Andalucia Trip- Part 2

Cordoba
Oh Cordoba, ancient and holy. The Moorish and Jewish influence still loomed in the aura of Cordoba. Although the two peoples have not lived there for hundreds of years, their presence is felt in the old part of Cordoba. The main attraction in Cordoba is the Mezquita. It is the Cathedral/Mosque built in the 720's and then Christianized in 1500's. This structure is famous world wide. Honestly I could not believe I was actually seeing it in person and not from a picture. It looks exactly as it does in the pictures, only bigger. It feels different than a cathedral, it is more holy and simple. Although it is now a place of worship for Christians it bothered me that such a unique mosque would be taken from the Moors. Fernando III was the one who wanted to build the cathedral shortly after the conquest of the moors in 1492. Before he commissioned it to be built he went to Holy Roman Emperor, Carlos V, and asked permission. Permission was granted with out even knowing what the Mosque looked like. Because of the rarity, they did not tear it down, but simply built a cathedral right in the middle of it. After it was built and Carlos V visited he said of the new cathedral, "You have taken something you could have built anywhere, and ruined something truly unique." That was exactly what it felt like inside. I made a movie with some documentary from the Mezquita, but it is not loading. It was sort of a walking tour, a short one. The Mezquita has 840 of the red and white horseshoe arches, typical of Muslim design. I will put a picture up. We walked around the old Jewish quarter which was very cool. Cordoba, especially, the Jewish quarter, is known for it's beautiful patios. The people adorn them with flowers and plants, and in May there is a big competition to judge who has the most beautiful one. They are open to passerbys so we got to go in and see those. Also there is a famous street called Calle de Los Flores where all the tourist take pictures, so of course we took them too. You can see the tower of the Mezquita at the top of the picture. This city ranks as my favorite from the whole trip. I woke up early to run and see the sunrise by the old roman bridge, and it was just great to be up and look at the city when everyone was sleeping. I got a really cool picture of the city at night too, which I included. At the end of our time in Cordoba we visited a cool old synagogue which was only a room. It had Hebrew written all over the walls quoting the Old Testament. I thought it was really cool, and such a hidden special place. We also visited an Alcazar in Cordoba, but it was not nearly as ornate as the one in Sevilla. There were a lot of good little moments in Cordoba like when we asked an old man to take our picture, he had never used a camera before, and when we walked into the candy store and all bought the weirdest thing we could find. I found gummy flan...only in Spain. Emily and I dressed up as Mudejar people, I wore the turban she wore the shawl around here head, we didn't go out in public though don't worry. We were just feeling the spirit of Mudejar.
Granada
Our last city. This city is hard to explain. It was the first city in Spain I have seen with mountains, that was exciting, the high ones even had snow! The Alhambra, which is the main attraction sits up on a hill above the city. The Albaycin, the old Muslim area, also sits on a hill adjacent to the Alhambra. The rest of the city is down in a valley. We stayed up next to the Alhambra, so we walked down the big hill to get down to the city. The Alhambra was built in the 700's when the Moors conquered Spain. It was built as a huge fortress/ palace. The structure is giant and has various buildings. The first we saw was the Palacio de Nazarin. I have a picture in the first courtyard, the Court of Myrtles. You can see the Mudejar deco and the famous muslim baths. It was cool to try and picture the wealthy Al-Andalus elites living here. They had it good, they lived in a beautiful palace they created for themselves. Another interesting room was the Court of the Lions. In the middle stood a font, and at the base of the font were 12 lions. They were said to represent the 12 tribes. Another cool fact is that the Muslims created a clock out of the formation, and at each fifteen min the lions would spit water out of there mouths. When the Christians came in and conquered they took the fountain apart to see how it worked, and they ruined it so it never worked again. I was a little bummed though, because the lions are under reconstruction so they weren't on display. After the Palacio we walked through the elaborate gardens that as one girl on the trip said,"Will take you up on hills you didn't even know you could get to!" They were huge. The had lots of little pools and carved hedges. They led over to another palace on another hill. It was really cool. All we really saw in Granada was the Alhambra. We ran down the hill to the city and then back up in the Albaycin neighborhood to a look out that is famous to see Granada at sunset. It was quite the hike, but it was awesome. That's where I took the picture of the Alhambra lit up. Then we walked back down and had Kebabs! That was definetly another highlight. They were such tasty Turkish goodness. It was fun to walk around the town a little that night. I found Meringue's at a pastry shop, they were so tasty as well! The next morning Emily, Susie, and I woke up at 6:30 to run up to the Albaycin to the look out to watch the sunrise! It was freezing, but since it was Saturday morning nobody was up. We were all alone, and we got to watch the sunrise over the snowy mountains. I loved it so much, it was the perfect way to bring in the morning. I was thinking to myself, I am just up watching the sunrise in Granada, Spain, I probably never be here again! It was such a cool experience. I definitely realized I need to relish those experiences. On the way home to Alcala, we stopped at the ever famous Don Quixote windmills. They are up on a very windy hill in the region of La Mancha, hence Don Quixote de La Mancha. We imitated the battle that Don Quixote had with them. It was such a great trip, Spain is full of so many hidden treasures no one really recognizes! It is great!

