Granada

Hello! Granada was perhaps one of the most anticipated (and most nerve-wracking) destinations of our summer, so I could not believe we were already arriving! I was super excited to return to where I had studied abroad for six weeks back in 2012 and was looking forward to sharing Granada with Jake and taking him to my favorite places in the city! Also, I was excited to reunite with my host mom, Carmen, who I had lived with during my time in Granada. I was a bit nervous however, since I had not talked to her very much in the past year and a half, so I was hoping things would pick up right where we left off. Also, Jake was very nervous to communicate with Carmen since she does not speak any English.

Some of the beautiful sites from our train ride to Granada...

I didn't take any pictures from our first night in Granada, but we did get to see my host mom Carmen and we hung out with her for several hours. It was really fun and she was so happy we were able to visit her! She has probably hosted about 15 to 20 students over the past 6-8 years or so, but I guess I am actually the first girl she had who ever came back to visit, so that was pretty cool! She actually still had the photo collage I made her up on her fridge! It was really sweet!

Our next morning, we started with delicious pastries from "the bread lady", or a lady who sells amazing treats from a kiosk/stand in one of the plazas in central Granada. This is part of the pan de chocolate that Kelley and I would always get three summers ago!

After breakfast, we visited the Alhambra Palace, which is one of the attractions that Granada is most known for. Construction began in the year 889 and was used as a Muslim fortress and palace during their 800 year reign in Spain. We were able to see beautiful views of the Palacio de Carlos V, the Albayzin, and the Generalife (gardens).

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Muslim architecture is absolutely stunning to me, as their is a large emphasis on beautiful color, symmetry, and geometric patterns. I'm sure you will notice this with some of the interiors from the Nasrid Palaces.

We were lucky with how empty the Nasrid Palaces were! I remember this being packed when I was there last time!

Here's a picture from three years ago to show the contrast!

The author Washington Irving stayed in this part of the Alhambra when he was writing his novel "Tales of the Alhambra".

This is the inside of the Palacio de Carlos V (Palace of Charles V). Sometimes they host concerts and special events here, just like the one I went to with Carmen during the last week of staying with her!

Next we moved on to the Generalife, which are the gardens of the Alhambra.

On our next day in Granada, we went by the old school where I took my classes! It wasn't open (it was a Saturday), but it felt cool being back!

This is the Cathedral of Granada, which is so large that I could not even capture it in a single photo!

The inside of the Cathedral was absolutely stunning as well, with incredible detail and color!

The student that was currently staying with Carmen was over for lunch one of the days we were visiting (she had been traveling around with her family as well) and we did some photos!

This is a picture of me and the other student. Carmen is a little teary since she was feeling sad that we were going to be leaving soon.

One of the Spanish specialties is tortilla de patata, which is made of potatoes, eggs, and onion, and it is so delicious! It is basically a Spanish version of an omelette.

Jake and I also enjoyed some chocolate con churros!

My favorite part of our visit to Granada (and one of my favorites of the whole trip) was a concert we went to on top of the Palacio de Congreso, which is this beautiful green building that has a rooftop terrace. The terrace overlooks both the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the city of Granada. The concert was free and featured students from a university in China and it was such a magical moment!

The sunset over the mountains was gorgeous!

The music was beautiful and the musicians were very talented. There were also several dance performances and some kung fu.

Overall, our visit to Granada was absolutely lovely! Jake did a great job communicating in Spanish and I know he felt very motivated to continue learning and working on his Spanish! It was great seeing Carmen again and being able to show Granada to Jake. Carmen was so kind and welcoming, so we definitely felt like family! Carmen was even calling Jake her "niño", which essentially means son, so that was heartwarming. :)

Next up…off to Valencia!