Cordoba and Seville

This past weekend I had my first trip with the entire group that is run by our director in Spain. We all went to Cordoba and Seville for the weekend, which is in the Andalusia region of Spain, or southern Spain. The bus picked me up at the residencies early Friday morning because I did not have class because it was Father’s Day in Madrid. The drive was about 6 hours to Seville but I stopped twice. First I stopped at this cute town called Venta de Quijote, which was only for 30 min but I was able to get a coffee. Then the bus took me to Cordoba. This southern town used to be the capital of Southern Spain before Seville. Also, at one point there was a coexistence of Islamic, Jewish and Christian religions, which was very influential in the architecture of Spain. When I first got there I walked around the Jewish Quarter with a group of people and then we got lunch.

Next I needed to meet out director for a tour of the Mezquita or Mosque. The Mezquita was built between the 8^th and 10^th century. When I first walked into the Mezquita I was surrounded by a courtyard filled with orange trees, palm trees and pools. The Muslims were required to wash their feet before entering the Mezquita, which is why there were so many pools. Many of the elements inside the Mezquita were taken from past architecture, for example the pillars that hold by the arches were taken from the Visigoth church. On top of these pillars are white and red arches that were made from plaster and brick.

Arches

The original Mezquita was first constructed in 785 AD but this was only 1/3 the size of what the current Mezquita is. Then in 961 AD an addition was made to the Mezquita, which included a Mihrab, or prayer niche, where the Koran is placed. The Mihrab is supposed to face east toward Mecca but for some unknown reason the Mihrab actually faces southeast. After the Reconquest the Christians did not destroy the Mezquita but left it alone until 1520 when Charles V ordered a building of the Capilla (Chapel) de Villaviciosa within the church but it is rumored that when Charles V saw the Mezquita he stated that he would have never had the chapel built if he knew how beautiful the Mezquita was.

Chapel

Inside the Capilla was a tabernacle that was covered in gold that is carried around the town during hold week. It was massive and looked like it weigh a ton. After touring the Mezquita and Capilla I walked outside the where there was courtyard of orange trees that smelt amazing. After the tour the group headed back onto the bus to go to Seville.

Tabernacle

I reached Seville after about an hour on the bus and got to check into a hotel. It was great being able to stay in a hotel again since I am used to budget travel aka staying in hostels. The hotel was actually really nice and we each got our own bed. I shared a room with my friend Caitlin, which was a lot of fun. After checking in and unpacking a group of us just went to go find somewhere to eat. The city of Seville is divided into two neighborhoods, Seville and Trinna, which are separated by the Triana River. I walked over one of the three bridges to get to the Seville neighborhood and found this pizza place that smelt amazing se we decided to have dinner there. The four people I was with just spilt two small pizzas, which were amazing. After dinner I headed back to the hotel because I was exhausted and needed to get ready for the next day of sightseeing.

On Saturday I woke up bright and early to get breakfast downstairs, which was provided by the hotel. After that we all got on the bus for a tour of the city of Seville. During the tour I learned about how Seville is now considered to be the capital of the Andalusia region. On the bus I passes the main building of the University of Seville that used to be an old tobacco factory, which I thought was funny. Also, we passed many buildings that were used for international exhibition during the 1992 Olympics, which was held in Barcelona. Like many other Spanish cities Seville still has remnants of Arab walls that were built during the 8^th century when Arabs controlled the region. Also, many of the building had burnt orange paint because this is a typical color of Seville and is suppose to represent the sand color of the bullrings.

After the bus tour the entire group went to the Royal Alcazar, or Royal Palace of Seville. We all got audioguides and then were allowed to explore. This Alcazar is the only historic palace that is still used as a private residence for when the King visits the region. The palace is a Mudejar palace, which means Muslims built it when Spain was under the rule of the Christian king; therefore there are many Arab elements to the palace.

