Trains, buses, cars

el 19 de abril de 2009

So in my last entry I neglected to mention that I would be embarking on a rather epic road trip from where we (Cory, Jenn, and I) live on the Northern coast of Spain all the way down to Andalucía, the Southern coast of Spain. The plan was to hit Granada, mainly to see La Alhambra, and then to beeline to Sevilla. Thanks to Spain's Catholic tendencies, Semana Santa (Holy Week) is a pretty intense holiday here, and the country takes a 5 day weekend from Thursday through Monday. So Wednesday I took a train to work at 7am like normal, worked from 8 to 11, took the train back home and headed right to the bus stop for a 1 hour bus ride to Bilbao, where Cory and Jenn picked me up in our rental car. And we were off!!!

So for a change of pace this entry is going to be different because I feel by now you're all getting bored reading all my book long entries. So welcome to the all Photo entry!!! (with few select comments and quotes). A lot of these are either on Facebook or Flickr but this will be more fun. SO HERE WE GO!

So we left Bilbao....


And there were lots of Bulls along the highway...


We slowly made our way South...


And stopped so Jenn and Cory could play with tumbleweed...


Then the sunset was gorgeous...


We finally got to Granada to see the Alhambra...


And leaving enjoyed views of the majestic Sierra Nevada...


Then we took a pit stop in Malaga to take a dip in the Mediterranean...


On the way to Sevilla enjoyed more marvelous Southern Spanish countryside...


In which Jenn and Cory frolicked...


We walked down lonely roads...


But Al guided us when we needed direction...


Then I found my Spanish counterpart, who fittingly owns a liquor store...


Not being able to stand the hunger pains, we foraged what we could...


Had a run in with the KKK's Kindergarten class (the KKKK)...


Made tracks through parks...

Where the smell of Sweet Olive filled the air...

Al guided us towards Segovia...


Where the Romans had made there mark...


And in the end us three travelers were heading home...


Ready to face whatever lies ahead...



Overall, the trip was a blast. It felt really good to be in a car again for a road trip. The freedom of being able to stop and take pictures and rest stops, and having space to breath, and legroom, and being able to put the windows down! The only regret is not getting to enter the grounds of the Alhambra because during Semana Santa tickets are near impossible to obtain without calling ahead of time.

Highlights:

• The amazing weather. It was about 70 and sunny during the whole trip. It cooled off at night a bit, but for the most part jeans and a t-shirt was more than comfortable.
• Granada's amazing views and insanely hippy atmosphere
  
• Malaga's Pizza Hut. Yep.
  
• Eating Tapas in Sevilla
• Walking around the Parque de Maria Luis in Sevilla barefoot
  
• Acueducto in Segovia: gorgeous!
• Blasting music and rolling with the windows down
• Figuring out how to properly use the "M" (fully manual) setting on my camera. So excited!!!
• Not having to drive all weekend. (I forgot my license so I couldn't. Cory wasn't pleased, ha).

So anyways, I hope you'll all doing well. Spring is every more rolling in softly. Today was nice enough to merit my taking an nice bike ride around the city. Work is going. It's not boring so I can't complain, but I'm most certainly still in college mode, and after a semester in Santander it's tough to be able to fully enjoy this, as I keep thinking back to those great times with new friends and such, or thinking forward to the great times I'll have once I get home in August.

Miss you all.

Saludos,
Andrew
San Sebastian, ESP