WARNING: Don't read this if you're sick of the snow

Don't be jealous of what I'm about to tell you. I went to the beach twice today. I might have even gotten some color. The weather has been so nice! High of 65 today. So once today I went to the beach by myself. Have you ever just sat and thought of nothing. That's basically what I did. My mind was clear and I just soaked up the sun. Then I came back to the beach later with friends but by then it was getting cooler so we didn't stay long.

Yesterday after my exam I climbed the Castillo de Santa Barbara with a group of friends for the first time. It's so high that I was quite daunted, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. It took us about a half hour to get to the top. We took breaks on the way up and the view just got better and better as we climbed. The Castillo was actually much more of a castle than I thought it would be. You could see the governor's quarters and all sorts of places where rooms used to be. There were beautiful archways and the remnants of a church. The gardens were sparse but nice and many renovations are being done. It's a very touristy area. You can drive partway up and there is a museum and information center. But it was quite nice. One girl I was with said it's even better in the evening. So maybe soon I'll climb it in the evening.

But the view from the top was amazing. The sea was the best part. You could see so far, and the water is so clear and blue. You could also see most of the city of Alicante and from that high up, it doesn't seem so big. Another friend took this picture, and I like it a lot.
















Last thing I wanted to talk about it the ongoing joke about olive oil. I eat a lot of fried foods here. My madre breads and fries meat and fish, and she fries her own french fries. You fry potatoes for tortilla espanola instead of boiling potatoes like we do in the states. My friends tell similar stories. BUT we all joke because Spaniards fry stuff in olive oil instead of lard like in the States. So we rationalize that it's still healthy since it's olive oil. I mean, people rave about the Mediterranean diet don't they? It's supposed to be healthy, right? Olive oil is good for you. Yeah, I'll keep telling myself that.