Courtyard in Palace

This palace was where Charles V and Isabel of Portugal got married. Every room had really intricate ceilings and a lot of lattice windows, which are typically of Mudejar style. After touring the palace I walked around the gardens, which were filled with orange tress and smelt amazing. Seville is famous for a perfume called agua de Seville that is made from the flowers of orange tress. I did not buy any of it because perfume gives me headaches.

Gardens in Palace

Next I headed to the cathedral of Seville, which took several centenaries to build and therefore is a mix of Arab, Gothic and Roman style and architecture. This cathedral is the largest in Spain and the third largest in the world. The detail within the cathedral amazed me, especially the ceilings because I continue to marvel how someone could paint something that magnificent so many years ago. The high alter of the cathedral is covered completely in gold. Also, it is believed that part of Columbus remains are housed in the cathedral and therefore there is a tomb dedicated to him. Next I headed up 34 stories to the top of the bell tower for beautiful views of the city. While I was up there the bells rang, which made me jump.

Cathedral

By the time I was done touring the cathedral it was lunchtime. Our director took us to this restaurant called Rio Grande, which was on the bank of the river for paella. Then I had free time so my friend Callie and I just wandered the streets of Seville and did some shopping. I got a couple of things. Next I headed back to the hotel to get dressed for dinner. A group of us went to this typical Spanish restaurant and got some tapas for dinner. I have patatas bravas, which is potatoes with a tomato-based sauce, and musaka, which is kind of like eggplant parm but with meat too. At night we all went to this club called Budda, which has really cool Arab decorations inside. Then I headed back to the hotel to go to bed.

The next morning I had breakfast at the hotel and then we all went to the Parque de Maria Luisa, or Park of Maria Luisa. Before going into the gardens I needed to walk across the Plaza de Espana, which was home to the 1929 exhibitions.

Callie and I in the Plaza de Espana

The plaza created the entryway to the park. The gardens were created for Maria Luisa Bourbon, which is part of the family that founded New Orleans. We took bike carts around the gardens, don’t worry Mom I did not go on a real bike because I known that would have ended poorly since I have bad luck with bikes. The director took us on a tour or the Santa Cruz neighborhood, which is the old Jewish quarter. All the streets were all twisting alleyways with a lot of shops and restaurants. After walking around for a bit I needed to get back on the bus for the journey back to Alcala. I really enjoyed my time in Seville and Cordoba and was really happy that my study abroad experience includes trips throughout Spain so I am able to see all the different regions.

Biking in the Park

Un Buen Fin de Semana

This past weekend was one of the last full weekends I was able to spend just in Madrid. On Friday night we all went to this area of Alcala known as La Garena, where there were all these different discotecas, or clubs. I was able to dance the night away and towards the end of the night we even did karaoke. The next day I just hung around Alcala. My friend Kelly and I went into town and I finally had the chance to go inside Cervantes House. The house was a lot bigger then I thought it would be. Most of the rooms were set up to represent how Cervantes lives. There was one room that contained various editions of Don Quixote in different languages. After walking around the house for a little we walked to a castle that is on the outskirt of town. This castle is where Marco Polo interviewed with King Fernando and Queen Isabella to receive the job of discovering the new world. I then went back to the dorms and a group of us watched the movie Blue Crush because we were tired and then headed to bed.

On Sunday I woke up early and headed into Madrid for the day. The group I was with wanted to go see Guernica so we went to the Reina Sofia in the morning and entrance was free. We walked around the museum for a while and I got to see a couple more rooms that I did not see with my mom when I went last week. After the museum someone in the group has discovered that a bagel place had opened up in Madrid so we decided to go check it out. The bagels were okay, nothing compared to the bagels in the US but they were not that bad. It was funny because it took a while for us to get our food but meanwhile back in the States bagels are considered to be a fast meal to get for breakfast.

