Well, the countdown has started...4 more days in Spain left... But, sad faces aside, I am getting excited to go home and see friends and family and my crazy little Mocha...

I am in Granada, still or again, not sure which is most appropriate..I have been trying hard to make the most of my last days here...it´s been a lot of fun and I feel successful in having done this...about a week ago, I went to Nerja with a friend ( a resort town on the coast) and hung out there for two days...of all the towns in the Costa del Sol that are right on the water, it´s the one I recommend most just for being slightly less touristy and slightly more Spanish...it also has the Balcon Europa...a pic for you: http://www.hoteljimesol.com/comunes/balcon%20europa.jpg ..which is a gorgeous place to view an endless Mediterranean and a muy romantico spot...the first day was raining so we jumped into a rented car and decided to head out of town towards a little village up the hill...we passed thru the village in under 2 minutes and decided to keep going...and going...and going...our goal was to reach the top of this mountain regardless of how long it took us to get there...it was, as per usual around here, a hair-raising road where sometimes you can only see the very front of your car, and not the road...yes, lots of fun (I filmed it along with the sound effects of a lot of expletives)...! We ended up driving down a narrowing road that passed us through olive groves and eventually through a beautiful village that clung to the side of the hill...it was quite a surprise to find one out there and I wondered why this village would have been built there...it didn´t seem to make sense historically/economically to have built one so far up and away from the sea...but it did make our trip that much more interesting having found it...we eventually found our way back to the highway and stopped on the beach for a beautiful sunset among the storm clouds...after this, we went to a French restaurant set in a cluster of white tourist condos with palm trees surrounding it...it looked charming enough so we decided not to look further...we got settled in and about 5 minutes later I had two cats as my dates...one was on my lap and the other on the back of my chair...they know how to spot a sucker when they see one! But, yes, I was wondering too, why there were cats allowed to wander around a nice restaurant such as this ...hmmm...anyhow, I fed them quite openly from my plate and gave them the fat off my friend´s steak...lucky little kitties...they in turn, gave me terrible allergies for the rest of the night...unlucky me! We returned to the villa we were staying in (very spoiled this time around...a terrace with a view of the Med AND central heating...) The villa was run by a British couple...we went for a nightcap in the cozy little restaurant below our room and had Julie, a very funny British woman, free-pouring us drinks of gin and rum...I´m not kidding with every drink there became less and less room for the mixer...I had what is called a tubo (long narrow glasses, good for iced-tea) filled more than 3 quarters with gin! I like gin, but!!!! Needless to say sleep was good...until about 3 in the morning...I woke up with a pain in my eye and realized i hadn´t taken my contacts out...this i have done numerous times now with no real repercussions..so i took them out, and at 7 in the morning, woke up and felt like there was glass in my right eye...i tried everything to get it out and realized, that i had no choice but to go to the hospital...i woke my friend and off we went...noone in the hospital greeting area spoke English, however, they took one look at my eye and gave me priority past a long line up of people...the doctor was very rough with me and although i can now thank him, I had a fat purple eye the rest of the day from the pressure he put on it from examining me...(i had an ulcer in my eye, possibly from beach glass was the translation i got from an ambulance attendent)Also for the record, it didn´t cost me anything, and while this probably isn´t the norm, I sometimes get the feeling that in Spàin, if you are a foreigner they will get you in and out and not bother with the complete paperwork (?)...I was blind as a bat for the rest of the day, wearing a patch (and nothing like a cool pirate´s one) and in a lot of pain...even the historic caves that we went to see I missed out on as my eyes were too sensitive to have any light at all...I did see the pictures that i blindly took though and it seems i missed out on a lot!! I also briefly saw the tourist pictre that is taken of you by a professional when you walk into the first cave...I should have bought it at discount for laughs...I promise you couldn´t have seen a more scary looking picture!! I do recommend the caves however to anyone visiting the Nerja area!

The next day we went for lunch at a restaurant overlooking the water and I decided, that we/I must go for a swim...the sun was shining and therefore plenty of opportunity to dry out...so bathing suits on, we went for a swim in the clear, clear water and then when we couldn´t feel our limbs working anymore, dried out on the rocks like seals...I loved it! It attracted the attention of restaurant goers who were probably in complete shock at this scene...remember, sandals in October garner strange looks. Refreshed for the drive back to Granada, we left an hour later... a great little excursion it was...

Since then, I have been going through the painful process of getting my new passport...please don´t ever lose your passport as a Canadian...what a "!$"$ hassle! I´ll leave it at that..but, about 2 days before i fly home, i will be getting an emergency passport after waiting a month to find out that´s my only option...

A few days ago, I decided to do some little day trips on my own..I took a look at a map of Andalucia and basically pointed to a place and went...I ended up in a little town called Velez Rubio which unfortunately was less than memorable...the setting it is in was fantastic, probably the best scenery i have seen yet in Spain (other than the Med. and the Atlantic)...but taking a 2.5 hour bus ride to the province of Almeria was worth the trip alone...it´s stunning with isolated mountains jutting out of the red earth and the most picturesque and fascinating cave homes i have seen yet...we drove thru national parks covered in snow and then half an hour later was seeing completely different topography in the sun-baked desert-like lands of Almeria. There were some fascinating buildings well-marked with their history in Velez Rubio and this kept me busy photographing for about 4 hours...also, and this may creep some people out, but as it was too far for me to walk to the 4000 year old caves 6kms away (very highly recommended by the Dep`t of Culture for tourists though!), I instead went and visited an out of town cemetary...here I found an old autopsy room dating from ? (closed in 1965) and curious what was behind the locked doors, I climed up on an old roof and hung over it, peering into a window boarded up but with holes...talk about a perfect setting for a David Lynch movie...there was a marble autopsy bed (with a marble "pillow"!) and aluminum trays with tools and bottles of fluid set up around the counters...! I tried to get some photos, but I don´t expect them to turn out...I got on the bus back in V.R and dreamt up scenes for horror movies...anyhow...next subject...

