"Time to Dispose of" in Morocco

This weekend I added both another country and another continent to the list of places I have been. Going to Morocco certainly was a different experience than my other travels thus far and it was an incredibly valuable and great weekend that will be difficult to really express in words. But I shall try my best to fill you all in. 

We left Cordoba on Friday morning and took a bus to Sevilla where we were meeting up with our tour group for the weekend. Not only was the tour probably the most economical way to go, as it was incredibly well priced and all inclusive (hotel, food, travel from Sevilla) but I would have had no idea where to go and how to get there in Morocco. Our tour guide was an incredible asset to our journey. He also provided the very entertaining phrase that is now the title of this album as he frequently told us that we would have "time to dispose of" in the ferry station, in the market place, before dinner, etc. 

From Sevilla we took a bus to Algeciras where we got the ferry to Cueta. The ferry was quite the impressive boat. Someone commented that the inside of it was like the airplane and airport combined and put on a boat.  The boat was fast and we watched Africa come closer.  And then we were on the African continent. Upon landed in Cueta we were technically still in Spain though (it is one of two cities in northern Africa that are Spanish strongholds). 

We got on a bus and then had to head over the border. Already the view out the bus window was quite different then what we had become accustomed to in Southern Spain: the people we saw, the condition of buildings and roads, slight starkness of the enclosed border cross station. We were there for an hour getting all of our passports stamps and then we went onward after sunset and in darkness arrived at our hotel in Tetuan. We then had a rather delicious dinner, brushed our teeth with bottled water, and turned in early to bed for one of the best night's sleep I have had in quite a while. It was only about 10pm when we went to bed, but surprisingly enough that time was after a two hour time difference between Spain and Morocco. The first hour was because Morocco does not observe daylight savings, but that second hour was a complete mystery to me. 

The next day we awoke to a delicious carb-filled breakfast, then got on the bus to head into the city for our first sights in daylight. 

TETUAN

Our tour in Tetuan was of the old city or "Medina."  We walked through markets, down narrow muddy streets, and past tiny hole in the wall shops. Stray cats wandered everywhere and were a part of the life in the medina.  It was still pretty early in the day when we arrived, so the shops were still in the process of opening and not many shoppers had arrived yet. Shopkeepers sat in their shops and crafts man worked, looking up to watch us as we passed by. It seemed like we were quite the site as this was not a typical tourist destination. Different areas were dedicated to different types of crafts: leather work, wood work, etc.Then there was also the flea market. As we passed through the flea market, one of our guides said, "Flea market, today no fleas." What a very comforting statement. It was here that the phrase "one man's trash is another man's treasure" came to mind. The entire place really seemed to be filled with trash, yet it was on sale and must be purchased by somebody. 

Other stops in Tetuan included a spice shop and rug shop where the owners explained to us their products. These stops were both very much sales pitches, but also certainly informative of the culture and lifestyle of this city. After our tour, we had our first truly touristy event of the day: lunch. There were performers, music, and a bunch of us got henna tattoos. 

After lunch, it was back on the bus and on our way to our second destination: Tangiers. It was about an hour long drive and I was rather surprised by the scenery we passed through. The green mountains was not what I was expecting from Morocco given the Sahara in the south of the country. Since we were in the northern mountainous region, we were surrounded by farms. Many of the farmers could not afford to take time to go into town to sell their goods, so we would see some women and children sitting along the road to sell their cheese, crafts, etc. 

We drove through the city of Tangiers and the guide pointed out the biggest Mosque of the city just around the corner from the cities Catholic church. Though officially Morocco is an Islamic nation, other religions are present and tolerated. Our guide made a point of telling us that the islam, christianity, and Judaism, were all living side by side harmoniously. Our ride continued on through the city up into the hills where the richest houses of the city are including the king's summer house and a summer palace for the King of Saudi Arabia. Then we drove over to the site where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic. 

After the lookout, we drove a little further past some great ocean views and then had an opportunity for a Camel Ride by the Ocean! That is right, I have now rode on a camel. Granted it was only in a short circle, but that is what you get when you only pay one euro. 

After riding we climbed down to the beach and touched the Atlantic from the eastern side. I could not believe how blue it was. It was absolutely gorgeous. 

After the beach side time we went back into the city and checked into the hotel. Then a bunch of us headed out to find the Tangiers market where we mastered the art of haggling. (I got a necklace for 2 Euros/20 durham.) We also walked by an overlook where you can see the Spanish coast a mere 9 miles across the straight of Gibraltar. 

