It's only been a week??

Hello!  

I can't believe it...I've been in Granada for a week, but it feels like I've been here for a month!  This week has been so full of excursions, classes, and cultural experiences...it's been truly amazing.  

This weekend was a lot of fun and gave us some time to relax and do a few things on our own...most of my weekend included shopping with my friends, there are so many great stores here!  I'm taking full advantage of rebajas this month. :)  We also took time to explore more around our house, and tried out some more restaurants for tapas in the evenings.  I really love this city.  I love how much walking and exploring we get to do, and really enjoy my long walks to and from school in the mornings.  

We didn't have the entire weekend to ourselves, however...Sunday we had one final group excursion to the main attraction in Granada, the Alhambra.  The Alhambra is a beautiful fortress in Granada that used to be a small town of sorts that housed the king and his family, the military, and townspeople.  

We started our tour in the military section, which was very interesting.  We were able to see dungeons, where the soldiers lived, and breathtaking views of the city.  

After the military quarters, we moved onto some of the really beautiful parts of the Alhambra, including the palaces of the kings and princes.  I got some great pictures, even though it was a pretty cloudy day.  I am planning on returning sometime soon in the next few months when the weather is better.  We ended our visit with lunch in the garden, I'm especially excited to see that in the spring, it will be so pretty!  Needless to say, the Alhambra was definitely the highlight of my weekend, and I would highly recommend visiting if you get to Europe.  :) 

Today started another week of classes.  We are still reviewing for our level test on Friday where we will find out what classes we will test in for the semester.  I'm very much looking forward to Friday so we can stop stressing about studying for the test, and also because we leave for our group trip to Madrid after classes!  We will spend the weekend there with our whole group, which will be a lot of fun.  

My roommate and I are also in the process for planning a trip next week.  We don't begin classes till February 11, so we are planning to jump all around Spain to visit many of the popular cities.  We are very excited and are planning on seeing a lot of exciting things!  I can't wait to share pictures with you all.  

Well, that's all for now, hope you all have a great week.  Also, thanks so much for all of your comments and emails...they really brighten my day, and I love hearing from home.  :)   Adios!