I went to Granada and Almuñecar's beach this weekend. It was great! I know I say this about everywhere, but Granada was one of my favorite places last time I was here. :) It has a cool mix of Spanish, Middle Eastern, North African, and hippie vibes.I saw the old city, stopped in the shops of the obligatory "calle de las teterías," and had a guy hand-calligraphy my name in Arabic on a cool wooden plaque for only 5 euros! It's pretty neat looking and I think there's a photo of him making it in this post's photo album.
The beach was alright but it was SUPER windy (this is coming from an Oklahoman, mind you so it had to be REALLY windy) and the beach was made of rocks instead of sand which was a little wierd/uncomfortable. I'm not much of a swim-in-the-beach kind of guy unless there's some watersport activity involved like snorkeling or surfing lessons or something, so I didn't actually swim, but I did read my book under the shade of a 4 euro/day beach hut :) I'm reading "El viajero perdido" by César Mallorquí. It's a book for teenagers though, not high literature. I prefer that in English as well as Spanish though :) I much prefer to simply enjoy a good story than to worry about exploring life's problems through literary symbolism :) The added bonus of reading this reading-level of story in Spanish though is that I am more likely to understand it than, say, a book like "Cien años de soledad,"and I'm more likely to enjoy it too!
On Saturday night I went to a flamenco show at the same place I went last time. It was very cool. The footwork, incredibly fast clapping without getting off-beat, and the amazing guitar work is a sight to see!
Back in Madrid classes started again today (Monday). They're alright, but long and not terribly interesting. I like my first class (grammar, surprise surprise :) ) though. I happen to be one of those 1 in 100 people who enjoys grammar, though, even if I don't always follow it!
Other than that, I'm just enjoying my free time in Madrid! I still enjoy walking around aimlessly, exploring new parts of the city, after classes. I usually take out a MetroMadrid map, close my eyes, and choose a random metro station. I then take the metro there, and walk around! As the mom of my Spanish house says, "There are more places in Madrid than Sol and Grand Vía." (Although she says it in Spanish haha).
I bought my plane ticket to Paris for the weekend after this (this weekend is Santander). I will arrive Thursday evening/night and will have Friday and Saturday free, and most of Sunday (I don't depart until 9pm!). One of the days I will probably go to Lisses though.
Well, that's it for now! Enjoy the photos. This post's corresponding album is HERE. *Photobucket's being a real pain right now. I wish all photo hosting sites could follow Facebook's nearly perfect model. I'll post them later. Sorry to make you wait.
See ya around Madrid!
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