Hola de España

Well, I am back in Spain for the moment. I arrived from Portugal in Sevilla and was there over night. I stayed in this great hostel that is in a refurbished house that was built in the 1800s. It had a lot of character and was not too big, just the right size. While there, I walked all around town and saw the 3rd largest cathedral in Europe, the old palace, and a ton of beautiful parks. There was also some great winding streets in the old part of town that were perfect for wandering around, some of there are so narrow that I could touch both walls at the same time with my hands. I was only there 2 nights and on my 2nd night there a group of us went out to see Flamenco dancing at this little place. It was very impressive. The way they were moving was unbelievable and i know my hips definately do not move like that! Afterwards, a some of us decided to hangout longer and got home around 3. It was one of those nights where I had just enough time to grab a shower and a couple hours of sleep before I had to be up and out the door again to grab my train.

I arrived in Granada a bit tired from lack of sleep, but other than that had no problems. I had planned on only being here a night, but there were no trains available until 2 days later, so I am here 2 days.

I went today to see the Alhambra, a huge Islamic Palace set up above the city. It was really spectacular. The intricate work of tile and carvings on the walls are so detailed that it must have taken forever to finish. There are some beautiful gardens up there also that I wandered through and lingered in for a while. I then headed back to town and wandered around exploring. There is a large influence here from Islamic countries, which is very interesting. There are many shops here catering to that.

Apparently, I blend in very well here, because I keep getting asked repeatedly where things are around town. I then have to explain that I am not from here because they all look puzzled when I do not know. I even had some girl ask me where the post office was on the day I arrived while I had my backpack on my back, purse on my front, a small bag in my hand, and clearly was a backpacker, not a local. She clearly could barely speak Spanish, so I switched to English, to which she looked very relieved and she happened to ask where the post office was, which I had just passed so I was able to help her.

I sat down for a while this afternoon and did some reading and drawing in one of the areas where it is nice and quiet with a fountain there, but ended up having to move, due to having some guy sit down next to me who would not quit pestering me. This city has been nice and even though it is small in comparison to others, it still feels much like a big city. I am here until tomorrow when I will be jumping on the night train to Barcelona.