...Spain, I'm Yours. (culture, adventure, travel): an Andalucian roadtrip.

Our backpacks tightly sitting in the trunk of the car, yummy snacks waiting to be eaten, iPod ready to play tunes, and the windows down on a clear sunny day started the Andalucia roadtrip that we were embarking on. Carrie and I decided we wanted to go on a trip with monday and tuesday off of work. We decided to go with the sweet couple Emily and Rane in their car to 4 different andalucian cities.

First stop: Ronda

Ronda is a cliff city in the Malaga province. People go there to admire the mountainous region with a huge bridge spanning the El Tajo canyon below with the river running through it. A very popular american writer, Ernest Hemmingway spent summers here writing about the beauty and cliffs. The city of Ronda presents itself with diverse styles of architecture.

Ronda was quite amazing as we were passing through a territory with marks of history. We wanted to hike to the bottom of the canyon, but unfortunately couldnt find the path. We did hike a little around the bridge and canyon. Being in a unique natural environment was enjoying and I took in every moment of the landscape.

Second stop: Marbella

Marbella is a tourist resort town on the Mediterranean coast beneath La Concha mountains. It is known for the rich and famous bringing in celebrities and wealthy people. It is a destination for luxary cruise ships, mega yachts, and golf resorts. You might wonder why we went there. Well, it was beautiful. Why not feel like celebrity for a day? Mansion next to mansion on top of rolling hills was a site alone. When we arrived, we check in our nice hotel on the ocean. We paid a good price for what we got. For dinner, we walked a few blocks to a recommended (over priced), yet with character Italian restaurant. After good food and conversation, we headed back to the hotel to get a goods night rest for the next day to come. We woke up and decided to get breakfast at the hotel. We sat outside with the ocean view and ordered our cafe con leches right away. After exploring Marbella for a few hours, we decided it was time to hit the road again.

Third stop: Malaga

Our next stop was Malaga. If this sounds familiar to you, it is. I spent a weekend there last staying at a friends place with other teachers. After spending 30 minutes to find a local noodle restaurant, we gave up and decided on kebabs filling our tummys with beef, pita, vegetables, hot sauce and plenty of the yogurt white sauce. The others decided to climb up to the Alcazaba, which I has done so I shopped, ate frozen yogurt, and and people watched. After we saw everything else in Malaga, we decided it was time to get in the car and head towards our next destination, Granada.

Last stop: Granada

When we arrived, we went staight to the hotel which previously said there was room for 4 online. When we arrived, it was full. Next hotel, full. Next hotel, full. There was a contiuous pattern, every hostal and htoel were full. We asked a worker and he said it was because of the holiday on tuesday. people decided to go away for the weekend (just as in america) but little did we know it would leave us getting a hotel 30 minutes away from the city. This hostal has character. it was a ma and pa type of place where everyone knew each other in the bar and restaurant, which seemed to be the center of town. We walked in with all eyes on us. We ordered drinks and recived our free tapa (as it is in granada) and ordered dinner. After dinner, we went up to our room to sleep.

I was very excited to visit granada from things I have heard about it. Granada is situated at the foot of the Sierra Nevadas mountains with the Alhambra a moorish citadel and palace being a top tourst destination in Spain. We woke early to visit the Alhambra, but tickets were sold out. We then walked around Granada seeing the other sites it has to offer. We hiked up for a while to come across a beautiful view of the Alhambra. It was magical seeing something constructed in the 14th century for rulers. One thing i loved about Granada is the huge market they have filled with bags, ceramics, cloths, lights, trinkets from an international setting.

After granada, we hopped in the car and headed back to rota. we had a relaxing day for halloween at emily and ranes hose on the ocean. we played some nintendo 64 (she happened to have my one and only video game i like, donkey kong), grilled hamburgers, watched a movie, and enjoyed being with the girls.