Wednesday, February 4, 2009
So today I finally have something more exciting to write about!! Went to grammar at 8:30 then hung out on the internet for a bit. Came back home, rested a bit before lunch, then over paella a Julia, Taylor and I discussed our trip this weekend. Taylor and I decided to stay in Madrid and take day trips around to Toledo, Segovia, and El Escorial. Juli Juli told us we should get our bus tickets ahead of time since it fills up during the weekends so I trekked out to the bus station. It was quite the trip, let me tell you. To begin with, it was my first time using the bus system in Granada and I defintely should´ve bought a package of 10 tickets because I ended up paying about twice what I should have. Then, I got to the bus station and bought two tickets for the wrong date. Sweet. Got it fixed then jumped back on another line since I was going to the CLM and not back to the apartment. Ended up getting of at the wrong stop and taking a lovely 20 minute walk in the rain for no reason. Ughh. Finally got to the CLM 40 minutes after I told Mom I would Skype her then it didn´t even work so we just got to type for a few minutes. Oh, well either way I still got to talk to her so that´s good. So then a group of us met in the computer lab to look at flights for Portugal and when we found a good deal we booked them!! Yay :) It´s for the weekend after Semana Santa and I´m going to miss Monday classes, but I´m not too worried about it. Then, Taylor and I found a good deal for flights to Barcelona so we booked those too! It´s for the weekend before Morocco and Melissa, Kristen, and Megan will be there on their Spring Break trip from Wales. I got to Skype with them for a couple minutes but I´m really excited that this is going to work out. It´s going to be a crazy month with back to back trips to Barcelona, Morocco, Italy, and Portugal (oh yeah, and Semana Santa craziness with Viernes Santo, Easter, and all of Julia´s family coming to visit) but I think it will definitely be worth it!!
Ok then after all that business we came back, did some reading about the places we´re planning on going to, relaxed, and I took a shower. Had dinner and then left for the Arab baths!! I was in a hurry because, well Julia doesn´t open the door EVER (long story) so I ran out without my umbrella. Big mistake - I was immediately soaked. I´m not just talking about wet hair, I mean completely saturated through my coat, feet sloshing in my tennis shoes, and contents in my bag that was zipped shut were damp. After walking through the monsoon for 30 minutes (25 under a shared umbrella and I was still that wet), we had the most relaxing night ever. It´s an ancient Arabic tradition where you switch between cold, warm, and hot pools. Ok, that description doesn´t do it justice.. So first I put on into my suit then walked out of the changing room into an entryway with heated tiles, a quiet bubbling fountain (like in the Alhambra) and a table of delicious tea. The whole place looked like a cave, dimly lit with candles flickering and Arabic music playing (like in the tetería). There was also a sauna with heated benches and floors that was open to the hot bath room. The colored tiles were the same mosaic the Alhambra, it was absolutely beautiful! We went from one shallow pool to another relaxing and waiting for our number to be called. Then we all got 15 minute massages! AAaaahhhh... All in all it was at least an hour and a half, but I didn´t want to leave!
It was a rollercoaster kinda day, but overall, definitely two thumbs up :)