Andalucia Trip

Last week the whole group headed down south for five days! The region in the South of Spain is called Andalucia. It is known for its warm weather(it was mid 60's-70 when we were there), gazpacho(not a fan, cold tomato pudding stuff), orange trees, and much Muslim influence in architecture and design especially. On our way down there we stopped in Merida. Merida is one of the oldest cities founded in 25 B.C. by the Romans. It was the Roman capital of Spain. They built temples, theaters, and aquaducts. Most of these still remain in parts today. We first crossed an 800 meter Roman bridge. Before I found out it was 800 meters, I said to people "Oh I bet this is about 800 M, I could do intervals on it!" Just an aside, anyway. As we walked up to the main ruin, the teatro and ampitheater, we passed the Temple of Diana. It was just sitting there amongst the newer buildings. That's how it was everywhere in Merida. Roman ruins randomly all throughout the city. The theater was pretty cool, still very much intact. My friend Emily and I even acted out a little play on the stage there. We took a huge group picture there, that the one with 46 people if you couldn't figure it out!
Sevilla
Oh beautiful Sevilla, a big city, surrounded by the Guadalquivir River. It had the feeling of a busy, lively city. There were always many people out and about. Sevilla is famous for their Flamenco which we were privileged to see a show! That is where the movie come from. It was by far the most cultural activity I have done in Spain. We sat in this little theater and watched an hour and a half of Flamenco dancing. The dancers loved what they did, it was so fun to watch their passion for the dance. The would yell Ole! at the end of every song and then wait for all of us to yell it back, it was sweet. We visited the Sevilla Cathedral. It is the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world. It is famous because it holds the bones of Christopher Columbus( which have been switched from here, to Cuba, back here, and there, and now here?!) We got to climb the bell tower which was built by the Moors, where the cathedral stands was originally a Mosque, and they kept the tower. It had 36 ramps built large enough for horses to go up to the top. We could see the whole city up there, and that's where I was shocked at how big it really was. After the Cathedral we headed right next door to the Alcazar, built by Pedro the Cruel. Or Pedro the Great, depending on which side of the sword you were! It was highly influenced by Muslim design, Mudejar. (this is our favorite word because it was everywhere in the south, we made up a language and pose) The most exquisite thing were the gardens. Keep in mind that we weren't there in the summer so none of the jardines are completely full, but they are still great. It was a day of about 70 degrees, and they had fountains, baths, orange trees, myrtle bushes(smell really good). After those two places we had free time, which was basically the whole day. Callie Clark, Emily Bourne, and I walked around trying to find a Flamenco club, when we came upon a bike rental place. We looked at each other all with the same idea, and walked over to it, to rent our cruisers! We rode for about three hours around the whole city! We rode through jardines shaded with trees, and along the river, where we stopped to talk with some Sevillians! It was the funnest thing, and a great was to see a lot. My other favorite thing about Sevilla was waking up early and running along the river. In the morning there were tons of men out rowing, it was really cool. The city was very vibrant.

