Spain!

Trying to get to Spain was quite humorous because we split up groups and half of us left the night before, while the other half went the next morning. Well, we sent ALL of our stuff home (or a few people just through everything they brought to Europe with them away) except for one school backpack. That's right... living out of a school backpack for a wk!! in the hot summer of spain!! woooh!! That was an adventure.

If that wasn't enough.... the school backpack had to fit the size requirements of ryanair...which are really strict! So when it came down to the wire and we were standing in line, we were thinking our backpacks may be packed too much!! So out came the clothes and Dave started dressing in line!! I think in total he had 3 pairs of shorts and a pair of pants on, plus a couple shirts and a sweatshirt!! Lauren was wearing his shoes. Ale had a few different scarves and shirts on as well!! it was pretty comical really. I think we became everyone's entertainment... but we made it on so we were happy as a clam! =)

First stop: BARCELONA!

We had to have an authentic meal, so we decided to splurge and pay for a nice one! It didn't seem like it would be too pricey, so we thought we were getting a deal!! When we finally got our check we learned that each glass of sprite had been 7 Euros!! OUCH!! haha That became the joke of the trip. We could easily justify buying anything since we had spent 12 bucks on a glass of sprite!! =)

Some awesome Gaudi architecture!!Just hiking around

what? another arc de triomphe? I thought I was in spain.....

Stop #2: MADRID

We were able to stay at the temple hostel in Madrid, which was WONDERFUL!! It also serves as the MTC there, where Dave had been trained for his mission! The grounds were beautiful and it was such a pleasure to be able to do baptisms there!! We were also each assigned new roommates, and mine were older ladies from portugal. We struggled to communicate but I don't think i have ever met such genuine, selfless people in my life. Those women were wonderful and taught me SO much!!

We also saw some sweet architecture and played around in some gardens in the park. Our new favorite past time: Playing card games in parks and on trains!

Stop #3: Granada!!
Granada was a BLAST!!! This was Dave's last area that he served in on his mission, so we were able to stay with some very kind members there and particpate in some of their ward activities! They were SOOO welcoming and giving, it really blew me away!!
They even invited us to a birthday party and made us get up and dance with all of them!! You don't get much more engulfed in a culture than that!! plus- almost everyone there was originally from a different country! it was awesome!

We also ran into some individuals in the street who were all dressed up and gave us a little show!! We saw some real spanish dancing! IT was awesome!












Finally, we were able to go to the Alhambra, which was breathtaking!!! I never knew it was so big, or had such intricate details!! It honestly was GORGEOUS and pictures just can't do it justice!!
We honestly met the most amazing people in Granada and I truly will never forget these individuals and everything they taught us!





Finally, we headed to Malaga where we were to fly out of the next morning.... but we got ripped off by the cab driver... and then again by the hotel we were supposed to stay at. So we decided to go hang out at the beach instead until it got dark, and then we went and spent the night in the airport!! haha!! What a trip!!! I honestly had SUCH a blast and can't believe that I was able to spend almost a month in Europe with so many wonderful friends!!!!! I definitely miss seeing these guys every day!!