This weekend I spent in a little village about a 20 minute drive out of Granada and up towards the Sierra Nevadas...I can´t believe that although with its proximity to the suburbs of Granada, how much you feel like you have escaped into an Alps-like village. The setting is second to none, set along a narrow gorge with the majority of the houses on the hills and the town lining the river, and the snowy Sierras in the background...they were celebrating the Festival of San Antone and had fair rides set up, a tent with dancers and music and never-ending fireworks that sounded like cannons going off in the valley. I spent the first day hiking and found some old ruins that are apparently about 4000 years old. I sat here for about 2 hours daydreaming and then went back to my friend Allan´s for supper with two other friends...a very, very fun night...too much wine, an insult to each of us by the cook about why we were too good to eat his cooking and then we dug in to our British-fied Spanish dish of potatoes, veggies, and chicken...after a couple hours of laughing and eating in his newly renovated Moorish home, we went to a very quaint and popular bar in a cave on the hill and drank a Basque liquor until we were nearly asleep on the cozy benches in the caves. The day after, when i finally awoke a 12, i had a true English breakfast and went for a 5 hour hike in the mountains...amazing!!!! I took a ton of pics and I have already talked too much here to get into detail...it was breath-taking though and I did get to see my first wildlife of the animal kind in Spain...they looked like wild bulls and I surprised two of them coming over a hill...they were in the mist and I think i almost had a heart attack on the spot...they stared at me, interrupted from eating and I backed away down the hill and sat behind a rock until I thought I was brave enough to head back the way i came. I finally did and got back to Allan´s high on adrenaline! I really hope my pictures of the foreboding looking mountains, the suspension bridges and the tunnel i had to walk through all turn out...I have decided that should i return i would love to spend a few days hiking in this national park...with someone...

That´s it i think...oh, no, one more thing and I apologize for this being so long..you might have decided to read it in chunks..! But last Thursday I went to see a Flamenco show at a bar called the Upsetter in Granada...it is on the Paseo de Tristes, below the Alhambra and it was probably the best flamenco i have ever seen. We were treated to a singer, a guitar, percussion and a beautiful, powerful dancer. For anyone who makes it to Granada, it is so worth it to perhaps skip the much more tourist oriented shows and go to a place like the Upsetter...it cost 5€´s, 1.50€ for a beer and the setting in a built cave is a great experience. From what i could tell, this place attracts true Flamenco lovers and after each song, there is a chorus of olés by the crowd...so watch for posters advertising this type of show and you won´t be disappointed.

That is it!
See you soon and take care!!
Sav

Nerja, Flamenco, festivals... remains copyright of the author sav, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I hope everyone who has stumbled upon this entry had themselves a great New Year! And, I hope someone out there has made the resolution to visit this part of the world!

New Year´s in Spain was a treat...I wasn´t searching for the biggest party in the country but what I did have is what was probably a truly Spanish way of celebrating the new year...a dinner with friends, in lieu of family for the first time, a bag of 12 grapes to eat with the 12 strokes of the clock, and a sunrise with sleep not coming until noon the next day... The last 4 or 5 days have been incredible here...on December 30th, I spent the day in the amazing city of Sevilla (15 degrees!)taking it easy and wandering around the town and absorbing the festive feeling throughtout it...family and friends were out until late, as always, generations of people sharing their time together and looking like they are having a great time doing it. The next day we took a train to Jerez de la Frontera, close to the east coast in southern Spain, and bided our time in the hotel room with friends until New Year´s came a little closer...unlike what I am used to in Canada, it isn´t the norm here, as far as I can see, to get completely drunk BEFORE 12:00am and barely be able to make it until the chimes start...the hours leading up to the start of the year, here, is at home having supper and then everyone comes out about half an hour before midnight and continues on until the sun comes up. So, that evening arriving in Cádiz, about half an hour away, at around 10pm or so, we had a Chinese buffet, being the only place open, and then headed to the little bar/cafe across the square to celebrate with some drinks...my night really started here...being one of the only places open it attracted everyone who was out and about...people from places like Canada, the US, Belgium, Morocco, and I am sure many more places, were all there and we all cozied up to the bar to chat and get in as many drinks as we could to help ease the feat of grape-popping! We were here for about an hour and then moved into the incredible square to await the countdown...if you ever make it to Spain, please visit Cádiz...maybe because it was New Year´s and you could feel the energy in the air, it automatically made it feel a little more special,I´m not sure, but walking into Cádiz at night felt like some sort of Wonderland...the city hall was particularly grand, but seeing the Cathedral felt a little other-worldly...here is a link of a beautiful and well-known view of it from the sea-wall...http://www.arba7muz.ru/images/Cadiz.jpg...here is another photo of the beautiful Plaza Flores, close by...http://www.geraldbrimacombe.com/Spain_Portugal/Spain%20-%20Cadiz%20-%20Market%20&%20Old%20Telegraph%20Bldg..jpg...it smells as good as it looks!

