hello! So we have officially bee in Spain for a week...time to recap.

We started in Madrid and stayed at a hostel for the weekend. We saw the palace, cathedrals, park in the center of the city, and had plenty of tapas. For Lizzie´s birthday, we went to a tapas cafe and they brought her a huge chocolate cake. We saw the museo del Prado and the modern museum, which had works from Picasso and more! We learned how to navigate the fresh market and had a picnic in the park. We walked until our feet almost fell off, and then got on the bus to Granada.

5 hours later, we arrived in Granada. It´s about 250,000 people, and feels bigger because the entire city is crammed into a small area of winding streets and avenues. We are staying with a family in the center of the city, and our house mother is an awesome cook!!!
There are 2 flats to the house. Me (Rachel), Lizzie and Tara live on the second flat, alon with the family´s son and another German student. The parents live on the third floor, with a student from Vermont and another from Germany. Eating meals together is always interesting, with 3 languages intertwined. Each flat is basically its own house, with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen and living room. We are lucky to be so close to everything. We are taking classes in el centro de lenguas modernas, part of the university of Grandada. Lizzie and I have class from 9 till 2, and Tara has class from 9 to 1. then we go home and eat lunch at 3, which is the biggest meal of the day. We usually have a program activity in the evening, and then dinner at 9.

So far, we have toured the old city and neighborhoods, seen several museums, been to a flamenco performance (and taken classes, haha), and to a Arabic tea house. Tonight we go to the bull fight. This week is the festival de Corpus Cristi, so there are festivities all week long! We only have class Monday and Tuesday. There is a fair, and people dress in traditional spanish clothing.

Yesterday we went to Sevilla, the capital of Andalucia. Is is about 8 million people and a sprawling metropolis. We first visited a large castle, then the park, and then another palace. The architecture is very interesting and is called Mudejar - a mix between Christian and Arabic styles. We then went to the main cathedral, which was beautiful. It apparently has the tallest alter in the the world and was very ornate. After that we climed the 32 flighst of stairs to the top of the bell tower, which gave a panoramic view of the city. We at dinner at a local cafe on the street, and then drove back to Granada.