Granada, Dublin, and all that stuff

Hola todos!

So I'm sorry I haven't updated this in a while - it's been pretty crazy around here! Since I last left you, I have been doing a lot of traveling - kind of..
So the 19th I went to this thing with my school - it was this radio show that we could watch live and it was, of course, all in Spanish and I happen to be an idiot sometimes so people would sum up what they were saying for me - haha but it was really interesting because they talked about modern day Spain and what is going on in the country and just touched on a lot of topics. And then there was a singer there who was great - his name was Hueco and he was really good - if you have a chance you should youtube him. His music was really fun and Spanish with this flamenco and almost reggae twist.
So the 20th I went to Granada with my ISA group (the group I'm studying abroad with) and we took the longest bus ride - okay it wasn't that long - it was 5 hours but still I was pretty tired... and from there we arrived at our hotel and it was really really nice. Nicer than my piso which isn't hard to do but it was great to get spoiled that way. So when we first got there we just walked around the city and went practically everywhere and we found a good little tapas bar and got coffee and drinks - and the best thing about Granada is that if you order a drink tapas are free! I love free food! Very different from Madrid - there's only one place I know of that gives free tapas in Madrid (and I actually went there last night - very yummy). So after we walked around we all met up as a group and went to a flamenco show. It was really fun - I had seen Flamenco before but I still really enjoyed it - it's so crazy and the dancers are so intense. If looks could kill...
The next day we went to La Alhambra which is a very famous palace and is what Granada is best known for. It was so beautiful. I took pictures and video (which i promise I'm working on! Give me some more time on those!) but they can't fully show the beauty of it. But yes stay tuned for the Granada video and you will be able to see some of it.
That night we ate kebap - Granada is a very Arabic influenced city so the kebap was AMAZING. For those of you who don't know what it it - it's probably the worst food on the planet for you - it's like a gyro - meat and lettuce and tomato and sauces wrapped in a pita - SO good. Love love love kebap. So good night was had by all - kebap and we went clubbing - but the clubs weren't that great to be honest. But it was still fun because I was there with a bunch of my friends. The next day we went shopping and toured around a little more and headed back for Madrid. We had a lot of fun but Madrid is still my favorite city. :)
On Wednesday my roommate Sarah and I left for Dublin - we didn't have much time in between the two trips but that was just fine by us! We got there and got to our hostel - it's kind of ironic because if you look at where we stayed in Granada and then Dublin - they are COMPLETE opposites. That was my first European hostel experience and honestly I was totally freaked out. I'm really paranoid about leaving my stuff in the room so I ended up carrying all my valuables with me the entire time - I just felt more comfortable knowing exactly where they were. We slept in a room with 15 other people and it was weird. haha but it was cheap so that's why we chose it - and then we met some boys who live there and they told us that our hostel was the hostel that homeless people stay in. great. that was comforting. The shower was really gross, cold, and I just didn't feel sanitary haha it was bad - but other than the hostel, we had a great time. We took a free walking tour around the city and pretty much I was informed of all of Ireland's history - so that was good. but our tour guide was really funny... Irish people are just really nice in general - we only met one mean one (some guy kicked us out of his bar because we didn't want something to drink - we just wanted to listen to music) but we went to a bunch of little pubs and had some great food and Sarah and I were proud of ourselves because we only paid for one drink the entire trip. We were on a budget, you know... but anytime someone bought us a drink it was Guinness and that's not something you can drink often - kind of gross sometimes. Depends on the day. So the next day we took a tour of the countryside and it was so gorgeous I can't even explain it. We had the weirdest tour guide on earth who was very passionate about not j-walking and pretty much he'd diss Americans and then be like "But when you get down to it, we're all the same" - yeah he drove me crazy by the end. And he'd tell the most random stories and would tell us all personal stories about his friends - like how they're going through a rough time or whatever -it was weird haha but we got to see where they shot part of P.S. I Love You and Braveheart - that was very cool for me - granted I haven't seen P.S. I Love You but still...
So good fun crazy trip - except then I go to the airport and check in with the desk and they tell me that I booked my trip to leave on MARCH 28th insetad of FEBRUARY 28th. So I had to wait in this giant line and I met a Spanish girl who had the same exact problem - but both of us know that we marked February so I have no idea how it happened. Basically the guy was very short with me and very rude and was like, well you're just going to have to pay for a new ticket. And I'm like
-"Are you SERIOUS???"
~"oh yeah, umm... yeah it's pretty expensive right now."
-"So how much is pretty expensive?"
~"A lot."
-"Okay so are you going to tell me?"
~ "265 Euro"
and that's when I started publically bawling my eyes out in the airport.
I tried everything I could to figure out another way around it but eventually he just flat out said if I don't buy it I'm stuck in Dublin. So I had to buy it - and RyanAir is now sustaining their business with my stupid payment. I was so upset. But then I was sitting next to this woman from Chile on the plane and she told me RyanAir just lost her reservation one time and she ended up having to pay over 1000 Euro - so I guess it could have been worse. By that time I just wanted to get home! And I did and all is well - ish...
But I'm happy to be back in Madrid - still adore it beyond belief. But I'm traveling again this weekend (NOT with RyanAir thank GOD) and Sarah and I are going to London! And we're staying with one of Mike's friends from madrid who lives there - her name is Harriet - and she's really nice - and I'm very thankful that I don't have to stay in a hostel. So I'm pretty dang excited for that one.