take a walk with me

instead of blabbing on about travels, spain revelations, or personal inquires, i've decided to share with you the classic blog entry: my walk to class. so here we go! lucky for you, this past monday morning was a gorgeous one and only required one coat and a light scarf :)

each morning i open my sleepy eyes to this one of a kind purple man hanging directly in front of my mini-twin sized bed. now, at first i thought about creatively draping a moroccan tapestry over his colorful presence or removing him in the dead of night and strategically placing him on the balcony across the way with yippy dog, but now, a certain sort of fondness has grown between "Larry" and i. even if it was the fact that my landlord's wife is the artist of pensive "Larry" (therefore, making it a little dicey for his removal), i've grown accustomed to my roomie. i now can't help but give him the classic head nod and mumble a "good morning, larry. don't get too crazy without me today"

here is where my walk begins on Gran Via, the main street slicing down Granada's center. on the left is the cathedral and overhead are the artsy little street lamps that i am strangely in love with.

this walk continues for a little ways, weaving in and out of spanish couples and friends chatting. the spanish don't walk anywhere quickly. while i'm trying to pick up the pace (might as well get some sort of a workout) spaniards casually stroll, never breaking a sweat and never, EVER in a rush.

RIGHT! time to depart from the hustling Gran Via to turn up the street with the yellow mailbox. at this point i'm searching through my mary poppin's bag looking for that postcard that i know is in there somewhere. give the postcard a kiss, and continue walking, chicos, you are about to begin the climb.

here we come to the little pretty square with the arch de triumph, Granada style...also known as the entrance of the Albayzin (the gypsie, arabic section of town) i can't help but consider ditching class and getting lost in a tetería. but, being the good student i am *cough* i continue on :)

walk through the plaza and appreciate the fall colors. they are now fading, but still remind me of the season.

cuidado, now. (careful) cross the roundabout, but beware of crazy spanish drivers who consider crossing pedestrians a mere nuisance and an excuse to honk their horns. the black and white cobblestones are a nice touch, remind me of Lisbon, no?

on the walk up, we pass a little church. from my history class i now know that it was once a mosque due to the cool tower. most churches in granada were once mosques...always makes me think about all that this building has seen.

continue to walk up the leaf littered street. here we pass cafes, tapas bars, and little bakeries, most of which are still closed because it is only 9:45 am. yes, spain is on their own time schedule.

pass by the little fruit and veggie stand.

now cross the street to begin the real climb. that stuff we did was definitely on a hill, but it is nothing like what is coming up. Cartuja, here we come!

yep, the climb has started and the bus about to pass us on the left starts to look appealing. the calves may be burning, but we're getting closer.

more UP! feel the burn!

yep, just when you thought you reached the top, time for a glut work out. at this point, bring it! we are almost there and so close to a pretty view.

here's a look down from the stairs. that soccer field always makes my foot itch to touch a soccer ball. someday, one way or another, i am sneaking on to that field and getting some fútbol time in. i've only seen guys play on the field...guess i need to take it upon myself to bring female kick-buttness to spain. a girl does what she can :)

congrats!! we have reached the top and are rewarded with an epic view of olive groves (spain has olive groves everywhere! i guess they have to supply their incessant need for olive oil somehow. but on college campuses, too? really? whatever. i love it), an old looking building, and the mountains.

like the locals we are, we sneak in the back entrance saving almost 6 minutes in walking time. ya, we know what's up.

we made it to the building and in true adrienne style we are 10 minutes early. i swear i was actually going to be late this time...huh, i guess not. now refuel. the machine on the right may be one of the best inventions ever made. here we have a full coffee machine to fit all your needs. what sounds good? americano? cappuccino? hot chocolate? a shot of espresso? this little magic box has it all.
alrighty, it's 10:00, time to go into the classroom and wait for 10-15 minutes for the professor to come. oh, españa.

