New Friends, Old Friends, Boyfriend...

"There are places I remember all my life
Though some have changed.
Some forever not for better,
Some have gone, and some remain
All these places have their moments,
Of lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living

In my life, I've loved them all."

In My Life - The Beatles

Skype

I'm sorry Lyss, it's just so funny.. I miss you

McVal, my new little brother from another mother

Mané from Berkeley

The family that dines together stays together

Never one to miss princess cake and a proper tea party

He blows bubbles without bubbles or bubble wands.

"Wish you were here"

Shirley -possibly the hardest name to pronounce in the Spanish language

Tarifa & Jerez

Ruins of a Roman temple in Baelo Claudia, near Tarifa

Africa!

A tan, tattooed surfer-dude Spaniard making crêpes in Tarifa

The ceiling of the cathedral in Tarifa

Frutería!

Star-shaped fountain marking the importance of Islam in the development of this part of Spain. In Islam, frogs are sacred because they are water-dwelling.


--------------------JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA-------------------

Roof of the bodega in Jerez.

Roof of the muslim bath house in Jerez.

Jerez, or Sherry wine

Felíz Cumpleaños, Papá!!

...Te quiero mucho <3>

Details

A true breakfast of champions, served just up the street from our hotel in London. I'm certainly not getting this in Spain - I can't yet complain about the food here, but they certainly don't believe in breakfast like this.

Lonzo and I watched the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. Shortly after, it began to rain. Hard. Loni didn't have a raincoat and mine was actually a ski jacket. So here we huddled on the sidewalk by the gate, waiting for the rain to pass so we could grab a cab to take us home.

The hotel in london that we stayed at. We moved our way down quite a bit in our travels: the Lord Milner is a 5star hotel in the Belgravia part of London, a posh, upscale neighborhood we shared with the likes of Margaret Thatcher and the Buckingham Palace. In Granada we stayed in an apartment on the top of a cobble-stoned hill, and in Cádiz, a hostel room we shared with a dynamic seven roommates.

A better picture from the Granada post: Spanish villas overlooking the Alhambra are impossibly photographic. I wouldn't mind spending the weekend vacationing in one of those.

This is one shot of the Alhambra, the moorish castle in Granada. I took a panoramic of the complete hill but I'll have to learn to stitch it together before I can send it. It seems the magic surrounding Granada owes to the way that its buildings catch the light. In this one shot, you can appreciate the contrast between the olive green trees and the dark shadows they cast with the mountain blue of the sky and the golden light that the Alhambra emits in the sunset. The landscape reminds me of that of Northern California, which is very reassurring. Can't wait to get back here to Granada. In the meantime, I don't mind studying spanish in this fun little beach town. Cádiz is like the spunky and spicy backup singer cooing in the background of the main attractions of Andalucía, namely Sevilla, Granada and Córdoba.

Gaditana = someone that lives in Cádiz

my new desk :)

The view from my dorm room

my dorm room. To the left of the photo is a little armoire that fits all of my stuff (not very much) with lots of room left. I think I might be one of the lightest packers in my group.

Churros y chocolate. Mom, your chocolate is coming with Lonzo! I think it's the same one that they use at the restaurants. Very thick, very oily.. Delicioso!

The fish market. Everyday except Monday..

The plane from LA was held-up in Chicago, so our scholarly schedule in Cádiz has been delayed a few days too. I think I'll see the inside of this building on Thursday or Friday. Really, I can't wait to start Spanish classes. The pace of life is a little too slow for me right now - I'm ready to be busy with something. Learning the language seems like a good thing to busy myself with.

Everyone and their mother (literally) goes to the beach. Boobies, umbrellas and butt-crack bikinis abound.

Granada = Pomegranate

The sun was setting as we landed in Granada. The area surrounding it is covered in wineries and the city lies at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range, which I learned today has a peak 11,000+ feet high. I'm going skiing!! Right now, the weather is almost unbearably hot, at 38°C, which I haven't yet translated to Farenheit, but I know it's hot because it was the same temperature I set my hot shower to this morning. The weather reminds me of that of New York City, and the locals describe it as "9 meses de invierno, 3 meses de infierno"

I think this is the River Darro and this is the tiny street that leads up to the Albaícin, the old arabic quarters of the city, and the Alhambra.

Lonzo poses in front of a tetería in the Albaícin area of town close to the Alhambra. These teahouses line the streets in this part of town, serving arabic and even sometimes indian food (!) with lots of different kinds of tea and pastries. Each table also comes with a waist-high hookah, a ritual that seemed to be just as common as on the outdoor cafés in London.

A beautiful spanish villa tucked into a hill opposite the Alhambra. From the plaza I could spot a guy hanging over one of the balconies talking on his cellphone. Spaniards seem to be obsessed with their "móbiles" and even the guys have loud and obnoxious ringtones set to Mariah Carey and House music songs.

This is part of the Alhambra, a red castle on top of one of the two hills in Granada, and definitely it's most treasured monument. I can't wait to visit.

It seems fitting I'm living in a city whose name honors a fruit.