Gibraltar & Sevilla

Went to Gibraltar yesterday!! It was pretty cool, kinda confusing since it’s like in Spain but actually not part of Spain… we went to the top of the rock of Gibraltar and saw the monkeys which were cute… one monkey attacked a family because they had a plastic bag with some food in it but then it was cool because a mom and baby monkey came over and he like told them “I left some food for you over there, are you hungry?” and then they went and finished what he left for them… so yeah, I took a video.



Then we started our drive to Sevilla! We stopped at a really pretty old monastery on the way there, it’s kind of abandoned I guess but not quite… there was just a dog there, hangin’ around, he was cool.


We stayed the night in Sevilla, I finally ate some bull (Hannah)… the tail to be more specific, it was good, very tender. Sevilla was pretty but also super hot… almost 50 degrees!

Then we got back Saturday evening and Allison, the Javi’s and I went out to Puerto Banus one last time.

Ronda & Malaga

On Saturday we went to Ronda and Sentenil de la Bodega. It was a good day, we got a nice lunch and then went looking at La Cueva de la Pileta… a mini Luray caverns with like caveman drawings in it.

Then today was great, we went to Malaga! My parents, the Javi’s, Allison and I drove about an hour to Malaga and spent the whole day at the beach. For lunch we went to a place on the boardwalk that the Javi’s claim makes the best sardines, a typical dish of Andalucia so we had sardines (with the heads, the bones, and everything), pulpo a la gallega (octopus with a spicy powder on top), boquerones fritos (fried anchovies), and gambas pil-pil (shrimp cooked in olive oil, garlic, and spicy peppers) with tinto verano/sangria. All pretty good and not too expensive!



Then we just chilled on the beach some more, it was really really hot but the water felt so good and I got a lot of sun. We got some icecream and came home. Good day!

Granada

On Monday my parents finally made it to San Pedro! So I’ve been trying to do some more traveling with them and usually Allison will come along. On Thursday night the four of us took the teleferico (cable car) to the top of one of the nearby mountains for a nice view… Yesterday I took my parents to the Avenida del Mar, the place with all the Salvador Dali statues and we walked around the Casco Antiguo and got lunch… then all you can eat back at their hotel so, obvs, I ate a lot.

Today, the four of us took a 3 hour road trip to Granada! We spent most of the day at the Alhambra/Generalife… after getting a really delicious lunch at this place sticking out the side of the mountain with great views, great food, and family-owned by great people. Everybody else got chicken or pork kebabs with fries and I got quail legs that were REALLY good… I took a picture :o)


The Alhambra was really very beautiful… the Generalife was surrounded by really picturesque gardens and all the architecture and views of the Alhambra resulted in lots and lots of photo ops… So if you are ever in Spain, I recommend it.


Gardens of the Generalife ^






Then we walked around the old town of Granada and I finally got the cool gypsy pants I’ve been looking for! We got tapas at a nice bar and then drove home… Allison and I completely rewrote Take Me Home, Country Roads… it is now called Take Me Home, Diego (Diego is my mom’s GPS)… a YouTube video is pretty much guaranteed.

Tomorrow we’re going to Ronda and Sunday to Malaga!

Bullfight

Allison and I went to a bullfight today in Marbella… it was cool but I don't really need to see 6 bulls die ever again. There were three matadors and they each killed 2 bulls but one of them was clearly the most entertaining because he would do stuff like pet the bulls forehead, or tap his forehead on the bulls, or hold on to his horn and stuff. So yeah, then after the last bull got dragged away we looked through this window thing and you could see them hosing down the bull, so a lot of bloody water was going into a drain, and then I saw them cut off a leg, slice him open, etc… kinda gory, but still cool.

Tanger, Morocco!

Today, Allison and I went to Morocco for the day with our new friend Luke… he’s using the same program as us but staying in actual Marbella and not San Pedro… we’re just getting to know him so last night we went out for drinks/tapas in Marbella and then went to bed pretty early since we had to catch the bus at 7:30 am in San Pedro to go to Tarifa and catch the ferry to Tanger (Morocco)! It was a pretty sweet deal for only 59 euros… panoramic tour on a bus with some stops for photos, typical Moroccan lunch, walking tour of the Medina where everybody’s selling stuff for cheap & bargaining, then transportation back to Tarifa and San Pedro…

The lunch was awesome and pretty much all you can eat!!! First there was a typical spicy veggie soup with fresh, soft bread… so yeah, I basically had 3 servings of that and a ton of bread. Then we had a cous cous dish with chick peas, cabbage and chicken and another dish with some sort of meatballs and red sauce… basically all really good and of course I had like 3 servings of those as well. For dessert we had some type of cookie and mint tea that I actually really liked… Hannah, I wanted to buy some for the apartment but didn’t get a chance! :o(


I did get a few goodies at the market though like a purse and some bracelets!

All in all, successful day and past few weeks… I really like having the Javi’s around because they don’t speak English so it’s really good for practicing Spanish, and they’re really nice and remind me of you guys back home… so hopefully they visit the USA some day!!

My parents are arriving sometime this weekend and Julian is now in Australia, making our time difference even crazier!!

Long time no blog

Wow, it’s been a while!!! Basically we are friends with the Javi’s and their friend Maikol (Michael, Canadian guy but basically Spanish) and his friend Derek who is originally from the USA and has been here for 3 years… we’ve gone out to Puerto Banus twice with them. Also, we have a new roommate named Sofia and she’s from California and is also Uruguayan. We also have a Paraguyan friend, Fabiola, who we met playing volleyball!


Javi G., Maikollll, Javi D., Me, Fabiola

Javi G. has a motorcycle so he took me on a short motorcycle trip to Estepona which was pretty cool… just walked along the boardwalk for a bit and then came back... next time he's taking Allison!

Also, Spain won the World Cup so obviously everybody went crazy.