Fact: Getting a small fever in Spain=going straight to the Doctor

Ok so the car thing was a little something characteristic of Spain. I just found out today another trait, dramatic of coarse, of the Spanish. My roommate Cassi got a little sick today at school, she had all the normal cold symptoms. So she came home and went to bed. Pilar, mi madre, was immediately worried and asked me if I thought she would be ok. I said I was sure she just needed to sleep a little. That wasn't good enough however, so she went back to our room to talk to Cassi. She asked if Cassi had a fever. She replied that she didn't think so, but Pilar went straight to the neighbor, her friend Ana to ask for a thermometer. While they talked back and forth at a million words a minute about how to work the thermometer, Cassi and I looked at eachother kind of laughing. Then Pilar gave her the thermometer and when she went to put it in her mouth, she said no no and motioned for her to put it in her armpit! She doesn't actually have a fever, which is good. But the two ladies told me to watch her because she may need to go to the doctor. I said I think she needed sleep and a glass of water. So Pilar brought in a glass and some yogurt, of coarse. Cassi is still feeling under the weather, what we in the United States would call the beginnings to a cold. Bummer, but not knocking on death's door. I gave her some ibuprofen which she said helped a little. Pilar said that if she is not better by the morning we will take her to the doctor, he sister in law knows of a great one! Oh funny funny Spanish people.

Fact: Parking in Spain is Crazy

Spain is such a unique place. I mean I am living in a completely different culture. So it is pretty obvious that there are things I see everyday that when I think about them, strike me a little funny. One being this problem that although the cars in Spain are all little euro cars, they leave about an inch of space between each other. I took some pictures finally after seeing this all the time. The only way they have to get out of their parking spot is to "bump" their way out. I named them bumper cars. All these pictures were taken on my street actually. Another quandary is also pictured. If there aren't any open spots, which usually there aren't people just double park. It is a very common practice in Spain. The picture actually doesn't depict it very well, but the other picture I wanted I couldn't take because the owners were standing outside their car. I guess cars aren't as valueable to people here. Today on my run I saw a man back right into a cement pole, and he wasn't a new driver. He jerked when the car hit, and then drove off! I wish I could have filmed it, I was laughing my head off!
Changing directions, I took a picture of my favorite candy I discovered here. Actually I didn't discover it, because honestly I probably would be too scared to try it if I saw it and didn't know how good it was. There are all different flavors, like green shell with pink inside(watermelon), greenish-brown shell with green inside(rootbeer?!), and my favorite is the one pictured pink with sour on the shell white inside! Nobody knows the name, but we all love them. I have gotten one for .20 euro at the Alimentacion one street from my house the last three days!

