Every weekend is apparently a vacation

So, thanks to the study abroad gods I was blessed with many long weekends.  Since my program does not have classes on Fridays, I have a built in travel day and can leave Granada to see the rest of Europe any time after 12 on Thursdays!

Obviously, I am taking advantage of this.  I was planning on going to Scotland to see Jen for St. Patrick's Day (I know it's not Ireland, but it is apparently a big deal there), but the tickets to Edinburgh are RIDICULOUSLY expensive, and also take 18 hours for some reason, so that's a no-go.  However, we came up with a solution: meet in London the weekend before!  I was not planning on going to London to be honest (sorry to my cousin Carrie, who actually should've been born in London because she loves it so much) but I can't exactly say no to a trip that is 40 euros round trip.  Plus, once I actually thought about it, how could I not go to the birthplace of Harry Potter? I guess you could say I am slightly obsessed with everything Harry Potter-related, so I hopefully will be going to King's Cross Station and boarding the Hogwarts Express (ha ha ha).

I am also super excited for my plans for La Semana Santa (spring break April 2-9 that coincides with Easter).  Somehow, my accountant father managed to find the time to come visit during tax season and is giving his poor, poor students at UHa exams the week he leaves (Dad, I hope you don't tell them you're giving them a test so you can go on a European vacation)! He is coming March 29, and the next day (hello, jet lag!) we are flying to Geneva, Switzerland! I have heard SO many good things about Switzerland and I can't wait to go.  We are probably going to go to another country near there as well (maybe Salzburg? If anyone has ideas, let me know!) but aren't sure yet...currently on the eurail website trying to find something. :)

I have one other longer weekend the last part of April, but I don't know what's happening then. Maybe somewhere closer, and maybe hopefully somewhere with a beach? I vow to come back with a tan!

Tomorrow, I have a UConn organized trip to Seville, Cadiz, and Ronda (as I said before).  UConn has a different trip for us every month to different areas in Spain, which is actually awesome.  We get to stay in nice hotels and do not have to do any of the organizing ourselves! I am soo unbelievably excited to travel that I don't think I am ever going to want to come home.  Who knows, maybe if I get an internship that doesn't start until later in the summer I can stay here a bit longer. :)

Also, as a side note, my Senora finally stopped calling me Lorelai.  Now she prefers "Laurle-eafiohgesodhg" because she doesn't know how to pronounce "Lauren."  I kind of liked Lorelai because it made me feel like I was on the Gilmore Girls.  I'm also realizing how lucky I am to live here.  I thought the size of my apartment/bedroom/own bathroom was normal, but my friend Gail came over the other day and told me that my apartment is a mansion.  I don't know if I would say that, but it is definitely very nice.  I'm thinking my Senora has a lot of money-most of the host families/moms have told my friends to take short showers (there is a drought in Spain in addition to the high cost of hot water) and to turn off the lights whenever possible.  My Senora, however, has never mentioned anything about the water, and actually encourages me to turn on lights so I "don't kill myself by walking in the dark." Today she made paella (basically rice, with some kind of sauce, and seafood mixed in) for lunch and it was DELICIOUS.  I told her I was going to be fat, and she launched into a ten minute story about her health problems... none of which I wanted to know... but hey, she made me a great lunch!

I have to pack for my trip this weekend, shower, and (hopefully) nap, in addition to finalizing a lot of my travel plans (buy bus tickets to airports and such.  Granada's one downfall is that it does not have a big airport, which means we have to go to Malaga or Madrid to get good flights!).

Adios!

Lauren