Almería- The Cali of Spain!

Dining/Living Room

My Room

I landed in Almería almost exactly this time yesterday and I have to say that the first 24 hours have gone really well! I got to the airport in Almería and couldn't believe what I saw getting off the plane (and it was a small airport so when we got off they plane, we were immediately outside).  To my right was a bright blue beautiful ocean and a long strip of coastline.  To my left big bold brown mountains.  It was only 10am and the temperature was already in the high 70s.  All of these things put together reminded me of the California landscape and climate, but that's where the similarities end.  Almería is definitely a european city.  Although I hear it is much more touristy and luxurious towards the coastline part of town, the rest of the city is full of corner markets and pharmacies and little bars and restaurants line every street. Although Almería's population size is comparable to Madison, its much more compact (nearly everyone lives in an apartment), which gives it the hustle and bustle of a big city.

Kitchen

I took a taxi to my new apartment where my roommate's boyfriend met me at the flat (my roommates were at work).  The apartment is small but its so cute, I love it! The best part about my apartment though, is the terraza (deck).  It is huge!  Later that day, I met my roommates who are so friendly and nice!  They could not have been more welcoming.  They took me to the grocery store so I could stock up on food, and then later, they took me out for drinks and tapas!  Tapas (for those of you who don't know) are like little appetizers. Here, in the state of Andalucia, they come free when you order a drink.  I couldn't believe it!  I was able to have dinner (two drinks, a pork and brie sandwich and an egg dish with toast and jalapeño sauce), for just the price of the two drinks, which ended up being about 4 euro.  After that, I was ready for bed.  I only got about 2 hours of sleep on the plane. 

La Terraza

The goals for the rest of the week are to get a new sim card for my iphone so that I can use the google maps app to get around town.  That will give me a lot more independence to explore for the city on my own, so I can't wait for that!  The next goal is to master the bus system by friday, as I start work at the elementary school on Monday.  

P.S. I have to blog about the plane food... IT WAS INCREDIBLE.  I attached a picture of my dinner which included a shrimp salad, beef and rice, vanilla cake, brie cheese and a white roll, and white wine (by the way, the wine was FREE).  I also had a delicious breakfast but I gotta say, Spain knows how to do their plane food pretty well.  The U.S. should take notes