Palacio de Magdalena

So this was my Friday afternoon...

[[Brooke, Kyla, me, Becca, Amanda, and Sara on our way to the beach.]]

This was my Friday evening...

[[Sara and I enjoying a glass of cava.]]

For those of you who don't know my "night life" habits...there's really not a lot to know. I tend to stay in - I would much rather watch a movie or relax than go out and drink. I figure I should experience some of the night life while I'm here, but honestly? I'd much rather stay home and curl up with a book. It's cheaper (free even!) and it makes me happy.

The group of girls I've been hanging out with seems to be a little more adventurous than I am, but after our long day in the sun yesterday, we were all ready to call it a night at 12:30 a.m. (very early in Spain - Brooke's host mom wasn't going out until 1:00 a.m.).

This morning I slept in a little before Sara and I met up to wander around the shopping district of town. We do a lot of looking but not a lot of buying. This isn't due to lack of interest, but to lack of funds. I've decided that "Well, I'm in Spain" isn't going to be a good enough excuse for me to drop 15 euros on a shirt that I would probably only be willing to spend $15 on in the U.S. (15 euros is about $22 USD).

Another note on shopping - today two women in two separate stores came up to me and started to talk to me because they thought I worked at the store. I must look like I belong here or something!

We returned home for lunch (delicious garbonzo bean soup) and then met up with our friends at 4:00 to go to the Palacio de Magdalena.

If I didn't know any better, I would have thought I was at Alton Baker Park in Eugene...

[[These are one of the exhibits at the "zoo"...there are also penguins and seals.]]

Clearly we weren't at Alton Baker when we saw this:

[[This is the back of Palacio de Magdalena. It was built in 1908 to be a vacation home for the royal family, if I understood the sign correctly.]]

Or this:

[[The lighthouse by the palace.]]

And then we got to this:

[[The front of the palace.]]

And that was my day in a nutshell. I am immensely tired and am going to be what most would consider lame tonight - I'm staying home to do homework, and Skype with people back home...I think it will be a lovely end to this week :)

♥ abigail