Retiro Park

After enjoying my bagel we walked to Retiro Park, which is known as the Central Park of Spain. This was the first time I had the opportunity to go to the park and it was beautiful. It was such a nice day out so I just walked around the park for a while and looked at the various vendors in the park. Then we all took rowboats out on the lake for an hour, which was a lot of fun. Then I walked to the Crystal Palace; which is this huge building made completely of glass in the middle of the park. Usually the building is home to various artworks but it was undergoing renovation so it was closed but I still got to see it from the outside. Next I walked to the statue of the Fallen Angel, which is the only statue dedicated to Lucifer. It was this huge statue in the middle of a fountain and serpents surrounded Lucifer. After that I went back to the dorms and sat outside for a little of enjoy the beautiful day. I hope that the weather continues to be this nice and that the days of rain are finally over.

Statue of the Fallen Angel

Also, today I graduated from Alcalingua, which is the language institute I have been taking my Spanish classes at. So from now on I will only have class twice a week so I will have plenty of time to travel. Speaking of traveling I just recently booked a trip to London and Mallorca, which is an island of the coast of Spain. For the last day of classes we had a fiesta in one of my classes and the other we all went out to coffee with my professor, which was weird because I would never do something like that in the US. This weekend I am going to Seville and Cordoba, which is going to be the first trip we have taken as a group and I am really excited about that. Also, it is finally sunny and warm in Spain, which is amazing. I am so pumped for the nice weather. Well hope all is well in the States.

Mi Familia Esta en Espana: El Cuarto Dia

On the forth day we woke up early and went back to Café Libros for breakfast. Once again we had café con leche and postre for breakfast. Then we went into Madrid and went back to the Basilica de San Francisco since the first time it was closed. The basilica was breathtaking and it still amazes me how someone could paint a dome on the top of the chapel and make it so magnificent. Next we went to Plaza Mayor to take a walking tour run by the tourism office because it was finally nice enough to take the tour. We saw many of the places we visited but it was good because I was able to learn some more history about the places. For example, the statues in the Plaza de Oriente were originally meant for the top of the palace but Charles III wanted fewer decorations so he had them placed in the plaza. We also got to see the Opera house, which during the summer they put a screen outside so people can sit in the plaza and watch the performance.

Following the walking tour we went around to the various shops by Plaza Mayor because my mom and Victoria needed to do some souvenir shopping. We then went to this restaurant known as VIPS, which is a chain in Spain. It is like an upscale Friday’s and we were able to get a great lunch that was not that expensive. While a lunch I was trying to figure out how to get to the next site and an older women overheard we and offered to help. She was extremely friendly and explained to me the metro we needed to take and offered other places we should visit. She talked to me completely in Spanish and I was able to understand everything she said, which was great. Next we headed to the Templo de Diablo, or Devil Temple, which is this Egyptian temple that was discovered and reconstructed in a park in Madrid. This was really cool because the temple still had hieroglyphics on the walls and it felt as though I was in ancient Egypt even though I was in a park in Madrid. Also, the temple offered great views of Madrid and would be an amazing place to go to see the sunset.

El Templo de Diablo

After this we went back to Alcala because my mom and Victoria needed to pack because they were leaving the next day. We walked around Alcala and I took them to the cloister nuns in Alcala, where we got these honey-roasted almonds that were absolutely delicious. Then I took them to the Casa de Cervantes, or Cervantes House, and we took the classic picture with the statue of Cervantes that is outside his house. Following this we went to the hotel to get dressed for dinner. Then we went to this restaurant known as Tapelia and had amazing chicken paella. This was the last night that my mom and Victoria would be in Spain. The following morning we had croissants in the room and my mom and Victoria left for the airport around 9 am. It was amazing to be able to have my family visiting and I cannot wait to see them in two months.

