Seattle-London-Madrid-Nerja in 36 hours

            For those of you that don’t know, I am traveling right now with my friend Renne.  We had a very smooth flight from Seattle to London, where we sat next to a very pleasant British man.  We had a great conversation with him about sailing and how to maneuver the Heathrow airport.  Once we landed in Heathrow, we had a two hour layover in which we ate some lunch and walked around the London airport, which truly feels more like a shopping mall.  Our second flight took us from London to Madrid and was only about 2 hours.  Once in Madrid, we took a very expensive taxi ride to our hostel, costing about 50 euros… Our hostel had a retro feel to it, painted in bright colors, with black and white doors and very blue-polkadot bedspreads.  We liked the hostel a lot because it was situated on the main drag of Madrid, was very clean and the staff was very pleasant.  

            The following morning we woke up early to go to the bus station and head out for Nerja.  We almost missed our bus because none of the reader boards included our bus number…We then found out we had to board the bus to Granada, which would then continue onto Nerja.  It was a very close call.  The 7+ hour bus ride through the south of Spain was BEAUTFUL.  Most of it reminded me somewhat of Eastern Washington in that it is very dry, slightly mountainous and was mostly composed of farmland.  Once we arrived closer to Granada, we started to see more green vegetation.  Our bus stopped briefly in Granada and I am very excited to live there for four months.  The city is full of orange tiled houses, making it very beautiful and unique.   

            We are currently in Nerja, a small Mediterranean coast town.  It was the very last stop on the bus route, but by far our best decision yet on this trip.  The city is primarily composed of houses made of white stone and it is situated right next to the Mediterranean Sea, which is a beautiful, teal blue color.  The beaches are covered with people.  We had our first nudist sighting yesterday, actually multiple of them, but I suppose it is all apart of the culture.  Since being here we have finally adjusted to the time change, spent some time laying on the beaches and ate a lot of really good food.  Also, yesterday we went to “Las Cuevas de Nerja.”  These caves were amazing, very ancient and beautiful.  Last night we met two girls in their late 20's from the states.  One of which has lived in Granada for about three months now.  It was really nice spending time with them particularly since they answered some questions of ours about the Spanish culture.  I love the way you meet new people when you are traveling.
            Today we are planning on spending some time on the beach and getting ready to head to Granada tomorrow.  I thought the past few weeks in Seattle have been hot, but the weather here is in the 90’s every day.  We typically don’t go to bed until at least 2 in the morning because it is too hot to sleep.  I am beginning to understand why the Spanish eat dinner so late and come alive so much at night.
           We meet our host families tomorrow afternoon and I am getting very excited!  I have uploaded some pictures of my time here so far. I will be posting more photos on Facebook than on my blog because it is an easier process.  Feel free to friend me if you wish to see them.  Hopefully, when I arrive in Granada I will have better internet access and will be able to be online more often. Hope all is well in the states! Adios!

IN MADRID

IN NERJA

THE CAVES-IN NERJA