Charger adventure and GRANADA

I don't know what the deal is with my camera battery charger. I really thought I bought it back, but either I didn't or its really good at hiding from me. My battery ran out of juice before I was done with it in Granada last weekend, which is what prompted the unsuccessful search. Today, I went to to find a photography supply store I saw online but it was closed. However, it was in a really neat area I had never seen before arond la Plaza de Olvide. On my walk home, I wandered towards the Araplies El Corte Ingles because I knew they would have a restroom and I found myself in the electronics area. Long story short, I have a charger and a plan for major photo uploading.

After that detour, so far I'm enjoying my classes and I FINALLY had the exam for my class with the university on Friday morning. The feeling is along the lines of "meh", but at least its done! On Monday we all get to start finding out what the deal is with the 2 courses with the university that we've selected this semester. I had such grand plans for celebrating but they won't quite come to fruition because I've been having some stomach troubles, ick. And because of that, I haven't been eating much which has left me kind of low-energy.

What I can be glad about is that this didn't hit me in Granada (especially considering the 5hr bus ride!). The scenery on the road down from Madrid into Andalucía is amazing. You go through hills, mountains, and more olive groves than you could ever imagine! Not to be outshone by the trip there, Granada is a BEAUTIFUL city. It has the similar feeling of old mixed with new that I find in Madrid, but there is something much older in the air. What I was must excited to experience was the Alhambra, a palace and fortress built under the Nasrid dynasty of Muslim rule in the 14th century. As you can imagine, time has taken its toll on many parts, but there is also a lot of restoration going on. The intricacy of the decorations is absolutely incredible, as are the views from different areas of the compound. An absolute MUST if/when you travel to Spain. Patio de Los Arrayanes

Something that really impressed me was the quantity and quality of tapas that came with our cañas as opposed to the usual olives and potato chips or potatoes ali-oli or jamón up here. This greatness of the experience was only increased by a bar that we went to being named La Bella y la Bestia, "Beauty and the Beast" :) We also went to an amazing tetería (restaurant-type place that specializes in tea) that was decorated in a very "Arabic" feeling way with lots of curtains, sofas, and cushions. I can't believe I was about to forget to tell you about the Flamenco!!! We saw a legit Flamenco show at the same venue where Michelle Obama saw a show. Its all about soul. The singers, the dancers, the guitarists, they all put so much passion into their art. New realization, passionate people are one of my favorite things about lif; this is probably how I ended up being friends with so many of them.