Submitted by Emily Bange on the 2012 fall semester program in Granada, Spain…
So this weekend we went to the Alpujarras, which is a region in the Sierra Nevadas, which surrounds Granada. The trip had its highlights and lowlights. Lowlights was that it was freezing! I was not expecting it to be so cold, but of course, we were pretty high up in the mountains! Also, we unfortunately happened to go on a really foggy day, so the views that were supposed to be awesome… were covered by fog. On the upside, we ate some amazing chocolate from this little tiny family-run chocolate shop in one of the small towns that we visited. Apparently this business has a shop in Granada as well, which I will be tracking down this week!
On Sunday we went to the Caves of Nerja and the beach. I wish I could tell you all how amazing the caves were, but I have an incredible fear of being underground (read: I have panic attacks) so the caves and I did not meet. Instead, I took pictures of the beautiful flowers in a garden near the cave’s entrance, while I waited for the rest of the group to go through. I cannot believe that there are still flowers in full bloom here at this time of year. They are so pretty! I also went to the gift shop and saw these adorable teacups that I just had to have. I am a tea fanatic, so I will actually use them. 
The beach was also quite fun, though not warm enough to swim. I managed to get my toes wet, before jumping back to dry sand/ rock (the beaches are not all sandy- some have pebbles instead). In all, it was a very nice weekend, but I will be looking forward to staying in Granada next weekend. I’ve been on the road for the past three weekends!
