Day 1 and 2

Good news: I'm here! I'm safe! I'm loving it!

Our traveling/flying in a nutshell:

• Kelly and I sat next to each other (she did great! no tears!)
• The airplane movie- 'All About Steve' was as bad as you said it would be, Steve
• I made a vegetarian meal of the chicken dinner they served (mmm tuna on a role)
• The landing was ROUGH
• Kelly took a nap...
• 
• The Granada airport is teeny tiny and nestled in mountains...so pretty!
• I managed to squeeze myself, my giant suitcase, giant trekking backpack, and school backpack into the elevator the size of a small (and that's generous) elevator
• Kaye, Kelly, and I are loving being roomies...Chi Omega room 508 anyone?
• Free wifi (weefee) until Saturday!!
  

Our first night in Granada was thrilling but exhausting. After settling in Hostal Atenas and getting our fix of free “weefee” and skype, we caught our second wind and headed out to find tapas. Everyone has told us that the general deal as far as tapas dining is you order a drink for 1 or 2 euro and you get plenty of tapas to fill your dinner needs. I wandered with Kelly, Kaye, and new friends in the pouring rain in search of this verdadera ganga. Several stares, feeling extremely foreign, and unwelcome visits inside random (what we thought were) tapas bars later...we came upon Central. Unbeknown to us this was probably the only tapas place that did not have this deal...such first timers, we know.

Then came the second challenge- ordering food in Spanish! Yes, they speak Spanish here. It is not a joke or a rumor, it is very very real. They also speak with a lisp and very very quickly. Luckily our waiter figured out that we were little baby foreign exchange kids (probably helped that Kelly and I sat next to each other) and helped us tremendously.

Here's what we ended up with:

Sangría

Empenaditas- de veduras (veggies)

Tortilla España (like an omlette with potatoes!)

Almost an hour passed until we figured out that we needed to downstairs (where the register was) to pay. We also learned that you do not need to leave a tip! Bueno!

Though some of our travel companions hit the town already K2 and myself decided to make our moms happy and get sleep and do this…

Gchatted in bathrooms (limited places to charge batteries!)

Relaxed en la hostal

Also-- Once a House Man, always a House Man...she can even fix European toilets!

Can you tell our room is itty bitty? Ask Karla and Marty to validate- They got a skype tour those lucky dogs!

Day 2:

We scrambled to get breakfast before our tour, which started at 10:30 at a place across the street from Atenas called Helio. Amongst the smoke (p.s. it is EVERYWHERE) and weird stares we found our fellow foreigners. What was on the menu this morning? Your choice of drink and a skinny baguette compliments of Hostal Atenas. I managed to get 3 sips of hot tea and had to stash the rest of my bread before we had to go.
  
Sarah, Alex (the girl who's sister rides horses with EMILY A.), Kaye, Amy, Naomi, Kelly, me

Miguel Angel and Narea (Nah-RAY-ah) met us back at the hostel. They are a married couple who are also our resident directors.. Narea led our “Survival Tour” along the marked map they gave us upon arrival. Narea spoke entirely in Spanish, and to my relief I understood everything she said! She was speaking slowly and probably as if we were in second grade, but it’s a start! I stayed close to her so I could force myself to ask questions in Spanish (Kaye and Kelly think this is hilarious...).

First stop- La Catedral y La Catedral de los Reyes (Where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel are buried)

El Mercado- a mini grocery store with fresh meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables and a random toy store. It is only open in the mornings and it is where most of the locals buy food daily. The first thing I saw when I walked in --- hanging, skinned baby lambs to which I responded to Narea “Soy vegetariana.” She felt bad until I told her I was wearing leather boots! Later, a few of us girls stopped by to buy (naturally) HUGE oranges and apples…our lunch. Yum!

Plaza de Mariana Pineda- who died at 23 for her liberal ideals, very important figure in Granada. Also an area with a great pastry kiosk, churro place, and other goodies!

La Oliva- Apparently you say you’re a friend of Miguel Angel and Narea and they hook you up! Parents—we are going here for sure for a wine tasting and tapas :o)

Narea also pointed out a couple good vegetarian restaurants, took us through the Islamic neighborhoods (very prominent part of Granada culture), and other things I wish I had a little notebook with me to write down!

I will write about the rest our day later! Time for tapas :)

Ciao!