On our way back to the hotel for dinner we passed many cafes and shops where we noticed tons of men sitting for coffee at outdoor tables. They were all sitting with their backs to the shop, facing out to the street. No one sat on the other side and there were no women there for this  evening refreshment. 

After dinner we went to a cultural floor show which was quite the tourist trap rip off and then went back to the hotel for bedtime. Unfortunately this night's sleep was not as successful as the night before as I found a bug and a couple of hairs in my bed when I pulled back the covers. I decided to sleep on top of the covers. Oh well. 

The next day we visited my favorite city of the tour. We had another carb filled breakfast and then drove the tour hours through gorgeous mountains to a small mountain city: Chefchouen. 

CHEFCHOUEN

As you can see, the entire city was blue and i thought it was gorgeous. We had the most ridiculous tour guide (pictured below) and he explained  that the blue was to ward off mosquitos and demons. Many people referred to this tour guide as yoda. He talked like yoda and slowly walked through the small streets making hilarious comments. 

We went to another rug shop in Chefchouen and this one was much more successful at making sales (they had pretty remarkable prices that even college students could afford, and everything could be haggled down). Then we had lunch at a lovely restaurant that felt like a home and a family dinner type environment. 

This city was also not much of a tourist attraction. The tour had been great because it brought us to what I believe is the real Morocco for this northern area of the country. And then the tour had come to an end and we were back on the bus to head to Cueta, take the ferry to Algecieras, and ride on to Sevilla. 

We got back to Sevilla after the last buses and trains had left for Cordoba, so with our tour guides help we had arranged for a private bus to pick us up in Sevilla and bring us home. Since there were so many of us on the trip, it was not too expensive and very much worth it for the night's sleep in our own beds before classes the next day. 

All in all a wonderful trip that has taken me forever to tell you all about (sorry about that, but now, on May 4th, it is finally finished).  I shall try to keep the posts coming in a slightly more timely fashion. 

Hope all is well. 

Adios

Italy with Jordyn!

So now that I am finally writing (on April 20th) it has been a while since my trip to Italia with the lovely Jordyn Sims. Luckily, I took notes along the way and should still be able to give you all a pretty full update and account of the trip. Aren't you so very glad another potentially long post is coming your way. Oh dear. Ok, let's see. 

We left when it was still very much dark outside on Tuesday morning to head to the Sevilla airport. We knew from the start that we had a rather long travel day ahead of us and having had very little sleep the night before, we were tired from the start. After awkwardly waking up the hostel employee on duty so that we could check out and get our deposit back, we were off walking through the city while the street cleaners were still out. Once again, European cities are rather on top of transportation needs and we very easily could grab a bus from the center of the city, which took us directly out to the airport. 

Our flight was on time and we arrived in Milan no problem. (I think we might have even been a little early.) Now, the Milan airport is not a terribly exciting place, but it is also a pretty solid distance and pricey bus into the city itself, so we passed some quality time in the airport on our super long layover. We played cards, played catch up on eachother's lives, ate some food, and found a Maura Soule look alike (Courtney agreed when we showed her photographic proof). Then it was off to Rome!

ROME

Once again a pretty easy flight, we landed in Rome and took a bus right into Termini Station in Rome. Our hostel was an easy walk from the station and Jordyn set about locating it on a map while I bought my train tickets for the coming days (I had tried to buy them online before coming, but tren italia does not like foreign credit cards- that was a nightmare of a story I won't elaborate upon here). We went to our hostel and while checking in found out that while we were on the ground outside we had apparently missed an aftershock of the recent earthquake that was felt higher up in the building. How dramatic that we arrived in Rome the day after such an event. Actually, except for that one moment at the hostel, we did not encounter much of a response or result of the earthquake during our travels. 

After settling in at the slightly sub-par (though perfectly do-able) hostel we walked to the nearby Piazza Venezia to meet my friend Stephanie Turnbull! It was so exciting to see her and was amazingly enough the first time I had seen her in I think three years. The three of us went to dinner and ate some delicious pasta. Stephanie also gave us some great tips for navigating the city, including the must know method of crossing the street: just go for it and make eye contact with anyone driving towards you. They'll stop. I had some trouble with this at first, but Jordyn and I came to master the art of crossing the Roman streets. After dinner, Jordyn and I (the exhausted travelers that we were) headed back to bed. 

