Adventure in Andalucia

Hola, chicas!

I'm still on the road, literally – I'm writing this entry on a bus traveling through the southern Spanish region of Andalucia. This past week, I have been hopping around Spain with an unlimited bus pass, hitting up Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Cordoba and now Granada. It has been a pretty crazy experience so far. Last Saturday was Constitution Day in Madrid, which made finding accommodations close to impossible – I was scared I'd have to sleep on the streets! I managed to choose the coldest, wettest week in the history of Spain to travel, and I came down with the flu AND pinkeye in my first few days here. Plus, Spain is a very social place, which can make traveling alone, well, a little lonely.

I'll stop before I start sounding like Debbie Downer and get to the high points of the trip. There have been lots, I promise! I got to see some really incredible monuments – Park Güell in Barcelona, the Alcázar in Seville and the Alhambra in Granada were my favorites – and explore some really cool museums. I met awesome people from all over the world in my hostels and had interesting late-night conversations on American politics and the pros and cons of organized religion. I finally got to finish the book I've been reading (Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz, a family saga set in turn-of-the-century Cairo) and had a lot of much-needed time with my thoughts and my iPod.

Overall, it was a good trip, but being on the road for so long on your own really makes you miss the comforts of home – especially when you're sick! All I wanted was soup, Sex and the City DVDs and my mom. Instead, I had to sleep in a 12-person hostel dorm room in the middle of Spain. But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? Even though being sick threw a damper on my trip, knowing I could survive on my own was pretty empowering!