viva espana: Rooftop Bars, Pancake Rocks, Arab Baths, Gypsy Caves and the Meditteranean Sea

AHH I have done so many amazing things since my last post! My parents and Aunt Sandy arrived after a bit of a bumpy ride (literally and figuratively). They conquered the windy narrow streets of Sevilla (barely) and arrived safely at the Dona Maria hotel...it had a prime location in the heart of the old section at the foot of the giralda...The rooftop bar had some of the best views of Sevilla and you felt like you could reach out and touch the giralda, we got lunch the first day and I introduced them to all my favorite tapas: croquetas, jamon iberico, espinaca y garbanzos, tortilla and of course an abundance of wine. I showed them around my school and took my Mom to the Plaza de Espana, which is my favorite spot in all of Sevilla. That night we went to dinner and Kerry, Brittney and Elena came too. We went to an Italian restaurant which was AMAZING and everyone had such a great time with tons of laughs. Sadly the next day I had to leave for Granada, but they kept themselves busy on a tour of the rio, and a horse and buggy ride through Maria Luisa...if I hadnt been off hiking and spending time in Granada I would have been very jealous. On our way to Granada we stopped for an hour long, somewhat treacherous hike through a park called Torcal de Antequera. It was underground at one point in the past so the rocks had been weathered by salt water which made them look like pancakes. It was beautiful out and good practice for our ten mile hike through Extremadura later in the semester. We got to Granada a little later and had to book it to our Arab baths. It was the most relaxing experience of my life...basically we spent two hours in a dimly lit spa with candles, aromatherapy, amazing tea, a sauna, a hot bath, an ice bath and our own massages..I was in heaven and the baths had a really cool atmosphere with all the mosaics and star cut outs on the ceilings...We did a little shopping then went to las cuevas to see un espectaculo de flamenco! I loved it and Kerry Brittney and I all ended up getting up and dancing with the performers at the end it was so much fun. The next day we went to La Alhambra which is the most visited site in all of Europe...it had a number of functions but it was mainly a palace and a sort of fort I guess with tons of gardens, baths and amazing architecture...after the Alhambra I met up with my parents and we took a 2 hour long breathtaking drive along the Mediterranean to Marbella. We went to the resort's restaurant and had a great time while my family tried to practice their Spanish with the waiter even though one of the only words my Dad knows is albondigas (meatballs)....The next day we lounged around all day on the beautiful grounds of the hotel since it was a little too cold for the beach, but we were close enough to see it and put our feet in the water if we wanted to. After a little while of sunbathing we realized we had accidentally sat in the Zona Topless... luckily no one was taking advantage of that option....For dinner we went to the casco antiguo or Old Marbella which was really quaint but since it was a Sunday not much was open...we ended up choosing a British restaurant which had great food and a lot of snobby British people since apparently Marbella is really popular with people from England...On our last day together we went to Ronda and even though the weather wasn't cooperating since it was cloudy and chilly we had a great time. The cliffs there are amazing and the gorge or Tajo is absolutely beautiful, I loved the restaurant we went to since the walls were covered with bullfighting paraphernalia and we completed the day with a trip to Ronda's Plaza de Toros. All in all it was the best weekend yet and I was so happy to spend time with my family in so many wonderful places. When I got back to Sevilla I realized I had been sort of homesick for my new home and it felt good to be back. On Tuesday we went to La Bachillera to teach the ninos English, it was kind of funny since there were more of us than ninos but Eileen and I paired up to teach a six year old girl the English names of some animals...she was sooo cute and had such a funny personality I had a really good time there and I think it will be a great way to give back throughout the semester...Its shocking how fast time is going and how few weekends I have left in Sevilla when I won't be travelling...Speaking of travelling, I booked a trip to IRELAND and I cannot wait...we're going for almost a week and I'm so excited to travel around the country side and see everything there. Tomorrow I leave for Barcelona and I know I'm going to have the time of my life...then on Monday I'm going to Gibraltar...Remind me how I got so lucky?

Now prepare yourself for tons of pictures...