Mi Familia Esta en Espana: El Tercer Dia

On the third day we went to Café Rojo for breakfast and had postre, or croissants, and coffee with milk, or café con leche to drink. Then once again we took the train into Madrid for the day. We took the metro into Plaza del Sol and then I was able to use my Mom’s tour book to give them a brief walking tour on the way to the National Palace. We walked through Plaza Mayor and then to San Miguel’s Market, and then to the town all. On the way we stopped at this convent that is home to cloister nuns. This means that the nuns took a vow to never see anyone again so their only communication with the outside world is to see cookies that they bake through this revolving window. We bought a box of these orange shortbread cookies that were delicious.

After the brief walking tour we went to the National Palace, which is the palace that the king and the queen use for important political events and celebrations. In the past the kind and queen lived here but now they live in palace outside the center. The palace is decorated in the style of Charles III, who was the first king to live in the completed palace. We got the audio-guide for the palace so we were able to understand all the rooms. The palace was amazing. Every room was elaborately decorated and had furniture that represented the time period and purpose of the room. Also, most of the rooms had a color scheme to them and had several clocks because Charles III was an avid collector of beautiful clocks. There were also huge chandeliers in all the rooms and some of them even weighed 2 tons. After touring the palace we went to the royal armory, which houses various armor from the history of Spain. It was interesting to see the various types of armor the soldiers had to fight with.

Royal Palace

Following the tour of the palace we walked straight across from the palace and went to the Cathedral of Almudena, which serves as the Royal Church. This church is only 70 years and was only recently consecrated by the Pope in 1993. The church has brightly painted ceilings and is where royal weddings occur and such. Recently the King’s son got married here. Then we walked down to the Basilica de San Francisco, which is known as the Sistine Chapel of Madrid because Goya created a masterpiece by painting the ceiling of the chapel. However, unfortunately the basilica was closed for the day. After, we headed back to Sol for lunch. We went to this restaurant known as De Mondaditas, which was similar to the restaurant I went to in Valencia but there were only 75 little sandwiches to pick form. Next we headed back to Alcala to go get ready for the night because we were going to a flamenco show known as the Corral de la Moreria. Before the show we went to this restaurant known as Colby’s, which is an urban restaurant that had this really cool atmosphere and the food was delicious. After we went to this is a famous traditional flamenco show. The dancing and the outfits were unbelievable. We then went back to Alcala for the night.

Royal Chapel

Mi Familia Esta en Espana: El Segundo Dia

On the second day we woke up quite early so we can get into Madrid nice and early. We had breakfast in the hotel and then took the train into Madrid. We were supposed to go to Segovia, which is a town in the north of Spain. However, due to the cold weather it was snowing in the town, which prevented the buses from making the trip so the trip was canceled. Even though we had not planned on going to Madrid for the day my Mom was able to figure out things to do. We decided to go to the Prado, another art muesuem, in the morning because it was raining outside. The Prado houses many famous works by Spanish artist and other artists. We were able to see Las Meninas by Velázquez, Los Borrachos by Velázquez, El Hombre con el Mano by Greco and various other paintings. This was great because I learned about all these paintings in my art history so it was great to be able to see them in person because many of them were a lot bigger then what I thought they would be and I was able to understand more of the descriptions that I learned about. Following the museum we went to the church behind the Prado, which was where Ferdinand and Isabella got married.

Chapel Behind El Prado

After we started to walk back to Sol and on the way stopped at this café that was near the theater and is known as being a location where many famous writers, for example Cervantes, used to go to eat and write. For lunch we all just ordered a bunch of different food and tried everything. We had a salad, croquettes, chorizo, a Spanish cheese and some bread. Then we walked to Sol and I showed my mom and Victoria the bear with the tree, which was mentioned in my previous blog, because it is the symbol of Madrid. Then we went to Corte Ingles, which is a huge department store that is located all over Spain. This is not just an average department store but has multiple buildings for the various items that are sold there. We did some shopping and walked around Sol and then headed back to Alcala because it started to rain. For dinner that night we went to a local restaurant in Alcala on Calle Mayor, which is the main street in Alcala, and then headed back to the hotel for the night.

