Concert, Granada, y Marbella

Hola! It has been a busy few days for me, hence very little internet and blogging time. The concert on Friday went pretty well. There were a few technical difficulties, as is to be expected, but overall pretty good show. It was fun to conduct for an audience, as I missed out on that by a few days in Burnsville, unfortunately.

Saturday morning I took a bus to Granada. It was a very slow trip, similar to taking a Greyhound. I arrived in Granada at about 4:30, and Maria came and met me at the bus station. Maria is a friend of mine who I met this summer while she was living in the states, but she is from Spain originally.

Granada is a very beautiful city. It is also one of the few cities in Spain that offers tapas with every drink that you purchase. At first I thought it was a rip off when I paid $2 for a small bottle of diet coke, but once the food came, I felt better about my purchase. Saturday was Halloween, so several people were out and dressed up. As I found out over the next few days, the people in Granada like to go from place to place eating all different kinds of tapas, and that is what we did Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Sunday we went to see the Alhambra. However, the tickets were sold out for entry to the inside, so we only walked around the outside. It is a very beautiful piece of architecture. They also had a special Washington Irving exhibit inside, since he was the author of "Cuentas del Alhambra" (stories of the Alhambra) and he spent much time there. It is the 150th anniversary of his death.

Also while in Granada I ate the best ice cream of my life. Seriously. It was 1,70 Euro for an ice cream cone and I have never tasted anything quite as delicious. The two flavors I tried were Cheesecake and Dark Chocolate Brownie. One of my friends went to Italy for a while and said they ate Gelato twice a day while they were there and I couldn't understand it. Now, I can understand why.

Being in Granada was a big learning experience for me. Maria was the only one of her friends who spoke a fair amount of English, and so the weekend was spent immersed in Spanish for me. Now, I know Spanish, but not well enough to understand everything that's going on in a conversation between native speakers moving at what seems to be 100 miles per hour. However, I think my Spanish is better as a result of it, and I have more empathy for people who are trying to learn English as a second language.

Today we went to Marbella to La Canada, which is a big shopping centre. It was our first time really going shopping, so I got some outfits that are very European, and I am excited about it.

I'm not sure what the rest of the week holds, but I do know that Laura and I are going to London at the end of the month! (Provided nothing comes up) We booked our tickets today for 60 Euros each, which even in dollars, is one heck of a deal.

I uploaded some more pictures to my photo site, some from Granada and some from the concert. Enjoy! www.emoran87.shutterfly.com