After the clock struck and we got a bunch of very unflattering pictures of ourselves with 12 grapes stuffed in our mouths, we headed back to our bar and I waited anxiously for my work mate from Edmonton and her husband, Juan, to come and meet us...I was lucky to have them here...great company and as he is a native from this area he was able to show us the hidden and not so hidden gems of the city and tell us stories to go along with them...such as if you go under the cathedral to the underground tunnels, they go right up to the Atlantic Ocean and you can hear the waves pounding against the walls of the tunnels...how amazing would that be?? Also, if you remember, and who could forget , in "Die Another Day" the Bond film with Halle Barry, when she comes out of the water in "the orange bikini", this whole scene was shot in Cádiz where we watched the sunset the next day...all along the beach and in the old beach house from the 20´s or 30´s they shot some of the movie...a bit of trivia for you Juan and Lindsay brought their friend Carly out with them and at the "end" of the night, around 6:30 or so, we went back to his apartment where he brought us to his rooftop terrace and we could see down the winding streets on 3 sides, and also the spires and domes of the old Moorish and Christian architecture...people watching from here was great too...down on the ground was like playing dodge-ball...trying to miss broken glass or at least not get seriously cut (here you can drink outside and not get thrown in the drunk-tank, they actually have a name for it here it´s so commom...it´s escaping me though) and the hundreds and hundreds of very well-dressed young and old people out to have a good time...the mood was amazing...spontaneous flamenco, laughing, lots of PDA...a great thing to witness. In the morning, at about 7:30 or so I guess, we went on a hunt for what Juan said was the best Chocolate Churro place in town...unfortunately, they weren´t open so I "settled" for a chocolate croissant and cafe con leche...from here was a walk around the city a little, to see it in the day (still very fantasy-like) and then off to catch the hour long train ride back to Jerez. I didn´t get to sleep until noon and then got up again at about 4 determined to find food that didn´t consist of cheese, chocolate, or just coffee....this hunt went on for about 2 hours, and grumpy with blisters whining and my stomach even more against me, I had almost written off Jerez as being one of the only places that I hadn´t fallen in love with in Spain until I realized we had spent 2 hours disoriented and on the industrial outskirts...we found the downtown and all was well again! We had copious amounts of (bad) food and more beer and eventually made our way back to find sleep. January 2nd was a day that falls into the Top 10 of my times here...Juan and Lindsay had invited us to meet them in a little town called San Bernardo and we hopped the train to go meet them. They pulled up in their car and Lindsay jumped out of the car with a drink in hand ready to continue the fun! I didn´t realize that it´s okay to have open liquor in the car...as long as the driver is being good, it´s quite alright...so we started the day with some Manzanilla, a kind of sherry and went to meet Juan´s family at the best little tapa bar in Spain...a little story before I go on...two August´s ago, when Lindsay and Juan were married in Edmonton, his family had come out of course to be there...during the party afterwards, I was dancing with Juan´s father, and while I was, my strapless dress slipped and well, I gave the in-laws a peek and a bit of a show! So, embarrassed thoroughly, I was vaguely relieved that I would probably never see them again...time does not forget all things! The first thing I was greeted with by his family, and all in good fun, was a little bit of reminding about this...all the drinks and wonderful food were free that day! Also, some of the gentleman there seemed to think I looked like Kylie Minogue(??)....more drinks I think the reason this day stands out to me so much is because it captured the essence of the acceptance, the easy-going nature, the love of family and life that many Spaniards live by and display to others. We moved from one tapas bar to another in this beautiful little town and were outside in the warm sun laughing and eating and drinking the never-ending sherries, wines and cervezas that came our way...I had the chance to meet many of his side of the family and really they were all fun and wonderful people. Juan´s dad even offered to build me a dance studio so that I could come here and teach...I hope he remembers this down the road

Later on a few of us headed back into Cadiz and this is where we watched the sun set on the Atlantic...the history of the military, the Moors and of course Mr.Bond himself were all around us and it was quite something to be there for .... that evening we went back to Jerez and met more of Juan´s friends for a night of food and wine before my body quit and sleep was in order...purrrr....the following day was our last in Jerez and doing what is essential when in the Sherry Triangle region of Spain, we went on a bodega tour of Gonzalez Byass Bodegas...essentially what this means is that we drank sherry for breakfast....sigh, home will be hard to adjust to...but the tour was fascinating and although we only got one of the tours of the many different bodegas in this region, it was very representative of this area...and the name Tio Pepe, will be something that I search for at home, this is for sure...from here, we rented a car and did a road-trip across Southern Spain...I think in hindsight, I can feel justified in getting a T-shirt that says, " I drove in Spain and lived to tell about it"....I have heard stories from all over the world of bad or just plain erratic and crazy driving, but I can´t imagine how so many people do it and live!? Edmontonians, traffic circles are a piece of cake in our city I´ve learned! It was the best way by far to see the country...when we saw a road we wanted to take, we took it...we figure we averaged about 10 km´s an hour on this trip with the amount of stopping we did...I took about an hour of footage on a friend´s video cam and about 60 photos that day...the wine/beer is on me at home if anyone is interested in seeing it! We even caught on tape our mini accident with a set of stairs and a wall on a very narrow winding road...the extra insurance was well worth the extra 40€´s...we ended up actually visiting two towns, Arcos de la Frontera where we had a picnic in the sun and maybe the most incredible vista I have seen yet here... (http://www.highonadventure.com/Hoa98jun/Arcos/arcos.htm)...check out this website if you can...it shows you why Arcos has the well-deserved name of being the premier pueblo blanco!! After this, while we were driving, I spotted a town in the distance that I believe is the inspiration for all fantasy stories yet to be written, Olvera...really from the distance, it looked like some ancient town you would see in a movie like Lord of the Rings...here are some picture links...

