Spanish Snow and Andalucia Adventures

So clearly I have not kept my promise - blogging really does take an effort! I apologize for not keeping you up-to-date on my weekend traveling, but have no fear, because I told myself that if I have to stay up until 2 AM, I will get caught up (its about midnight now as I'm writing, but this won't get posted until tomorrow afternoon because I want to add pictures).


To get you caught up - three weekends ago (4th of July weekend) the Fund offered an optional trip to Andalucia, the southern region of Spain. Naturally, I went, because I wanted to take in all of Spain that I could for the short time that I'm here. There were about 60 of us that went, and it was nice to spend some time with other friends who I hadn't traveled with beforehand. The morning started off early, with us getting wake-up calls from the reception at 5AM - yeah, didn't expect that. I mean, I knew the bus was leaving at 5:30 so I was already up, but seriously, 5AM?? We have a phone in our room, and luckily my roommate and I were both on the trip, but I would've hated to get that call and be woken up if I wasn't going!


We all get on the bus just fine and start to head out, and then we take a detour - my friend Helen who lives in a host family decided to hit the snooze just a little too often, and so we had to pick her up :) After that, it was smooth sailing, and we looked forward (haha) to the 5ish hour bus-ride ahead of us.


We stopped for breakfast at this roadside hostel that served some good breakfast, but I was a little disappointed. Yuki, one of the program coordinators, told us there would be eggs! Like real, cooked, scrambled eggs. YUM. But no, there were no eggs, or cold milk...I guess it was just your typical Spanish breakfast.

The Spanish Mountains 

TONS of Olive Groves

The bus ride to Córdoba was fun, it reminded me a little bit of the Needles Highway in South Dakota at one point because we were in the hills (Toledo is in the plain of Spain, surrounded by a ring of "mountains"), and I got REALLY tired of olive groves, really fast. They smell so bad!! Now, don't get me wrong, I love olive oil, but can't stand green olives (sorry Dad). Other than that, the ride was pretty uneventful, scenery wise. Spain is gorgeous, but nothing really stuck out. What WAS interesting was the Spanish movies we had the pleasure of watching on the bus. Now, FYI, Spain doesn't censor very much, if at all. So if you have a weak stomach or don't really want to know what the movies were about, don't read on (hint hint, grandparents). The first movie, just as background was called "El otro lado de la cama". Translation: The other side of the bed. The opening credits were of women singing right after having sex, and getting dressed, etc...weird intro, right?? Well, then it got even weirder. The first scenes were about this couple, and then the following scene, this guy is with his lover, and they get undressed and literally have sex right on screen. No kidding, you can tell. GROSS. Her face even shows it!! THEN, of all weird things, they start singing, and then the next scene was this guy who clearly has issues with his women singing in the locker room, with dancers and everything. Basically, the entire movie was a musical porno of love, and how you shouldn't have lovers, cheat, etc...it was just weird. The second movie (from Córdoba to Granada) was thankfully not along the same genre, but still very graphic. The opening scenes to this one (I don't remember the title) was a guy slitting his wrist! The entire movie was about this prison gang, and how this cop (I think) infiltrated the gang and then eventually dies, a guy gets his ear cut off, basically it was your everyday horror movie times 1000. SO needless to say, I'm sticking to American movies from here on.


After the eventful bus ride, we made it to Córdoba, and toured the old city - the Jewish District, a synogogue, and the Mezquita. Córdoba was cute, and the Jewish District and synagogue were interesting, but my favorite part of Córdoba was the Mezquita. It's one of the most famous places in Spain; an old muslim mosque that was half-converted into a cathedral after the re-conquest of Spain. (For those of you who don't know, Spain before 1492 wasn't a united country, and the Moors, or muslims, had a large influence on Spain until Isabel and Fernando, the same kings who employed Christopher Columbus, expelled the Moors in 1492). After the re-conquest, the Catholic Reign (Isabel and Fernando) renovated everything to make it look Christian. However, the Mezquita was only half-transformed to show their tolerance for the muslim religion...at least I think thats how it goes. Nevertheless, it was really cool, and after studying it before in college I was happy to visit it.