TOLEDO

Holy Toledo! No seriously, Toledo Spain is AMAZING! Conquered by the Christians in 1085, it served as the capital of Spain for some time, no Madrid has not always been the capital, actually Spain has had many capitals.(they are a little unstable)Toledo is rich in history and has been occupied by Visigoths, Moors, Christians, probably some Berbers as well. It is home to one of the largest cathedrals in the world. After 200+ years it was completed in 1493 one year after the Reconquista. We weren't allowed to take pics in the cathedral so I only have view of the outside. I guess you could say it was just another cathedral, empty, ornate, and grandiose. It did have some cool unique aspects, first, when prominent cardinals died they paid to be buried in the cathedral and then a red hat hangs above their tomb, until it decays, and then it means their bodied have decayed. Throughout the cathedral I would look up and see this wilted, dusty red hat, kind of weird! Another controversial piece of info,in the 1700's they tore a hole in the ceiling of the cathedral to allow more light on the transparient, which is a shrine to Mary, of coarse, and they decorated it like a window to heaven. I thought it was really cool, but some Catholics were offended at the defecation of the church.
We also visited a Jewish Synagogue right after the Cathedral. I thought it was interesting to compare the two places of worship, very different. The synagogue is one of three remaining medieval in all of Spain. Because the Jews were so persecuted in Spain it is a miracle it has survived this long.
Toledo is famous for swords(because the river surrounding it is the perfect temperature to cool steel), fancy pottery, and MAZAPAN! I ate six little mazapanes in Toledo! First was from the little nun's at Santa Rita's. You go up to a little revolving door and ring a bell, a little nun comes to the door and you tell what you want, and then put your money down, she rotates it out with your sweets! It was amazing! Plus mazapan is amazing and it is everywhere! That is what the picture is of, she got kind of mad at me for taking the picture! woops!We spent most of the time just wandering into building and through streets, we got lost a couple times, it was great. I also got to see the Burial of Count Orgaz, a painting by El Greco, one of the most famous. It was painted exactly in the spot of Count's tomb, but 200 years later. El Greco paints himself in the painting, and he is the only one not involved, and he stares creepily out at the viewer. The Toledo trip was so great. I loved to experience the small, antigua feeling. Here is a movie, not too great but I made it in Toledo looking out over the city wall!

Retirio Park

On Saturday after the Prado we walked up to this park called Retirio. It opens up into this fountain surrounded by statues and hedges, and in the spring probably flowers! There are tons of Spanish people around running, biking, rollerblading, paseoing(strolling). It is such a happy place. We got some pictures at these broccoli trees, they were so strange. As you walk up some stairs you arrive at another part of the giant park. It was my favorite. There is a huge stair case-plaza-statue thing that kind of reminds me of D.C. and a big pond with rowing boats. When we were there it was almost 60 degrees, so many people were just out soaking in the sun! It was such a good time. Oh and to mention how Americanized the world is, which I am not negative about, it is just funny, there was a Spanish Mickey and Minnie at the park! When we said Hola to Minnie, she responded in this low, husky spanish woman voice! Classic! well I included some pictures of Retirio, to date that is my favorite place in Madrid! For the pic on the right just click on it to see bigger view~

Museo del Prado

Yesterday was spent all in Madrid! Each time I go there I find something new and exciting!Whether it's churros and chocolate, or entertainers all over the streets, my cousin Mike stuck in lockdown at the MTC, it is always an adventure!Yesterday our entire group, nearly 40 people, rode into Madrid to visit the El Museo del Prado! It is one of the largest art museums in the world, to rival the Louvre, and the Met. Famous for its selection of two famous native painters Velazquez and Goya, it is a famous landmark of Madrid. Diego Valazquez painted in the Baroque era of the early 1600's. His art uses mostly warm colors and has a similar style of Rembrandt who was also painting around the same time. Valazquez's most famous painting, Las Meninas can be found in the Prado. We were able to see it yesterday. It is quite large, and is beautiful. When I studied it in art history, Miss Wood said that it is known as the best painting in the world. As we looked at it, I was trying to see why. First, I know because he painted it to involve the viewer. He painted if for the King and Queen, whose reflection is painted in the mirror. As I looked at that I almost felt as though I would see my reflection as well. Another interesting point is that Velazquez himself is painted into the picture.
Francisco Goya painted later at the end of the Romantic period in 1780's to 1820's. He is most famous for Third of May, which documented the revolution of the Spanish when the French invaded. He makes the armies out to be menacing, and the peasants are more glorified. I wasn't able to see Third of May because it was being restored for April. I remember writing an essay on it for my AP art history test so it would have been cool to see it! They also had hi works on display from hi Black Period. They were awful, he depicts gruesome scenes, such as the Roman god Saturn eating his children, in mostly dark colors, and the eyes of the people are white, to look crazy!
We didn't get to make it through the entire museum so we will be going back for sure.