As is always best while traveling and seeing as much as possible in a little amount of time, we were up bright and early the next day and off to see the sites. Day 1: The Vatican! Jordyn and I are both fans of discovering cities by walking everywhere, so that is just what we did. The Vatican was a solid distance from our hostel, but we really didn't mind. We set our path so as to pass through Piazza Venezia in the daytime (where we visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier- or what Stephanie tells us is referred to as the Giant Wedding Cake) and the Trevi Fountain. Then we made our way over the river and walked towards St. Peter's square. Lucky for us, it was Wednesday. You may be thinking, what is so lucky about Wednesday? Well, it just so happens that every Wednesday the Pope goes into St. Peter's square to address the public. We arrived right at the end of his public time and walked up to the barriors of the square just in time to see the pope drive in the pope-mobile down the center aisle, around, and out of the square. My initial reaction to this site was complete disbelief. I can't believe our timing! It was wonderful to see him. 

Since the pope had just been out, the place was mobbed with people and the line to get into St. Peter's Basilica was insanely long.  We were considering hopping on a tour which attracted our attention by telling us that on tours you can go into the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's only having to wait to get through the much shorted line at the Museum. Though the tour guide seemed great, we ditched the tour idea and decided to aid our wallets.  The tour had already provided us with a rather fantastic piece of information: there existed a way to get from the Sistine Chapel, directly into St. Peters. 

We decided to use this knowledge to slightly cheat the system. But I am getting ahead of myself: The Sistine Chapel. It is amazing and I was with the perfect travel companion. We both really observe and take things in at a similar rate and with similar methods. We were both entirely content to move rather quickly through the Vatican Museum in order to sit in the chapel and marvel at the magnificent work that is its ceiling. There are so many things to look at. The chapel itself was jammed packed of people and despite the signs and announcements there was no hope for silence in the chapel. But despite the guards "shhhhhs" and commands of "No Photos!!" we certainly enjoyed ourselves. 

And then came the time to cheat. We followed several tour groups out of a door at the other end of the chapel that (let's be honest) is pretty clearly marked for tour groups only. Fun fact, they don't actually check to see that you are with a tour. We were clearly no a part of the asian tour group that we were following, but were completely able to walk through.  We found ourselves under the Basilica and able to see the tombs of the popes which was incredible and very emotional for some of those around us who found themselves brought to tears in this sacred space. Then we head up and into the main doors of the Basilica (no line waiting necessary). How incredibly worth it. The Basilica is beautiful and huge. I didn't realize quite how high and large the ceilings were until I heard a guide tell her group that the letters that run along the bottom of the dome are about seven feet tall. 

After spending some time in St. Peter's Square, we headed off for some delicious pizza for lunch and then walked down a ways to the Trastevere area of Rome. It was a lovely walk with great sites. I really enjoyed this neighborhood. 

After such an extensive day of walking we headed back to the hostel for a bit of a break and then to a restaurant nearby for some dinner. After dinner we decided to check out the Spanish Steps. I enjoyed the nighttime view. There was so much life there.
The next day, Thursday, was our last day in Rome and the day we headed off to Florence. We had decided to start the day with a visit to the Colosseum, but unfortunately we ended up waiting in the decently long line just to find out at the ticket counter that we could not pay with credit cards. No worries, we would press on to other sites and search out an ATM along our way. Our plans now altered, we walked along past the Roman Forum and back up into the center of the city to go to the Pantheon (Rotunda and area in general). 

After that visit we did in fact find an ATM, and cash now in our wallets we headed back over to the Colosseum. 
And I was definitely glad we made the trip back. After pretending that we were from the EU in order to get the student discount which only applies to EU citizens, we were inside. It really is an incredible place to visit. And once again we were able to divide our time between exploration and just sitting and soaking up the atmosphere. A great visit!
Then it was time for lunch (more delicious pizza!). After lunch we took a quick internet break, walked around some more, and then stopped at a cafe on our way to the train station. 

Then we were on the train and off to Florence where we met up with Jordyn's friend Siena who has been studying this semester in Bologna. 

FLORENCE

After meeting up with Siena we walked the remarkably short distance to our hostel to get checked in before heading out for dinner. Our Hostel was amazing! Budget travelers heading to Florence, Stay in Ostello Archi Rossi for big clean rooms, a free breakfast (including 8 options such as eggs and bacon). 