*it also must be noted that on the walk you did not see one person with a to-go cup, one person eating on the go, or any college students in their pj's. no. starbucks has no power here...strange, no?

say what?

as i was riding the city bus to the main bus station to purchase tickets for the next spanish adventure to Cordoba, it hit me. i have now been living/traveling in the iberian peninsula for four months, one third of a year! in all honestly, i counted the months several times trying to figure out how this time warp could have happened (at this point an older Spanish women glanced curiously at me as i kept using my fingers as a counting tool and looking astonished each time i reached four). once this fact actually sunk in, my mind began to think, has spain become my new home? has my day-to-day spanish life finally become normal? in many ways, the answer is definitively 'yes.'
looking back on my first couple of weeks, i can remember taking note of all the many differences between cultures, people, silly little details, and systems between españa and my idolized home state. many times i was left asking,"why in the world would 'they' do that this way? who would think of taking a 3 hour break in the middle of the day? and can a california girl really become apart of this established community with their foreign customs?" well, now as a four month resident (and with an official residency card. yes, i'm finally legal) i can say that this california girl and southern spain have learned to live together and found a healthy balance of give and take. the things that i once found odd: how the light switches for the bathroom, kitchen, living room are located outside the room door--makes for cruel jokes when friends are in the bathroom, flipping open the gas and lighting my stove with a match, walking up a massive hill for 35 minutes to get to class (and many times the teacher or half the class not attending), greeting friends and strangers with kisses on either cheek (left first, THEN right...the direction thing has lead to some awkward situations), ALL shops and stores closed on sundays--forced break, concept of healthy food (many spaniards insist that ham and white bread are crucial to a healthy diet. sadly, i am not joking), more people oriented lifestyle...(and much more) have now become quite normal. suddenly, eating a mid-day 'merienda' (the meal/snack eaten at the beginning of siesta) is a daily necessity and is followed by some classic R&R (i have given in to the siesta!!!). when walking down the street, i am constantly asked for directions by both out-of-town spaniards and confused foreigners. amazingly enough, i can actually give them directions (monuments, street names, and occasional history if they look up for it). don't get me wrong, i still stand out like a sore thumb. i can't help my california ways, of smiling at people passing in the streets (not so common here in granada), running in the mornings while the old spanish men take their daily walks, and whipping out my camera when i see an old spanish couple sitting on a bench... give and take.
some quick pics to share this new hiking/walking spot that i've discovered thanks to my landlady and a new spanish friend, Ana.

Ana, Kristen (that cute california red-head), and i had a beautiful picnic at the top of the hill. yummm

fútbol (soccer) love. can't wait to come back up here with my soccer ball.

fall has come

here's a quick one considering i have yet to truly make headway on my psych homework. goodness, over a month in and i finally figured out how some of the assignments and reading work--there is some satisfaction with this revelation, but for a while, ignorance was bliss.
after living in granada, population pushing 900,000, i've come to understand the ups and down of living in a small city. while i love the constant activity, underground concerts, diverse eating spots, and opportunities to get lost in movie set-ish ally ways, sometimes i need out.

hence, kristen and i decided to ditch the city for the day and head to Ronda, a cool little white village a couple hours train ride away. it is a well known fact among my fam that fall is my favorite season, so when we arrived to a beautiful view over the reds, yellows, greens, and oranges of the countryside i was in heaven. the cool fall breeze kept us walking and exploring for hours, getting lost in the colors of fall and the quaintness that is Ronda. and yes, this picture is real and it actually looks like this--the sun came out at the perfect time.

here is our eating lunch spot overlooking the spanish countryside and little white town. mind you we are sitting on the walls of an moorish castle. times like these are priceless and are what make life that much sweeter.

just happiness...overlooking everything, feeling the fresh air kiss my cheeks. life is good.


one last Ronda pic
so, halloween in spain must be explained a tad bit. the image of this tasty and fairly comical holiday of wandering the streets in varying costume extremes and overdosing on sugar does not exist. spaniards are still in the scary halloween mode where everyone is dressed in something related to death and are literally SCARY. walking around on halloween night was a tad frightening. the truth is, halloween was more a day about mourning the dead until a couple years back when globalization did its work on this holiday. therefore, spain is still figuring out how to "celebrate" and take advantage of the comical costume and candy consumption perks. i decided to stick to the classics and break out my pumpkin carving skills, while brainstorming epic costume ideas for next year.
sorry for the overload of pics and lack of commentary...i'll try and get another blurb in this week. sending lots of fall lovin' to all corners of the world!