Day 11

Welcome to Costa del Sol (Malaga), birthplace of Pablo Picasso. Located very close to Granada (so I still have a shot at making it there Sunday), and a few hours north of Morocco.

The journey here has been a humorous one starting with Simone and I missing the bus that travels 45 minutes from our suburban dorm to the city of Madrid, which would have allowed us to connect to a train that would take us to the station for a bus headed to Granada at 1:30 AM. I wasn't really looking forward to a 5 hour bus ride, but I didn't want to miss it either. It threw our well organized weekend down the crapper! Once I realized that another bus wasn't leaving Villaviciosa de Odon (the burbs) to Madrid for another 40 minutes I became overwhelmed by sadness. So I slept, off and on until 2 PM the next day.

Then I became resolved not to let my FOURTH weekend be stolen from me. I made a beeline for the train station and boarded a 2.5 hour train to Costa del Sol, and upon arrival realized it was well worth the trip.

The hotel I'm staying in, Monte Malaga is on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and its ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! The minute I walked in I was greeting with water in a wine glass and beautiful marble floors. Its high tech, and simply FABULOUS! When I arrived on the fourth floor I was worried that there was a curfew, because the lights were out, but as soon as I took a step forward, the entire hallway lit up as I walked forward. But the best feature of all is one that we ALL take for granted...THE BATHTUB! After staying in a dorm with only a shower for 2 weeks I OFFICIALLY declared my INDEPENDENCE from DIRT! Taking the first bath in 2 weeks made me really aware of how important the little things can be when you don't have them.

As much as I'd love to go on about Monte Malaga, I can't...

I must rest, for tomorrow I visit the Pablo Picasso Museum & etc.