so much Spain

So much has happened in the last few days. Golly, where do I start?

         Last Saturday, our group took a bus to Cordoba (2 ½ NW of Granada). The weather couldn’t have been better.  There we visited the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos: A castle constructed in the 14^th century, in which the Christian kings lived during their stays in Cordoba and planned many important undertakings: discovery of America, conquest of Granada. The ancient building itself was amazing, decorated with mosaics, sculptures, and intricate woodwork.  The history behind the Alcazar and the Christian Kings, is incredible, however, I found myself drawn to the gardens that were designed and planted many, many years later. 

There were huge ponds with lilies and fish, many fountains, tall trees, flowers of every color, and the smells of Jasmine flowers, basil and oregano within these gardens. They were exquisite. Unlike anything I’ve seen- in real life.

         Cathedral of Cordoba (Ancient Mezquita), our next stop. “Salvador” a professor from the University of Granada was our guide. A very funny and nice older gentleman who thankfully annunciated his words and spoke slow enough for us to catch most of what he was saying. Having learned about Arabic architecture a little in our culture class made me value seeing this amazing cathedral that much more. A forest of marble columns each intricately designed at the (capital) with semicircular arches branching off the top. It’s not possible to write about all that was seen in the sanctuary: stained glass windows, the tallest ceilings ever, with really neat patterns and pictures engraved/molded into them, and many religious statues and paintings. They sure don’t make things like they use to. 

         Hopefully some of the pictures I post will speak for themselves- it’s so hard to explain in words what we saw.

         Our next stop, Los Banos Arabes. This wasn’t just a tour through the ancient and decomposing buildings… we actually got to experience what it might have been like back in the day.  There were two hot tubs, two super cold tubs, a sauna, and a large luke-warm pool.  We spent two hours there relaxing in the quiet, candle lit rooms, moving from bath to bath, drinking the most delicious mint tea and each of us received a fifteen-minute massage. It smelled of massage oils throughout- rosemary, lemon, and jasmine. What a peaceful and enjoyable way to end our day in Cordoba.

         Sunday, we took a 20 minute trip up to the Alhambra here in Granada. We learned that it is the most visited place in all of Spain; approximately 3 million people visit each year. Incredible! An Arabic Castle, built in the 14th century. It was it’s own city back in the day and thousands of people lived within its walls. Towers, columns, arches, engraved/molded walls, mosaics, ceramic tile, Arabic lettering, gardens, fountains, and the most amazing view overlooking the city of Granada--- My words alone cannot do this place justice in the least bit. Once again, I think.. and hope the pictures will speak for themselves…

         Today is Wednesday and yesterday I had my 1^st of 8 flamenco dance lessons. A few friends and I from class decided it would be fun to learn the most popular style of dance in Spain. I’m sure after these 8 classes we will be pros!...haha. We learned hand movements and a few steps, we clapped to the rhythm of the music and learned from our teacher “Ana” a little of the history of Flamenco and the significance of the moves within the dance. Hopefully I’ll have some proof when I return that I took Flamenco lessons.. we’ll see 

         Besides all the fun adventuresome things I’ve been doing- I’m still living a normal studentous (yep, just made that word up) life. Usually have homework everyday (worksheets, reading, questions to answer, news articles to find and share, etc). I’ve got 2 tests coming up this Tuesday (one for intensivo and the other for my culture/civilization class).  I should probably take more time to study :/ But it’s SO hard, especially when there is so much to see and do… and eat. Hehe.

         This coming Saturday we’ll be visiting the Cathedral here in Granada and on Sunday, Annie and I bought tickets to go to a bullfight at “La Plaza del Toros” here in Granada.  Not sure if I’m totally ready for it, but I think it will be a neat cultural experience.

         From Oct 1-6, we have “tiempo libre.” Classes begin on October 7^th.  For our free time, a group of 4 girls and myself will be traveling by bus and train to Pais Vasco (The Basque Country). We’ll be staying in San Sebastian, a town in the very northern part of Spain, almost at the border between Spain and France. I can’t believe we’ll be traveling across the country in about a week. Time is flying!

More to come.. 

Un abrazo