Here it is, at last, Spain!  It feels like forever since I have been back in Denmark, so I will try my best to recap everything.

Barcelona was, of course, beautiful and tons of fun.  It was kind of a bummer that all of my friends studying abroad there were off elsewhere on break while I was there, but Pat and I still had a great time.  It was a little overwhelming though; there were tourists and Americans everywhere.  I guess I have gotten used to fitting in in Denmark, but obviously Pat and I stuck out like sore thumbs in Spain.  Our hostel was cute and in a bustling area, and it was fun to meet the people from all over who were staying there.  I enjoyed my first experience with real Spanish tapas, and will forever thank Barcelona for introducing me into tortilla sandwiches.  Not actual tortillas--tortilla is what they call a sort of potato-omelet, which itself is scrumptious, but put that baby on a sandwich and it is heaven.  I am serious, even the ones we got that the lady did not defrost all the way and were still frozen in the middle were exceptional, and that's saying a lot.

We went to the Picasso museum, and it was WAY cooler than I thought it would be.  Not a lot of his later stuff was there, but all of his works from his youth were and I was blown away by how amazing and realistic his paintings were when he was, oh you know, about EIGHT.  It's crazy how that transition to modern art occurred.  We also saw a lot of Gaudi architecture... I really didn't know I was a fan of architecture until I saw this guys stuff--AMAZING does not even begin to describe it.  The Sagrada Familia--or as I liked to call it, the Sangria Familia-- was crazy; something you can't really understand unless you go.  So go, all of you!  And the park he designed... I felt like I was in a Dr. Seuss book or something!  So those were the highlights from Barcelona, along with the amazing weather which was such a nice change.

This is a picture of Las Ramblas, the big (touristy) pedestrian street by where we stayed.  It was awesome except for the fact that there were tons of stands selling caged animals like tiny bunnies and chinchillas and mice.... so sad. Pat had to tear me away, I wanted to free them all. But anyway, it was a beautiful street, as you can see:

Next we flew to Granada, which was definitely my favorite stop in Spain.  I am sure it had something to do with seeing my friends who are studying abroad there.  That was really what I needed, I had really really been missing my friends from home.  Granada is such a charming little city and a very nice change of pace from the craziness of Barcelona.  The Moorish vibe made the city very unique, and the teahouses were SO AWESOME.  At one point I found myself sitting in a Moorish tea house drinking Pakistani tea and reading "Three Cups of Tea"... which is about Pakistan... a little ironic? 

 Anyway, the highlight of Granada, besides seeing my chickens of course (no, not real chickens...), was the Alhambra.  One word: B-E-A-UTIFUL. okay, another word: MAGICAL.  And maybe also just plain AMAZING.  When I was reading tour books before we got to Granada I kept reading about "the magic of the Alhambra" and how it is the most visited site in Spain, but I honestly had never heard of this place.  Nor am i quite sure how to describe it.  It basically is a huge ornate Moorish/Spanish-style castle and series of other old buildings that are... well, they are old.  Sorry but I really don't remember the history here.  Except that Ferdinand and Isabella were involved somehow so that makes it pretty old.  And the gardens were beautiful; we didn't even get to see the big garden because there was a huge downpour while we were there (thankfully we had already seen the palace) and we got to run down the hill back to our hostel (which was also gorgeous and charming, by the way) in really classy blue plastic ponchos.  But nonetheless, it is just a stunningly beautiful place.  I would put it way up there on the places to see before you die list.  This is a picture of a fortress in the Alhambra, I have a lot of other pictures I will put on Flikr so check them out! 

Next, Pat and I took a 3 hour bus ride to Seville.  To be completely honest, I don't remember too much of Seville.  I was absolutely exhausted and only there for less than 24 hours anyway, plus my camera had run out of batteries and I lost my charger somewhere along the way.  Oh, and all of my jewelry.  Yeah, not fun.  But annnnyway, I do remember Seville being similar to Granada in its architecture and Northern-African vibe.  It was a beautiful place and I wish I had gotten to explore a little more, but what we did get to do was see a Flamenco show.  I literally  have never seen anyone so concentrated or passionate about anything as that Flamenco dancer.  It was not at all what I expected--it was much better.  I thought there would be all these ladies prancing around in tacky frilly dresses, but it was actually just a singer, guitarist, and dancer all fully hypnotized by the music and in their own world, seemingly unaware that there was anyone watching them at all.  So yes, that was definitely the highlight of Seville.  Sorry, no pictures, but I will steal some from Pat to put on Flikr later.

It was sad to leave Spain and my brother, who stayed there for a few more days, but I was really anxious to get back to Copenhagen.  After my day and a half in Amsterdam, of course!  Amsterdam... what a crazy, crazy place.  It really didn't seem real.  The canals are gorgeous, the people are so, so nice and happy (hmm, I wonder why??)... I had been really really excited for the Van Gogh museum, especially after the taste we had in Vienna at a temporary Van Gogh exhibit, and it lived up to my expectations and made me want to sit down and paint right then and there.  I never made it to the red light district, which apparently was stupid on my part, but I really didn't have time nor was I particularly interested.  

I met up with some friends while I was in Amsterdam, but there were a lot of people from Santa Clara there at the same time who I never got to see.  I was there for Halloween, which actually is not a big deal at all in Europe, even in the crazy city of Amsterdam.  But I wore my Viking hat all day anyway and got some strange looks.  Vikings didn't actually wear hats like those, by the way, according to my Nordic Mythology class (see mom and dad, I am actually learning stuff over here!)...  Anyway, it was a great ending to the trip, but I would love to go back when I have more time and energy (but really, which one of these places would I NOT want to go back to??)

It is really great to be back in Copenhagen, I have had an absolutely insane week though and been at school from sun up to sun down every day (which isn't too hard when the sun rises at 8 and sets at 4:30, but still...).  So I am very much looking forward to the weekend and my cousin Jen coming next week!  I hope the weather gets better when she is here, it has been very windy and rainy... not fun.  Anyway, I will be better about updating from now on, now that I am all caught up!