Nerja weekend!

So the weather has officially become GORGEOUS here.  I want to live outside, it's about mid 60's to 70's without a cloud in the sky!  I can finally bust out my spring clothes and shoes and retire my peacoat.  Primavera (spring) has officially begun, and Granada knows how to celebrate...

View over the river on my walk to class :)

Friday is called "dia de primavera" or first day of spring and the young kids in the city  interpret that as a giant drinking holiday called botellon.  Kelly and I decided to run some errands during the morning and I finally bought the purse I was dying for from a Spanish designer called Bimba & Lola.  (See picture below).  We went back home for siesta and then headed out again for the rest of the afternoon, the weather was too gorgeous to stay indoors.  I saw botellon televised during the afternoon news and it looked insane so Kelly and I wanted to at least see what it was all about. Picture a concert ground without any live music and a million drunk people - they had been there since the early morning!  It was crazier than I could have imagined.  We met up with a few people in our program for a bit who were just as amazed.  On our way home we actually ran into Kelly's host mom so I got to meet her - she's very nice and in her 50's.  Her kids actually host study abroad students as well so Kelly has a large extended family which is a way different situation than I have.

PURSE! for you Jenn :)

A typical lunch in Spain.. fish, pasta and veggies in a brothy soup.

Botellon - this picture doesn't even do it justice.

On Saturday we decided to head to a beach about 2 hours away called Nerja.  Our bus left at 9:00 am and it was pretty funny because literally the ENTIRE bus was American students from all differnet programs in Granada, half of them being from my program.  We got to the beach early afternoon and had a day of absolutely perfect weather.  It was probably the prettiest beach I've ever been too, the only downside being the "sand" was actually teeny tiny rocks and my feet STILL hurt from walking on them.  We baked all day in the sun and tried to venture into the Mediterranean Sea except it was like an ice bath!  We probably should have been more careful and put some sunscreen on because my shower when I got home was a bit painful.. my chest is a nice lobster color haha.  Overall it was a really nice day at the beach - all our senora's packed us "bocadillos" (sandwiches) for lunch so we had a little picnic at the beach and then got some gelato before getting back on the bus, which by the way we almost missed (I have such horrible luck with that!).  We decided to take a different way to get to the bus stop and realized shortly into our journey that we had no idea
where we were.  We had to SPRINT back through the beach (and many stairs) to get to where we had to be, but we ended up making it just in time (phew!).  The views on the way home were gorgeous as well with the sun setting on the city of Nerja and the ocean!

How gorgeous!

Pretty views :)

Today my senora wanted to walk around a little bit so she took me on another mini tour of some places in Granada that she didn't think I had visited.  It's incredible how many hidden gems there can be to one city!  She introduced me to some new plazas and churches around the city and we got a drink in Plaza de los Romanillas which made me feel like I was in a beach town because of all the palm trees and bright sunshine.  She also showed me some good places to take my parents and Aunt Josie for lunch and dinner when they arrive - get excited Mom and Dad!  Waiting for siesta now after our mini tour and then it's work time.  When did school get real here?  I have a 30 minute presentation in my culture class about Valencia (another popular city/community in Spain), a 30 minute presentation for my oral class with my friend Madeline (which we are doing it about relationship statuses, should be hilarious) and then a linguistics test on Thursday!  Yuck.  We're making plans already to head to another beach next weekend so that should get me through this busy week!



^^ The plaza with the palm trees and a fountain I pass on my way home everyday!

Miss you and thanks to all who read :) love your comments! xoxo