Mi Familia Esta en Espana: El Primer Dia

Yay my mom and my cousin Victoria visited this past week and weekend. It was really nice to be able to see my family since I have been here for 2 months so it was great to be able to see them at the half waypoint of my trip. Ok so I am going to divide their trip into the various days that they are here because we did a lot during their visit and I got to be a typical tourist in Madrid, which was a lot of fun. So they got here on Saturday and I meet them in the Plaza de Cervantes so we could all check into the hotel in Alcala. We stayed in Hotel Bedel, which was right in the center of Alcala and was really nice. It was great staying in a hotel because I was able to not worry about making my bed and just hanging around. Then we went out to lunch at Café Libros where my mom and Victoria had their first experience with Spanish tortilla, which is basically eggs and potatoe cooked together and put on bread. After we headed into Madrid on the train. First we went to the Museo de Romantisto (or the Romantic Museum). This is a museum that was just recently remodeled and is placed in an old romantic mansion. All the rooms represent the different types of furniture and decorations of the romantic period, including various types of artwork and such. We were given a booklet about the museum and all the rooms were numbered so we would read the descriptions about the various rooms, which was really nice so I knew what I was looking at.

Ballroom in the Museo de Romantisto

After this museum we headed to the Reina Sofia, which is a famous museum in Madrid that has artwork that ranges from all time periods. The most famous painting that is housed in this museum is Picasso’s Guernia. This painting took up and entire wall in the museum and is in black and white. It represents the attack on Guernica during the Spain Civil War on April 26, 1937. This was such a horrible attack because German places attacked the town of Guernica, which was a civilian town. This was the first time during a war that a innocent civilian population was targeted. The painting shows a house with people inside that are caught on fire. There is also a house and bull in the painting, which are symbols of Spain. After the Renia Sofia everyone was really tired from the traveling and time difference so we headed back to Alcala to go out to dinner. We went to this restaurant that was in the plaza by the hotel that was called Stromboli, which is clearly Italian. It was really good and after that we just went to sleep and prepare for the next day.

Guernica
(we weren't suppose to take pictures but I sneaked on in)

Un Fin de Semana Con Descanso

Symbol of Madrid

I cannot believe that today is the first day of March. I have practically been in Spain for 2 months now and time is flying by. So this past weekend I did not travel anywhere but just stayed in Alcala and Madrid, which was nice to spend some time exploring and such. Friday night the program coordinator took us to this show in Madrid called Soulria. Basically it is a mix of Flamenco music with American music to create the rhythm. Then there are singers that sing songs in both Spanish and English. For example, one singer sang a Ray Charles song is Spanish with Flamenco rhythms while another sang Strumming My Pain with His Fingers in English. It was a lot of fun to see how two distinct musical rhythms could be mixed together and sound amazing. The singers were unbelievable and the show even got pretty interactive at times. People would get up and start dancing and clapping and even singing along with the words. I felt like I was at more of a concert then a show. After the show a group of us went to a club in Madrid known as Joy. It was an old opera house that was gutted and turned into a club, which was really cool.

I didn’t get home from Madrid till late Friday night so I slept in Saturday morning. In the afternoon I just did some homework but then went to the mall with a couple of my friends. I got a couple things and we ate dinner in the mall. After that I came home did some homework and went to bed pretty early. On Sunday a group of us went to Madrid to go to El Rastro, which is this huge flea market that occurs every Sunday in Madrid. The flea market was very large and had everything ranging from antiques, to clothes, to dogs, and everything in between. I walked around the flea market all morning and then went to a vegetarian restaurant for lunch. After lunch I went to Plaza Mayor, a famous plaza in Madrid, and then went to Sol, which is an area in Madrid. In Sol there is a statue of a bear with a tree and I learned that the bear and tree are symbols of Madrid because Spain used to be full of bears. It was finally nice on Sunday so I just took advantage of the sunny weather and walked around the city most of the afternoon. It was so nice to be in Spain this weekend and have a break from traveling for a little bit.

El Rastro