http://www.exodus.co.uk/pictures/avah.jpg

http://www.tristeyazul.com/pueblos/olvera01.jpg

http://www.property-in-the-sun.com/images/Places%20to%20visit/Olvera/olvera_castillo.jpg

And that brings us back to Granada where I await my new passport...

Today was important because I got to meet my half-niece (niece to me) for the first time...it´s not really a story for the blog, but it really helped make my day and my trip more complete...

So that´s it...all caught up and looking forward to spending my last week here in Spain with my sister, my niece and some new found friends...I of course miss home, but as happens with travelling when you spend enough time in one place, have become very, very attached to here and am plotting my return!

take care and if anyone reading this has any questions and are looking to travel particularly around souther spain I would love to try to answer them or at least give you some tips!

Besos,
Savannah

New Year´s in Spain, southern spain road-trip and sherry ... remains copyright of the author sav, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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It´s been, wow, almost 3 weeks I guess?? Lots has happened and I guess I allowed myself to become a little overwhelmed for awhile and then distracted...

Hmmm...well if you are following my sister´s blog, then she noted that my passport, my money, my ID...everything was stolen on the Las Ramblas in Barcelona...I had chosen not to write about it because at the time I was truly so angry that I didn´t want to colour the city with a black brush which can be easy to do when something bad happens in a place...My friend, yesterday, reminded me that I should have written because the experience, good or bad, is always worthy to write about (and helpful)...so that would have been on or around December 15th I think...I think I felt most badly about my friends, Bruce and Tanya who were new in Spain and had this as a part of their introduction...these things will happen everywhere and anywhere but I think they carried a lot of my stress with them in their first few days here (and meanwhile helped me out in every way)...life goes on, but a word of advice is that thieves are smooth (!) and you just can never get complacent with your belongings...it took about 2 seconds and that was that...Barcelona is an amazing place though and highly recommended is Park Guell, also the Montjuic area where the Olympics were held and some amazing art galleries and palaces are, the ocean and surfer-watching and just walking endlessly around the streets and exploring the many gems that are always hidden down Spanish streets. We spent 12 days there before we were Barcelona´d out...I got to touch the work of one of my worldly idols, Gaudi...which was worth the trip alone to me...but, I think no matter where you go, it´s the people you meet that make the place...this was no exception and easily overrides the situation I had there...

After this, we took an overnighter train, Tanya and I to my fave city, Granada...it was uncomfortable as always, but I awoke to having a handsome man covering me with his long black coat, so thankfully I looked so uncomfortable We have been here since the 19th now although everyone (Shi, Bruce, Tanya, and Travis (yet another Canadian..we´re taking over!)just left for Sevilla yesterday...for me it´s been a bit of a necessity to stay longer just to get my things organized, but I really, really wanted Tanya to see what this place has to offer...so we spent our days at the Mirador de San Nicholas, with the most picture perfect view of the Alhambra, drank (a lot!!) with an American couple who had come to Spain to let it all hang out (!), saw the Cathedral, ate (we´ve decided the main theme of being in Spain is deciding where you are going to eat next, went to my sister Pam`s party on the 19th which was a great mix of people...We spent our Christmas together and being my first Christmas away from home I was thankful to have my sister and friends there to celebrate...we started our day with a brunch of pizza and garlic soup and mucho wine! We then walked around (went to the Mirador) and then in the evening, borrowed the communal dining area at a hotel and made our own spread! It was really fun having bought our goods of tomatoes, olives, herring in curry sauce, tuna, mussels, cheese and bread at a somewhat divey convenience store (all for 11€´s only!)...Some of us learned to play Uker (sp?), the card game...my sister was the comic relief when we were having trouble following Bruce´s instructions...she had one of those rare laughing/crying fits that is contagious and unstoppable (on her part)...we also re-visted the Hammam (the Arab baths)which are the cure to many discomforts, mental or physical...if I never get to build my own house, I will build at least an Arab-style bath...so all in all we´ve covered a lot of ground here and I think all were satisfied...

I have been staying with a friend here in Granada and it´s been great...I have a kitchen to cook in which is muy exciting to me...I cooked a huge supper last night and for 6.82€ two of us can eat for two days...this is the way to go if you can swing it! I have decided that I feel completely at home in Granada and understand why so many foreigners make this their home for long periods of time (beautiful, relatively inexpensive to live in, small but international too, the Albaicin, the Muslim presence in culture and Islamic architecture, the list goes on)...yesterday, it sunk in how much time, relatively speaking that I have spent here when I began to run into people on the street that I have met in my time here...this is my thought, once you know the transit system of a city and can say hello on the street to a friend, it becomes to some degree like a home...even if temporary. I had lunch in the wonderful world of the Albaicin with a Spaniard, 2 Americans, and a French/South African a couple of days ago...fun and always interesting conversation when you have such a diversity...I have had the opportunity on this trip also to have some great, and sometimes challenging discussions about American politics...for me it is really cool to be able to step outside the North American sphere and be far enough away from the attached feelings that exist and the daily news and so on to be able to have everyone just lay some thoughts out on the table and engage in talk.

