I HEART GRANADA!

BEST ICE CREAM EVER!
I have been craving it so much while being in Spain

We met the guy in the grey shirt in his store while
shopping around. He invited us to dinner (mostly
because he wanted to go on a date with Rachel..on the
right) and so we tagged along for safety and he brought
one of his friends! So neat to be shown around by locals =]

The fountains in Granada are gorgeous!
This was in the Alhambra (more pics of it on facebook!
A MUST SEE!!)

Cobble stone everywhere! Tip: wear
thick soles on your shoes!!

We passed this fountain many times on the way
into town and on the way back up to the hostel!
(I wanted to stand in the water for the picture but
it ended up being waaay too deep...good thing I
didn't just jump right in!)

BEST FOOD EVER! We ended up having Doners
for a majority of our meals haha so delicious though!
These ones were by far the best...it was in a pretty
east indian restaurant

We ended up arriving back home in Alicante at 4:30 am
but the first tram didn't start till 5:45 am so we sat
on these steps, waiting till the station opened up!
A girl walked up to us and it ended up being someone
Rachel B. knew! she sat with us and talked for a while

MORE PICS ON FACEBOOK!

HOME SWEET HOME! and the computer fast is finally over =] I had the BEST weekend of my life! haha
A large group of us ended up going to Granada (a 5 hr bus ride south) for travel weekend. We all ended up splitting up for most of it (10 people slept outside every night...how crazy is that!?).
Rachel K. , Rachel B, linnea, Heidi, Christine and I stayed in a Hostel right beside the Alhambra. It was on top of a hill but the walk up is amazing...you go up this long stone path that is lined with little streams, benches, old fashioned lamp posts, HUGE trees and lots of founatins. A great walk to start and end your day =].

The hostel was really nice, great location! It was cool to learn that the original property the Hostel was on belonged to the King and Queen when they were alive! The owner was a bit grumpy at night when we first arrived but after that she was a great help. I roomed with both Rachels and our room had one bunk and another single bed. Our bathroom was the same size as our room (HUGE shower). It was a very quiet hostel but overall a great first experience staying in a Hostel. Makes me confident about the ones in Italy! =P

We did most of our shopping in the old Silk exchange District. There were soo many shops in all the alleyways. I ended up buying a few things for my family and myself but just enjoyed 'shopping with my eyes'. I LOVED the pottery there! So vibrant and colorful. In one of the shops we ended up talking to an older Guy named Dani. He was so happy that we were from Canada! And apparently my eyes mean I will have too many riches haha and so I said I will come back and buy everything in his store =P In a different shop Rachel K. ended up talking to the owner and he ended up inviting us all to dinner!! There were 6 of us girls and then he brought one of his friends. We walked across Granada to the other side of Tapas! (finger/snack food =] ). So much fun so get out at night and feel a part of what people our age do there! It was only 2 euros for the drink and then unlimited food!

It was a very relaxful but busy weekend. We didn't really make any plans,except for seeing the Alhambra, so we just walked around and went on random adventures! We ended up talking to soo many people there and finding out where everyone was from =]. I am LOVING this culture! I could stay here for a year...I am finally starting to adapt here and my spanish is coming along! haha I used everything I knew over the weekend =]. I really don't want to go home haha. The Alhambra was amazing! We spent around 3 hours there just walking around the gardens, in the castle, and also in the Palace. The architecture was incredible...handmade tiles and stone carvings every! It is amazing to think about what took place there back in the day. We also walked to the old muslim community and saw the Muslim Bath House. You couldn't see exactly where the bath was but it was neat to read about it!

I was excited to head back to Rio Vida but overall it was a great experience! I LOVE TRAVELLING! =P
This experience has really made me grow in confidence and also independance.

We took the bus home at 11:30 pm Saturday night and arrived back in Alicante around 4:30 am. Unfortunatley the first tram didn't start till 5:45 so the station wasnt even open yet. We sat outside on the stairs for an Hour and ended up meeting this girl that Rachel B. "knew". She approached us to ask us what time the station opened (she asked in spanish but then heard us speak english so she scrapped the spanish) and ended up sitting with us to wait. She lives in the exact same place as Rachel B. and her mom works at the camp Rachel worked at. It was such a God moment because right before it happened we were praying to God and saying how he puts things together for the benefit of us and 'POP' Annie shows up =p. It was neat.

We got back to the school around 6:30 am and I went straight to bed!

What a great weekend =]