La Mezquita

After the tour we had comida, and got to go to this little outdoor vendor market for like 20 minutes, where some people bought cheap Spain jerseys. Unfortunately, they didn't have my size :( Oh well, I'd pick one up later I was sure. After that, it was back on the bus, where we watched that crazy jail movie and saw even more olive groves...great fun. Oh, and just to preface, Andalucia was HOT - like, 110 degrees hot. I was dying, and so was everyone else. I couldn't believe that a 4 hour ride south would make it that darn hot! We're lucky we all had water and didn't die of heat stroke.


HOWEVER (if you can't tell, I COULD NOT BELIEVE THIS) there was SNOW in the mountains near Granada!! Now, when I say mountains, they're smaller than the ones back home in Alaska, and even THOSE don't have snow in the summer. HOW COULD THAT HAPPEN!!! I have no idea, but you can clearly see it in the picture. What!!! Mind blown.

SNOW!!!

When we got to Granada we checked in, and then we went to a Flamenco performance. It was amazing!! I thought Norwegian Dancing was hard, but they move their feet so fast, its ridiculous. Its a solo dance, but very intense - and the music was cool too! Just a guitar and a cantante (singer). After the performance, we went on a moonlight tour of Granada, and saw the Alhambra at night, another cool sight to see.

Flamenco :)

The next morning we got up early and headed to the buses for our guided tour of the Alhambra, the most famous tourist destination in Spain. Its a huge palace built by the Moors, and its where los Reyes Católicos reconquered Granada and finally united Spain. It was a very cool building with awesome gardens, but our tour was 3 hours long...yup, 3 hours listening to facts...not necessarily my thing that day. I enjoyed it, don't get me wrong, but probably not as much as I would've if I'd have done it on my own. Maybe it was because it was the 3rd palace I'd seen in 3 weeks...hmm :)

La Alhambra

Amigos!! :)

After the tour we had tiempo libre (free time) and we were famished. Naturally, we searched for the closest restaurant, and low-and-behold, it was an Italian eatery. YUM! We all ordered HUGE pizzas for 8€, which is pretty cheap for comida. Since it was so cheap, we decided to order the 10€ dessert, of course that would work! We all split this humungous trough of chocolate, flan, ice-cream, cookie deliciousness, and then headed back to hang out before the Spain vs. Paraguay game. It was our intention to find a bar to watch the game, but by the time our 5th game of Euchre was over (haha) it was too late, so we just ended up watching Spain dominate (yes yes, I know I already blogged about us winning, but remember this was before that!) and then went to celebrate with a pitcher of sangria and some amazing gelato. As we were walking to the gelato place, we saw people dancing in the fountain, going crazy because of Spain's win! (YES, I know I've done that now too, but hey, I'm trying to keep the story in perspective). After an amazing cup of chocolate fondant and cookie dough gelato, we all headed back, dead tired - another successful day accomplished.


The next morning we got up, packed, and then headed to the cathedral to try and catch mass, or at least get a peek at the building because Emily's sister loved it. Luckily, we got there in-between services, so we could walk around for a quick bit and look at the architecture. This cathedral was larger than the one in Toledo, and much more recent - by 200 years haha. Very elegant! After the cathedral, I was able to pick up my red España jersey, and then we headed off to la Capilla Real, where los Reyes Católicos (arguably the most important monarchs of Spain ever) were buried. Again, another cool place. The tombs were in a chapel, and then you could go under and view the coffins - a little weird, but still neat.

La Catedral

Our tour in Granada was pretty much done after that, and we headed back to catch the bus back to Toledo - a great 6 hour bus ride :( Along the way we watched Terminator in Spanish, which was a refreshing change from the Spanish movie genre :) We got back, ate dinner, and then it was back to life for me - I had homework!! Another amazing Spanish weekend was complete :)