Well, here we are. It’s been a little full on recently, hence the lack of updates. I’ve just indulged in some yummy time at home celebrating my big sister getting married to her best friend. It was a dreamy few weeks, not to mention full of emotion. I can’t count the times my eyes have just spontaneously started leaking, sometimes for good reason, sometimes definitely not. There’s nothing like a wedding to remind you how much you love and appreciate those around you. But many tears and heart skips later, I’m back in Sevilla for the final leg of my marathon. I don’t have much planned for the next couple of weeks. I’ve ticked most things of my Sevilla bucket list so now it’s just a case of preparing for some exams and soaking up the last of the sunny city. And anyway, I’m still on a travel high from my latest trip away to Granada!
I’d been desperate to visit this beautiful city ever since I arrived in Andalusia, so just before I popped home, I hopped on a bus with a lovely friend who had come down from France to visit me. I fell in love instantly (with Granada, not my friend as great as she is)! We were staying on a street that felt like it had been copied and pasted straight out of Morocco, but a quick two minute walk down the road and and we found ourselves wandering through stoney streets under the shadow of the cathedral. Then we could keep walking and hit the Albaicín area whose white washed walls transported me to holidaying in a little Greek village.
What struck me aside from the diversity of the city was it’s openness. Being near the mountains gave me major Pau vibes and made me long to go back and visit my little French home. There was a freshness to the air in Granada which made even the hustly bustly areas seem serene.
We visited most of the touristy sights on our first proper day there, including the cathedral and various monasteries, and as I’ve already mentioned, we headed up to the Albaicín and feasted on a stunning view over the whole of Granada from on high. One of absolute favourite moments from the trip was having dinner in this white walled paradise in a little restaurant as we watched the sun set over the Alambra, deepening the hues of the mountains in its wake.
Then of course, we had to see the Alambra up close and personal. Unfortunately, we hadn’t been organised enough to book tickets 5000 years in advance to get into the palaces, but we did manage to source some tickets to visit the Alcazaba and the Generalife. Everything about this visit was breathtaking; the views, the smell of the roses…I would definitely recommend, if you can’t get tickets to the palace, to get yourself entry to the garden. You won’t be disappointed.
I came away from Granada with many fab memories to add to the bank, and a feeling of accomplishment as I ticked off my final major destination on my Spain bucket list.
So all that’s left now is to tie up a few loose ends. I’m not going to lie, I am very ready to finish now (as you have probably guessed from my previous blog posts). I’m just so looking forward to get back to a bit of normality, to be on my own turf, to be only a quick train away from my loved ones, and to write about things OTHER than travel diaries. This past year I’ve wanted to document my year abroad mainly for myself, but that has meant that writing about the other things that I am passionate about has kind of fallen by the wayside. So now I have a backlog of posts that I am itching to tap out, especially after having a lot of time on my own this year where I can think about life and….stuff.
Over the summer, I plan to give my blog a little revamp, try to figure out a regular upload schedule, and make it easier to communicate with people who read my blogs regularly so that I can write what people want to read! Travel diaries can get a bit tedious, so if I’m a little bored, I can only imagine my readers are too!
Anyway, that’s all to come. For now, I’m off to kick this Year Abroad’s butt, and I’ll speak to you soon, perhaps with a round up of everything that I’ve learned and experienced since stepping onto that plane to Pau 10 months ago!
Hasta luego,
Rosie xx
Rose Elisabeth 