Granada

Hey!
We have been in Granada for the last three days and internet has been spotty. The train from Algeciras went through some of the most beautiful landscape I have ever scene. There were miles and miles of rolling holla covered in every shade of green imaginable. Animals grazed lazily with giant wind farms in the background. Getting closer to Granada, a snow capped mountain appeared out of nowhere. How lovely Andaluzia is!
Once Carmela and I got to the train station we had two hours to pick up our tickets and make it to the Alhambra for our scheduled visit. Thankfully, we made it with 15 minutes to spare.
The Alhambra? Words and pictures could never do it justice. It was abosultely amazing. Room after room, garden after garden, archway after archway of breathtaking calligraphy, architecture and landscaping. I feel so blessed to have finally seen it.
Unfortunately, I started feeling sick as soon as we got to Granada and ever since I've been nursing a cold. Our friends here have been very gracious and I have been able to eat and rest ro my heart's content.
Tonight we leave for Barcelona. It's an eleven hour ride, so that should be boat loads of fun.
Until next time.

Today's mission: Make a meal for your friends and eat it with them.

Cadiz, Puerto de Santa Maria and Gibraltar/La Linea

It's been an exciting couple of days. After our adventures in Cadiz Carmela and I met up with Manu in El Puerto de Santa María, which is just across the bay. He took us to Rota, a naval base where he flies helicopters with the Spanish Navy. Heck yes, we got to sit in the helicopters! Rota is actually an American base, so we were surrounded by a bunch of army brats. It's weird how you can live in another country and still spend all your time on American soil.
After Carmela's delicious pasta, Manu took us out dancing. So much fun! It was strange how the Spaniards didn't dance as much as we did. Manu says that Spaniah people don't really dance, but I think that's a croc.
We stayed an extra day in El Puerto because we missed the bus to Gibraltar. We finally made it to La Linea (Spanish city adjacent to Gibraltar) yesterday and met up with John, who had been taking full advantage of the long Easter weekend. After some tapas and tinto de verano, we hunkered for the night.
Today, John took us for a full English breakfast in Gibraltar. Yum! We walkwr halfway up the rock and saw the Macaques. After that, I made dinner and Carmela and I got ice cream in el centro. Pretty good Easter, if I do say so myself.
Of to Granada tomorrow!

Cadiz

Carmela and I took an overnight bus from Madrid to Cadiz. I didn't sleep a wink the entire seven hour trip and ended up walking the streets like a zombie until the hostels opened in the afternoon. We showered and slept (hot water!) then hit the town for some paella.
Cadiz is a gorgeous oceanside town in Andaluzia. The streets are narrow and the people are friendly. When we walked into the hostel we're staying in to ask about prices, we were greeted by a sweet older women and her parents. My spanish still needs some work, but these people made me feel so comfortable that my confidence has gone up tenfold.
It's holy week and each town has their statue of the Virgin Mary that they carry through the streets. We got to see this amazing procession, pointy hats and all. Pictures will have to wait until I'm back in the states, but I'm posting the view from my hostel's roof, a photo i took with my iPhone.

Day 2

Hey folks!
Today we did a walking tour of central Madrid. We started off in Puerta del Sol then went to the Palàcio Real, Catedral Almudena and Gran Via. Afterwards, Carmela and I had lunch at a kebab place on Calle Montera and watched the prostitutes. Then we wandered around and Carmela bought four kilos of smoked meet to send home to the states. Now we're about to go out for tapas with a couple from the hostel. Tonight we leave for Cadiz. Oh my god! Andaluzia!

Llegue a Madrid

I reached Madrid at 1AM CST, 7:30AM Madrid time. My flight from O´Hare to Dulles was two hours late, so it was a miracle that I caught my connecting flight to Spain. I was even running to the gate when I heard "passenger Anameeka Beedee please report to C10, this is the final boarding call."
Everything worked out, but the seven hour flight was killer. I haven´t slept well in a good two-three days but my body wouldn`t let me conk out on the plane. I watched The Muppet Movie and The Iron Lady to try to make the flight go faster. Eventually, we landed, and I was officially in Europe for the first time in my life.
I met up with Carmela at baggage claim and she took me to our hostel for some breakfast. We´ve been walking around Madrid since then, looking at beautiful churches, wrapping our heads around some of the fashion trends and catching up with each other.
At some point I got so exhausted that Carmela paid for my metro ticket so I could sleep back at the hostel. Now I´m here, but our room won´t be ready for an hour.
Closing remarks: Madrid´s okay, but it´s just another big city like New York. I´m excited for some of the other places in Spain we´ll be going.

Today´s Mission: Get enough sleep.