Tommorrow I am heading to Sevilla and then to Cadiz to ring in the New Year and then possibly to Morocco depending on the passport situation...This I would love to do more than anything! Such ancient cultures and yes, a little bit of fear of the unknown, but this is what makes it so enticing...

So I will keep in touch with the trip to Sevilla, Cadiz and Morocco too (because it will happen!!)...

Happy and safe New Year´s to everyone!

Mucho besos,
Savannah

Barcelona and Christmas under the Sierra´s remains copyright of the author sav, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I think I will be able to get to writing out the good and the bad tommorrow...just very happy to be back in Granada and need to catch up on some missed Zzzz´s....

Hasta luego,
Savannah

La la la la la Ramblas :) remains copyright of the author sav, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Today, got up muy late, had a lunch of dress-it-yourself falafel and then walked down to the water for the first time. It was about 15 or 16 degrees we figured, with sun and not a cloud in the sky...of course, we forgot our cameras, so have no proof for our Canadian friends.. After this, Shiloh and I went our separate ways and I spent a few hours walking along the beach after being enticed by the sound of crashing waves from some of the side-streest I was on...I watched the surfers make a go of it for awhile, and got kicked off some "dangerous" rocks by the police...which was a shame because it was the point that you could sit out on almost over top of the water and feel the splash of the waves...oh well...after this, just continued to wander and eventually made my way to the Las Ramblas where I met some Calgarians ( I know that neutral Canadian accent anywhere) and a Moraccan and we shared a pitcher of Sangria...perfect way to end a warm, sunny day...

A Gaudi link to some images...I think that he is the perfect meld of a child´s imagination that most of us lose and the math side that I was always missing...

http://images.google.es/images?hl=es&q=Gaudi&sa=N&tab=wi

Adios everyone...

Growing Up Gaudi... remains copyright of the author sav, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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We´re staying in Barcelona until about the 17th and then heading down to my favorite city, Granada, for some Christmas celebrations with family. My sister´s friend is flying into Barcelona on the 11th and then my friend will be here on the 14th...Alex just left and it will be non-stop from here! When I was in Orgiva, we had put out an email to friends saying that, wow, you should come to Spain and see all this, and amazingly we had 4 friends take it up! So it will be hectic but it´s always fun to see things through fresh eyes...also, I have to admit, that while Alex knows more Spanish than either of us, I am looking forward to testing my use of the language as a "translator" with our friends coming that don´t speak it all...kind of like where we were 2 months ago!

Nick, Alex´s cousin has been great...he has let us stay at his apartment longer than planned and this has taken mucho stress off my shoulders as far as $$ is concerned! He has introduced us to some great people and we´ve been invited to a party at a co-op artists gallery on the 16th...I guess anyone who has travelled knows that these sorts of invites are gems as it allows you to hang out with people in their regular environments giving you a much stronger flavor of a culture and people than just the (still amazing) tourist stops...we have had a lot of opportunities like this on our trip and I feel extremely lucky for it!

Today, I think we´re going to try to find some more Gaudi and gawk at it from the street...how amazing it is to be able to touch something that was created by someone like him...this is how I felt at the Picasso museum too...I have taken a number of art history courses, but didn´t realize how much more impacting it is to see the works up close...it´s like live music versus recorded...it´s alive when you´re right there! Also, as we haven´t quite made it to the water yet, I think it might be a nice day to head down to the beach for a juice (no wine...still a bit fragile!)...also a good day to check out the very enticing markets downtown...uh oh....

I am at the point in my travels where I am torn about what my future plans are...I know it´s worked out the best so far to take things as they come, but right now, it´s not as simple as that because of finances...I either make an honest go of it here so that I can stay longer, or I go home and work...but I had a dream that I left and had returned home and I think I must have had my face in my pillow because it felf so suffocating...I take it, that as much as I miss home, I´m not quite ready to return yet...

I finally got batteries for my digital recorder, which i haven´t used for about 3 weeks or so...I put them in and pressed play yesterday and am so happy that I was using it so much at the beginning of my trip...talk about baby steps! We were recording our sister Pam saying "hasta luego" so that we could say it the way Andalucians do!! I also captured my friend Ali, from Granada, talking about some of his work with the International Red Cross at 3 in the morning, which I am so glad for, because that entire night stands out to me as one of those "gems" we´ve had here. Also recorded was some amazing flamenco I captured in an alleyway by an old man and a younger man playing together, some crazy bird singing in a Plaza and about 18 other files I have yet to listen to...might make a good soundtrack to slides at home!

Today, just for fun, I am going to look for work as an English teacher (surprise!) but also the possibility of working with artists´ as a model which I have done a lot of at home...it´s a well-known fact that finding work in Spain is not easy for a foreigner but it´s no excuse for not trying I guess...

So this is enough rambling for today...at this point, I feel like, if anyone is reading and had questions about travelling in Spain, or some of the places we have been to, that I could answer some related questions...so feel free to ask!

