La Alhambra in Granada

(The intricate hand-carved details on the wall are amazing!)

(Chilling in the gardens outside the palace)

So, we've had some fun excursions. We eventually made it back to Granada where we had the chance to visit the La Alhambra, the famous Moorish castle, palace and walled medieval city. It is truly amazing and the level of hand-carved detail throughout is awe-inspiring. We spent the rest of the day traveling, walking the city and enjoying sangria and tapas.

We stayed at an interesting hostel. A fun place, but not a place I would go if we had female companions with us. I would want to stay someplace nicer. However, if that was the case, we would have planned the whole trip out more. Maybe we wouldn't even do the bull run. Ah, who are we kidding?! But, let's face it, guys are just dumber than girls in general. I've got three sisters and lots of friends and I can attest to the fact that we just do dumber things than girls. Sometimes that is what makes life exciting, and sometimes it's what makes it more difficult. To that point, poor Ted also lost every bit of luggage that he brought... except his essentials (passport, etc) and the clothes he is wearing. Upon checkout at 5:30 in the morning to catch a train to Madrid (then Bilbao to see the famous Guggenheim), his backpack was stolen in about 2 mins as we check out. Ted had momentarily left it at the front door of the hostel - located off an alley that gets no traffic during busy hours let alone this time of day. I won't add more to the blog about it right now because it is kind of a mess and a sore spot. But, we're going shopping to sort him out and then we will be good to go again. Back to Madrid and on to Bilbao!

Incidently, we have heard that there have been at least nine major injuries at this year´s San Fermin, Running with the Bulls in Pamplona. We are staying focused and will continue to run; although, admittedly, my feet are super sore from blisters, walking etc. All these adventures and the journey doesn´t even begin until everyone joins us in Pamplona on July 11th. More updates to follow. Off to catch another train!