¡Córdoba y Granada!

Whew. Where to begin? Every day is a new adventure here, and I wish I could write about every single thing. But I can’t. So here are a few of the cooler things that have happened.

Last weekend we traveled to Córdoba and Granada with my group. We arrived in Córdoba in the early afternoon. We saw this really cool mosque that had a church inside of it. Yes, the Christian church was inside of the mosque. The reasons behind this were: A) the mosque was beautifully created, and they didn’t want to destroy it. B) Due to the architecture of the columns and the arches, they couldn’t just rip down part of it. It was an all or nothing thing. C) It made them seem merciful to allow it to remain standing. However, it was prime real estate, so they built the church in the very center of the mosque. It was cool.

We also saw the Jewish quarter, did some shopping, and ate some delicious food. That was Córdoba. Small, beautiful, and awesome.

Thank Anna!

We then piled in the bus again and headed for Granada. Granada was incredible. Definitely my favorite place we have been . . . other then Sevilla of course. The first day we were in Granada we did a nice little tour of a church and then had the wonderful opportunity to see Flamenco in a cave, which Granada is famous for. I was an idiot and forgot my camera; so all pictures of the Flamenco belong to my dear friend Anna.  I had seen it once before, but this was another thing all together. It was mesmerizing. So if you are in Granada, go see the Flamenco in the cave, it just adds so much to the ambiance.

Thanks Anna! 

The next day we met up to visit the Alhambra. For those of you who don’t know, the Alhambra literally means “the red one” in Arabic. It was a palace and fortress built by for the Muslim Emirs in Spain. After the Reconquista of the area by the Christians in 1492 (seems to have been a lot going on that year…), the Christian rulers used it as a get-away of sorts, Charles the V used it as a honeymoon location. After being forgotten for a time, it was “re found” and has since been refurbished and opened for tourists.

Anyway, this place was cool. The detailed molding and mosaics were incredible. I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of work it took to decorate the place, and our tour guide told us a lot of the mosaics (which covered all of the walls, when the place was in its prime) were destroyed as tourists took mementos off of the walls before it was made into an official destination. So, even with a significant amount of the décor gone, it was outstanding. I tried to take some pictures of it, but as usual it looks substantially less awesome.

It was really cool to imagine the Sultan lounging in his private quarters or the women of his harem chatting in theirs. The main area where politics and business were done, El Salón de los Embajadores, had a domed ceiling, but if you look at pictures of the Alhambra, it is a square tower. The Sultan had a secret room up top that he could sit in a listen to his men speak, them not knowing he was listening. In this way he had full control of what was going on. And here we thought Orwell was original in his Big Brother idea… This was also where Christopher Columbus received Isabel and Ferdinand's support to sail to the New World.

The Patio de los Leones is the most famous part of the Alhambra with its fountain of lions. It was pretty cool to see how intricate the lions were, they had recently been restored so they were even more magnificent. There were lots of fountains, the Sultans found the sound of running water to be peaceful, so they were everywhere and quite well designed.

So the Alhambra was incredible. I cannot do it justice . . . but if you are in Spain go to Granada and visit it. Oh. Did I mention the Sultan’s summer palace was like a 10-minute walk away? So we visited that as well. It wasn’t a place where he would sleep, just a place to get away and cool off. The gardens there were beautiful and it was just lovely.

After the Alhambra we had free time until the following day. Cade and I did a bit of shopping, walked around Granada a bit, and then met up with some friends to hit a local club one of our professors told us about. It was in a cave. Yes, the same type of caves we saw the flamenco in. The other cool thing was that it had hugewindows looking over the lit up Alhambra. It was a beautiful location, and the club didn’t suck too much either. ;)

The next morning we went on a tour of another church and walked around the city a bit. Honestly I am not sure entirely what we saw because our tour guide was just so dang adorable. He was Spanish, but spoke English with a British accent and just knew everything. I think we all were just a bit in love by the time we had to say goodbye.

So that was Granada. It was such a stunning city. Some of my best memories will be from Granada and I highly recommend it to anyone going to Spain.

Coming back and going to class was a little tough. Seriously, I am so thankful our teachers are realistic about homework and such. Not to mention most of them definitely thing us getting out and experiencing the culture is of significantly more importance. My business professor spent an hour giving us a list of bars and clubs we need to try out. I would have to go out every night I have left in Sevilla to make it to all of them. Our professors are awesome, I am learning a lot, but I don’t feel too bogged down by homework. So that is great.

My Spanish is getting better every day and apparently I am looking more like a local too. I have now been approached for directions on 6 different occasions. Cade and I also have some local spots. Miguel is our dear friend and waiter at a restaurant we frequent for tapas before or after our late classes. He is such a dear . . . free drinks, Spanish lessons, and laughs. We have even been introduced to some of the other wait staff and just love them all. We also may or may not know the guy at the nearest heladaría. He has been trying to get us to deviate from our favorite, Kit-Kat for weeks now. Free samples every time we go in. There is no way I am getting anything other than Kit-Kat. That stuff is good. I applaud his diligence, though.

The man who lives on a mattress with his gorgeous dog gave me a head nod today. After almost a month of smiling as I walked by I found this to be a great accomplishment. It is cool to walk around Sevilla and run into locals I recognize. From Miguel to Mattress Man, these people are just a few of the things making Sevilla feel like home, finally.  

So there is that. As always, comments, messages, emails, smoke signals, pigeons . . . all are welcome. Also. If you want some laughs and some true insights into studying abroad, visit this link: http://thetimeistudiedabroad.tumblr.com.