Spain is pretty much amazing. The touristy parts of Granada are beautiful. We’ve seen the Alhambra, an old Muslim palace that was converted into a palace for the Spanish king when the Catholic monarchy took over. It’s just filled with gardens, forests, fountains and artsy decor. We spent about 45 minutes climbing the hills leading up to the entrance, and then about 5 more hours wandering around. There are a lot of paths and lots of things to see.

There are also tons of plazas and fountains scattered around the city. That part is wonderful, because so much of Granada is very urban, it’s great to find a park or fountain anywhere.

My host family is very nice, there’s a mother (Francesca), 23 and 20 year old girls, 15, 12 and 10 year old boys. They are very good to me too, when I panic about being so far away for so long, they always help me out. Right now they’re setting up a birthday party for me. Francesca made a lasagna style dish for me and bought a cake, and the kids keep bringing me balloons. In addition to all that, I have an amazing view of the Sierra Nevada, the Albayzin (the oldest part of Granada: tiny little white houses with orange roofs) and the Alhambra off in the distance.

I’ve settled into living here, adjusting to my new friends and classes and what not, so a few of us decided to become tourists again- I leave for Italy with 5 other people on
February 8. We’re staying 2 days in Milan, 3 in Venice and 3 in Rome. Then I start my classes at the University of Granada, and a week later I’m heading off to Paris to see Alan. It should be pretty great.