don't worry, i made it.....

here are some random tidbits about spain and portgual, in my experience. i'm exhausted and have been up for too many hours now, so bear with me...

"don't go on the grass". it seems like everywhere in europe, sitting, walking, or doing anything on the grass is forbidden. as our buses raced down highways and i gazed out the windows looking at fields of farm lands throughout spain and portugal, all i wanted to do was yell for the bus to stop, and make a run for it. i'd run all over those hills and grassy miles, i yearn to run. and then, once i am exhausted again, i will lay down in the dew and take a little nap. mmmm. nap.

so we were in granada, spain and these old ladies came up to us with rosemary in their hands and reached for our palms. i was interested even though i assumed there was a scam involved, ashley let the lady take her hand, karen and kili ran away. i was told, based on my palm's story, that i will be lucky in love, have two children and have a long life. i thought this was lovely. then she wanted money as soon as she shoved rosemary into my palm, i scrounged up some for ash and i, which was awkward and still unsatisfactory for this lady... so we basically ran away. we then found out that we all got the same fortune.
i still was pleased with mine though. i don't care if it was a scam. plus the rosemary was delicious smelling.

in granada we visited the Alhambra, a fortress/castle/palace with acres and acres of gardens and walls and flowers surrounding its buildings. it was was favorite part of our trip, so beautiful and vivid. i took a loooot of photos, some of which are attached in this post, check them out. words cannot describe and photos cannot capture the great detail in these buildings and the beauty of the gardens. amazing.
also, i saved a little girl from going over a landing here. my heart hurt afterwards, but i'm sure her mother was sicker than i. i am glad i have quick reflexes from watching the boys.

in lisbon, portugal we went to a restaurant for dinner which was recommended by ashley's europe on a shoestring book. sadly, the restaurant apparently decided to have a little makeover with a lift and was NOT the restaurant it used to be/the guide book was claiming it to be. we went there expecting a very inexpensive meal and were fooled. we had a lovely meal though, over looking a sweeping view of the city. there was live fado music; this man's voice was so good i wanted to eat it with a spoon. at first we were really upset that we had been fooled and were already seated. ashley started to cry, it was a mess. than... the owner of the restaurant took pity and sent over a free bottle of wine. nice.

faro, portugal was beautiful and peaceful. i saw a child who looked exactly like me. it was strange. this boy had my same face. he was about 2 years old.

our accomodations along the way, although cheap or free the entire time, were exhausting. they made two weeks feel a lot longer than that, as i reflect back. our hostel in granada, spain was the absolute worst. it looked like the shining, check out photos, those of you who know what i am talking about. made for some good laughs.

malaga and granada, spain were lush.

check out my photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/ashleyraelanning/SpainPortugal#