Back in the States

I meant to write more last post that I made (forever ago), but I payed for an hour of internet at the hotel and it cut me off just as I finished writing our trip summary and went to publish it. Figures. If you're in my family or one of my friends who wants to see, I have finally organized the pictures from the family trip and can show them to anyone who wants to see. Or, if I get really bored I may post some of them.

To sum up, our family together finished up our time together in northern Spain hiking, eating (a necessary and usually yummy thing) and sight-seeing. We drove back from Irun to Pamplona and Colin and I saw Mom and Dad off to the US. After they left, a few of my friends came over for a "sleepover," what happens after eating ice cream and staying up watching a movie till 3:30 am. Luckily Colin went to bed at a more sensible hour of about 12. The next morning they saw Colin and I off and Emily drove us to the bus station for the trip to the airport.

Our first stop was Granada, via a semi-complicated route. First was the bus trip from Pamplona to Bilbao, plane from there to Malaga, and bus from there to Granada. We decided to take a taxi to the hostel after I fruitlessly tried to decipher the city bus numbers and stops. It was a good decision, as the amiable taxi driver pointed out some of the major sights in the area enroute to the hostel. After flopping on the beds for a few minutes (okay, a bit longer), Colin and I decided to go out to eat a bit for supper. It was a bit late, 9:40 or so, so people were beginning to go out for supper and drinks. We didn't bother to change our clothes to eat, something I regreted as soon as we got to the restaurants. We were the only two in t-shirts and shorts in the entire street I believe as well as the youngest two people out, except for a four year old or two with their parents. After eating, we set out alarms for 5:30 am and went to bed.

The next day before the sun had found it's way through the city's narrow streets, Colin and I set out for the Alhambra. When we arrived at about 6:30 am, only about 5 people were there, already waiting in line. By 7, however, the line was curling and contained at least 50 people. It's one of the biggest attractions in all of Spain, and tickets are limited. It was so so beautiful. Granada was one the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, and the Alhambra is the moor's fortress/palace and all the gardens. The Muslim rulers were really into gardens, pools of water, and intricate tile work. Colin adn I spent about 3 hours inside, not counting the 2 hours we waited beforehand. After lunch, we set out to see the gypsy caves in the mountain on the edge of town. First, we took a tour through an abby at the top of the mountain and went through the caves beneath it that had been made into chapels. I translated for Colin and a Welsh guy. I was amused at the Welsh guy and one of the Colombian woman's attempts to communicate. She knew very little English, and he very little Spanish, so it was a painstaking endeaver. They ended up going out with one of her friends afterward, though, so maybe they figured that they could communicate well enough to spend time together. Or maybe they weren't going to need to talk much. Hmmm. On the way back to our hotel, we visited a museum about the gypsy way of life in the caves. It was interesting, but Colin was disappointed. He was expecting Mammoth Cave type caves, not the small ones that people lived in with white washed interiors.

The next day we headed for Valencia to see the city and the American Cup via the same way we had come before. I'll tell about that next week. I'm heading up to the lake with Mom and Dad, and Colin is staying here this weekend to do the Milk Mile Sunday(where they drink milk, run, and inevitably throw up). What those cross-country boys think of... Don't worry; it's not sponsored by any school, nor is it forced. The kids actually want to do it!