Hasta luego,
Savannah

Barcelona gems... remains copyright of the author sav, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Well here we are in the land of Oz...or so it feels to me today after a somewhat bizarre and long night train from Sevilla to Barcelona...the major thing is the switch in language from Spanish to Catalan...my Spanish, by no means eloquent or perhaps even decipherable to some, did manage to get me by when I needed to, and I am now at square 1 again! I am hoping tommorrow after a good sleep will provide more mental availability to tackle this "challenge!"

For anyone taking the train to Barcelona on the route we did, I am torn between saying take a regular seat and gravol to get you thru the night, or taking the berth, which is what we did...True, you get to stretch your legs horizontally, BUT there is no common area on the train to go relax so we were limited to three options:

-hang out in your tiny bunker with 3 other people you´re sharing it with
-hang out in the K-mart 70´s era cafeteria and drink a lot of wine and be the only ones doing it (and therefore automatically the train drunkards
- or hang out in the very narrow hallway outside the door to your bunker which barely allows you to turn sideways to walk down it normally...

Three guesses which option we took! I really think all the staff on the train just thought we were these troublesome, 18 year old drunks...and I promise we are none of those! Especially 18...

But so far, after having spent just a few hours with our very gracious and funny host, Nicholas, I can see that Barcelona has so much to offer and is the cosmopolitan city everyone says it is...today is a holiday so not only were we charged double for our taxi ride (20€!!!) but the streets are bustling and it´s very energetic and lively out...but that seems like Spain to me the majority of the time...I have only one mission in Barcelona, well two actually and first one is to see my friend Krisna and then to visit some Gaudi...I have been drooling over Gaudi architecture for about 5 years, and never dreamed I would have the chance to see it in person!

I have only 4 minutes in this tiny Internet cafe, so will sign out..however, I have a feeling Barcelona will be pretty raucous over the next 10 days while I wait for my friend Tanya to fly in...I am headed "home" for a much needed nap and then Nicholas has made it his mission to have us stay up until probably 4 am from everyday here on in...even, he said, if it means banging pots by our heads should we try to sleep!

Will keep you posted with any adventures and advice on some good places to visit if you are lucky enough to make it this way!!

Adios!
Savannah

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Well, I couldn´t recommend a city more than Sevilla I don´t think...it´s day 2 of 3 here and I still have a lot to see of this country, but this is definitely one of those places that makes you feel like you have seen everything and could go home happy if you really had to! I am so truly in love with this place...I have a krink in my neck from looking at all the AMAZING buildings and cathedrals and palaces, I can´t walk for more than a few minutes to stop and stare....it is such a vibrant, exciting, Spanish city...We went on one of those organized bus tours today, which I have never done, but it was well worth it...you could spend forever and a day walking around in awe, but never knowing the story behind the many places you´re seeing...this gives you an insight to the jewels and exciting history of what you´re looking at...One place we visited was the old 1992 Expo grounds...I felt like I was in a perfect setting for a horror movie...for some reason, they have let almost the whole area go to pot and all these huge buildings that promoted the future of Spain are overgrown with weeds and are crumbling only 14 years later (tax dollars anyone??)...among all these decaying buildings is a very old building that houses Christopher Columbus´ tomb...I am sure he would be sad to see the state of his surroundings...but I enjoyed it!

I am tired today..all the walking we´ve been doing with all our overpacked bags in rain (in Granada) and then heat (in Sevilla), trying to find hostels day in and day out and from sightseeing...buns of steel baby! On the 6th and the 8th are two national holidays....in Spain, what this essentially means, and like in many countries, is going to church, spending time with loved ones and then some massive partying to chase it down with! And in true Spaniard style, if there is a holiday, let alone two in a week, they take the days before and after the holiday off and it´s called a puente (bridge)...it´s crazy, I have often wondered how Spain functions so wonderfully...when do people work around the puentes and siesta?(such a North American perspective, I know)

Today, we were having lunch near the awe-inspiring cathedral here and we could here cop sirens and people chanting...there was a long protest parade going by and from what I could read on their signs they were separatists showing their support for the separation of Andalucia (the province I am in) but without further investigation, I don´t know if that´s right or not??

Last night, which was our first here, we walked around all day, just checking out the myriad of twisting, fascinating streets...when it came time to drink some more and it was evening, we found an outdoor restaurant and setup camp for a couple of hours watching the hundreds of people walk by...Spain is incredible this way...everyone but everyone comes out...families, from babies to grandparents all come out together and it is so lively! Everyone dresses to the nines ( excluding Shiloh and I in our sandals, a total faux pas for style it seems here) and just walks around in all the squares, eating and drinking, going to all the outdoor bookstores, or shopping at all the outdoor kiosks and markets...it´s beautiful too here right now, because although you can tell that it´s Christmas soon, it´s not gross commercialism...it´s lights strung up on all the orange trees and singers and families and socializing...I could have stayed watching this all night...I wish I could store sleep and run off of it for a week...it seems a shame to go to sleep while I am here...

I am also, like elsewhere in Spain, enjoying how completely romantic it is...not for me , but for young and old couples...married with children or not, it feels like the public displays of affection are something we are really missing at home...you get the feeling that someone who may have been married for 20 years, just got married yesterday...everyone is playful, holds hands, kisses each other and flirts...it´s inspiring and rejuvenating...it´s the place to holiday should a relationship be on the rocks is my advice...

