in. I had “chocolate caliente” (hot chocolate, which was more like hot chocolate pudding, but was so delicious!) and some mint tea! Yumm. The music was great too. Jazz quintet: trumpet, sax, bass, drums, and piano. After a long day of walking around, it was really nice to just sit and relax, and enjoy the music!
(Nursing students and their love for Anatomy)
(Heart of a Fin Whale, so large)
The next day, Saturday, Annie and I woke up early and went out to Café Futbol for some chocolate and churros. Probably something no one should be ingesting at 9 o’clock in the morning, but it’s pretty popular thing for breakfast here in Spain, so we thought we’d give it a try. After that we rode to the bus station to purchase our tickets to Madrid for when we leave Granada and head up North toward the airport! Holding those tickets in our hands, it was still hard to believe that soon it will be time to leave, but day by day it’s becoming more of a reality. Annie and I spent the rest of the morning walking around Granada, looking in the shops, taking pictures, taking it all in. It was a beautiful morning.
On Sunday after church and lunch, Annie, a friend of mine that I met at church, Kimberly, and I walked around the Albaicin, the same area that Chris’ parents’ had their piso. We roamed for about 2 hours, got lost at one point but after realizing that all the winding streets leading up and all the winding streets leading down will pretty much take you to the same place, we were able to find our way! It was perfect fall weather, crisp and dry, with the smell of leaves in the air. The sun on the white buildings and the colorful trees was stunning. We went to the look out “San Nicolas” to watch the sunset, many others had the same idea, but the view was gorgeous. We visited there once as a large group, I believe in September, wow, I can’t believe that long ago. It was neat to see how all the trees on the hills had changed colors, green to orange, red, yellow. It has been reaffirmed to me that indeed, my favorite season is fall! Thanksgiving is coming up soon, and I am certainly thankful to God for the beautiful seasons that He has created. Such diversity and beauty found in even the simple things… a fallen leaf, a crisp, cool breeze, parents walking their bundled little ones to school, hot tea..
November is coming to a close, December will begin.. and I will be flying back home. I love it here in Granada, but am anxious to see my family, receive gobs and gobs of hugs and spend time sharing smiles and laughter.
Thank you Lord for this time that I have been away, experiencing a new way of life, living with an amazing host mom, seeing your extraordinary creations. Thank you for my family and friends and for their constant love and support and for the reassurance that their love will be there when I return home. Thank you Lord for this next month, full of adventures, hot tea, fallen leaves, and cobble stone streets. And thank you that through and within it all, you are there.
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