I see the sun hitting the cathedral from outside the window at the cafe and think I should sign off so that we can enjoy the sunset down by the river Gualdalaquivir (sp?) and do what else but have a glass of wine (I´m banking on a free tapa for supper tonight...Shiloh is is my sugar mama today and I think her cash is gone for the day)

I feel like there is so much more to say, but it´s only because I have been in a state of awe for about 27 hours...

Will write when I get to Barcelona in a couple of days...

Take care all,

Savannah

Sevilla update... remains copyright of the author sav, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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After a serious update that i have been writing for the last 30 minutes, my computer turned on me and now there is nothing!!! I have no idea where everything went!!

Hmmm...well the wind has been taken out of my sails...so the best i can do right now is something in point form...

- my friend Alex is visiting...
- we went on a journey up the mountains today to some mountain villages...Bubion and Pampaneira....we nursed Alex who survived a vicious hangover and some of the planet´s windiest roads to have him almost fall off the bus as white as a ghost...
- we have two more nights in Orgiva before we head off to Sevilla (most excited!!), then Valencia (home to the world´s best oranges...they can be yours at your local grocery store too!), and then to Barcelona...I am saving up my energy for the high-life here and relishing a bed and clean clothes for these last two days as well...
- I caved!! I bought mitts and a scarf.....my pride is too strong to tell our landlords that we are out of wood for our stove after we told them that we are hardy Canadians and we will be just fine...brrr...
- hmmmm...sigh, I know there was more, but for anyone who is checking up on my blogs, I make a pact right now to update them every 7-8 days to allow for good stories to build and exciting travel advice for anyone who just happens to stumble upon them and is coming to Spain...it will be much easier for both of these things to happen once we are on the move and out of our cozy little house!

- I will miss Orgiva, and i honestly didn´t think i would say this for the first two weeks...but every small town in the world has its characters and these just happen to be extra colourful in my opinion purely because they are Spanish and I can barely understand a word when they come up and clasp your hands and continue to speak when you make it known you don´t know what´s going on...somehow it makes them that much more interesting to me!

- also, Shiloh and i have apparently broken into a sacred boy´s club in town, much to the surprise of our landlords...my favorite tapa place in town is very male-dominated and it´s not lost on me that they wouldn´t exactly turn away two blond foreign females...but, i guess it´s not typically easy to feel welcome there, and I feel like this is where we have made some of our more interesting friends...their reception has been less and less frosty to us each time and I think it´s because we could care less what they think! We just want our cheap beer and home-made tapas! That´s one for the girls!

I have to sign out now...this is a little more than my pathetic budget will allow! But, check in in about a week´s time and we´ll let you know how our ´drifters´ travels are going! Also, I should have a bunch of pictures to post for next week too...I´m ready to kick things up a notch after this month long resting period...

Adios, and talk to you soon...

Savannah

Savannah

mountain roads and canadian pride remains copyright of the author sav, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Today is market day in Orgiva...yaay! Once you get passed all the people selling purses, old-lady bras and Nike shoes, the vendors selling produce are the real treasure! I walked away the other day with a kilo (6 good sized tomatoes) for 75 centimos...and we, awhile back, bought a bag full of sundried tomatoes for 5€..something that would have cost probably btw. 15-18 dollars at home...people go home absolutely loaded from the markets! It brings the whole town out and it feels very alive all day, even during siesta...

I had my first (and hopefully only) experience visiting a doctor the other day....the service was great and the doctor would so be mine in Edmonton if i could fit him in my suitcase...very efficient, thorough and patient, my poor translator had to learn about how the human skeleton is constructed and relay it back to me in detail...so, because i am not a Spanish or even an EU citizen i had to go to a private clinic....70€ later!!! I can certainly see what entices govt´s and doctors to sometimes want a two-tiered system...the efficiency is great...but I am still thankful that Canada is choosing to steer away from that...it seems very wrong to have to pay for basic healthcare quite simply...but i can now sleep a little better at night knowing that i have two floating ribs crossed over each other and inflaming one another and not....???? something worse I guess!

I am covered in flea chemicals and dirty dog from giving some TLC to my beloved stray Brown-Dog....ahhh, it´s heaven to me!

Shiloh and I are heading into Granada tonite to check out a funk-jazz band with our landlord Wes and friend of his...if all goes well we´ll be able to visit our sister Pam after the show while we´re there...there is definitely no such thing as an early night in Granada...early means before 3 am...if you plan on coming to visit I recommend this...stay up all night for maybe about 4 days, drink lots...pickle your liver in preparation....and start to love seafood...you´ll have the time of your life then!

I have to run...that 70€ gone keeps haunting me! Take care anyone reading this, and even if you´re not!

Hasta luego!
Savannah

Market day... remains copyright of the author sav, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Well, just a quick update on life in Órgiva...I am really starting to like this little town (about time!)...I am finding more and more the Spanish flavor of it after feeling for so long that it is overrun by expatriates...Shiloh and I found a perfect tapas bar, which I think I´ve mentioned, and it has become a regular haunt for us...the eggplant tapa is the best! And 1€ for a beer suits me fine too...Shiloh and I have also made a very Spanish friend in the form of a 50-year old man who was at one point going to be our landlord...we did find a better deal for rent...but Juan is great..he speaks no English, yet we can have the best conversations and understand each other...I´ve noticed that one on one, language barriers here haven´t been hard to deal with and actually can be a lot of fun and a great learning experience..this man, Juan, seems grandfatherly but we ran into him the other day, a bit drunk, (him not us this time ...and it´s been one of the highlights of my time in Orgiva...lots of laughing as he was trying to explain to us his morals on kissing women...and no, it wasn´t creepy, just fun...

Our Spanish lessons are finally coming along...we have found the perfect teacher, this time in the form of an English woman who has been here for 25 years...a pioneer expatriate...I finally feel with her help and tips that I can have a basic conversation with someone...she obviously remembers what it felt like to be in our shoes...

I´m very excited to have some Canadian friends coming out to visit us! We are tentatively planning to go to Granada, Nerja (on the coast), then to Morocco, then to Sevilla and Ronda and then to Malaga...after this Portugal and then my dream is to somehow make my way thru Spain and then to Berlin! Ha, we´ll see if the money gods allow this, but I am willing to do the whole eat-bread-sleep-in-doorways thing to accomplish this goal...I know that eventually work will figure into this plan too...

Nothing to do with my trip, but just to have it logged for future when I decide to read this again, my favorite song right now is James Blunt´s "You´re Beautiful"...does anyone else love it??

One major accomplishment for me this week has been that i think i can finally say goodbye to the worst of homesickness...i really hope so, because Spain is much more alive to me now, or maybe it´s the other way around...but i won´t kid myself, leaving a comfortable life and having no real plans in place for the new country OR home when I go back is a tad scary at 28...but starting to love it, and recommend it to anyone regardless of their place in life..it´s a good shake-up...

Today is a lazy day..in fact that could be the title of this series of writing...lazy days are a staple in my life right now (for good or for bad)...I wrote in a mass email to the girls at work one time that i had found the perfect falafel...I take it back, I lied..it´s in Orgiva, not Granada...Tessa, I wish I could wrap it up and send it to you! For the rest of the day I plan to read the Guardian, which is the best newspaper, and follow up with my Spanish homework..and um, that´s about it I think...

So, will keep this more up to date..thanks for the kick in the butt Lindsay..

Until then..

Orgivita remains copyright of the author sav, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Well, it´s 3 hours after I started my first Tuesday blog and I have to admit I am a little bit drunk, more tipsy actually...Shiloh and I had a few hours to pass (this always seems to be the case) and we went to a somewhat hidden away little restaurant and ordered what was supposed to be one glass of wine....which became 3, which became a bottle, which became as well, a glass of beer...yoiks...so, here I am, quite happy to be writing, quite happy to be anything! Today wasn´t too exciting as far as stories go...just hanging out with our dogs, and drinking Spanish wine...the last few days though have been some of the best...I don´t know if a lot of people know, but Shiloh and I came to Spain to meet a half-sister that we have not met before...it´s a long story, but it´s been a great one...too much to write here...but from all of this, we have met a lot of people through Pam (our sister) and spent a lot of fun times in Granada...we are now in Órgiva...pronounced Or-hee-ba...a small village about 45 minutes south of Granada (which is a perfect city in some ways...), we´re about 30 minutes away from the coast of the Mediterranean and the weather has been amazing..sun and swimming! Sorry Edmontonians, I´ve heard about it there!!!We have rented a casa (house) in the hills just outside of Orgiva for one month...it´s beautiful...I only want to stay for a month though because there is so much to see...I even feel a bit antsy being in a place that is so secluded...which to me is stupid...in Edmonton, I was craving quiet...time to read and write...and now that it´s here, I feel antsy...so I am doing my best to get into the rhythm of Spanish life and just accept that the whole world doesn´t behave like North America...and it still works out just fine...everyone lives life to the fullest without rushing around thinking how much they have to do, how many people they have to see, how much they personally have to accomplish that day...it will be hard to re-adjust I am sure...

Over the past few days I have visited Pampaneira which is a small village about 15 kms (.5 hour drive) up the mountain from Órgiva...it´s amazing..if you have the chance to look it up on the Internet, it´s worth it...we meant to spend an hour or two there and spent the whole day there...it´s one of those dreamt about white villages in the mountains with orange and olive tree groves...the streets actually look like something that 2 people can pass by comfortably (walking that is) and that´s about it...we were fascinated! So we drank some wine, fed the local pups and then had a "Speed" like experience taking the bus back home to Órgiva...made short, a woman, not all there, in the end tried to take the bus from the driver...it´s always a good story in the end when the "bad guy" doesn´t win...

We also spent some time in Granada this weekend with another Edmontonian...a very independent 18 year old who happened to be friends with one of my ex-workmates from Global TESOL...she came with us to Granada and I could see myself, her and Shiloh all fall in love with Granada that weekend, although Shiloh and I have spent nearly 3 weeks there...I think honestly, that I could live in Granada for a long time to come...but that´s for another time...

It´s been almost a month and I am finally coming to terms with culture shock...I thought this was something you experience for a week maybe 2 and then you´re automatically in love with wherever you are...not that easy...which makes me happy, realizing how much I love Edmonton and home...but, I am getting over the whole comparison thing and I now find myself wanting to stay here for longer than I had originally wanted to...there is so much to learn about a new culture! I see old people and I want to be able to converse with them so much...the stories they could tell! It´s alienating...but it´s a good kick too, to want to start to really learn the language...

Anyway, enough rambling today...I have to get home..for what I don´t know, but I just do...goodnight!

xoxox
Savannah

Tuesday continues remains copyright of the author sav, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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