The hostel also had a wonderful location. So close to the train station, it was also close to pretty much everywhere we wanted to go in the city. We walked down our street and found a lovely little restaurant where I got some pesto pasta which was great. After dinner we went over by the Duomo and found an amazing gelato shop (Mark has told me that I missed the best gelato, but I definitely thought this was the best I have ever had) called Grom that the lovely Katie Kuppens had recommended to us. Thanks Katie! We ended up getting gelato there at least four times. After Gelato we walked Siena back to the train station and then headed back to the hostel where we met two of our hostel roommates, Caitlin and Colleen. They are both students at USF and are studying in London. Colleen and Jordyn live very close to each other and discovered several commonalities in their lives. It is always pretty wacky when those small world moments happen.

The next day we had our delicious free breakfast and then went on a walking tour of the historic center of the city, also offered free by our hostel!  It was a nice tour and good to get some info since we had found ourselves feeling a need to search the internet for information pertaining to our non-guided visits in Rome. After the tour Jordyn and I went to lunch which Colleen and Caitlin. They were really nice and it was great to make some friends along our journey. 

Then Jordyn and I went our separate way and headed to go see the statue of David. This was of course on my must do list while in Florence. When we got there, the line was insanely long though. So instead of waste our afternoon away in line, we decided to come back the next morning around opening time (ended up being a very good decision on our part).  Instead, we decided to rent bikes for a couple hours and take off into the Tuscan country side. 

The ride was amazingly beautiful, though hard at the start. I can tell you I was not at all in proper biking shape for the uphill climb that the lady at the bike shop had mapped out for us. But that was okay. After a pit stop for some water, I was feeling better hydrated and we began to head our way back towards the city, this time mostly downhill. From then on had a much better handle on the biking portion of our day. We biked down and then along the river and stopped by some great views of the city.  

Our ride then continued through the city streets for a while and back to the shop where we had rented. 

After the ride we stopped by the markets and both Jordyn and I just couldn't resist buying some leather sandals (that we bartered for!) and then we went back to the hostel for a bit of a rest and shower time. Then it was dinner, more gelato, and bedtime. 

The next day was David day! We got there at a great time and only had to wait for about ten minutes to get inside. David lived up to and then surpassed all of my expectations. I cannot even believe how well he is shaped and how real he is. Every curve, bone, vein, and ligament in its exact place. And his eyes were full and expressive. So many sculptures of that time that I have seen just have blank eyes, but David had the iris and the pupil. Once again, Jordyn and I followed our tour pattern of sitting and absorbing the wonder. Then we walked through the rest of the museum. 

Alas it was my day to leave Jordyn, but we did have the morning together. After the museum, we went to a delicious and adorable little cafe, did some more exploring and market going, and then after a quick lunch, I was off to the train station to begin what ended up being a 17 hour journey back to Cordoba. Woah. 

I took a train to Rome, then a bus from Termini station to the airport. That section of my journey was incredibly easy and got me in at the airport kind of insanely early. Then there was a little bit of drama on the plane when a lady and her daughter who had already boarded, got off the plane just before take off. For some reason her husband could not get on board and she would not leave Rome with out him. As a result the flight attendants had to search her area of the plane and move us three rows at a time with all our stuff. I was sitting next to two men who only spoke spanish and found myself calming their confusion by translation what the english speaking flight attendant was saying to us all.  After that plane fiasco I had some time to kill at the Madrid airport. I then got on a bus that I thought went straight to Cordoba, but alas it actually went to a bus station in Madrid where I then had to wait another hour and a half until 1am for my bus to leave for Cordoba. I finally got home around 6am on Easter Sunday. It was quite the long journey. But the trip was completely worth it.

And then Easter I got to see Sarah Lewis who was in Cordoba for a few days! It was great to see her. We went to Easter Mass together and then I showed her around Cordoba a bit (though she had already done quite a bit of exploring of her own).

Good times with good friends!  Overall I had a wonderful Semana Santa spring break. 

Hope all is well and I shall continue to keep you updated. 

Adios

Visitors in Andalucia

Hello Everyone!   It has been a while since I have been in touch. So much has happened! As I mentioned las post, this past week was my spring break and I can tell you now I could not have asked for a better trip.

(I have no idea why the following paragraph is underlined, and I can't seem to make it go away...oh well)

On Saturday (April 4th) Jordyn arrived in Cordoba!  She had been in Granada visiting her cousin Kendra. Kendra and Kendra's roommate from UCLA, Drew, both came with Jordyn to Cordoba and then after two nights there we all traveled together to Sevilla. It was a great weekend with really good company. And it was so exciting to be able to show off Cordoba! 

I met Jordyn, Kendra, and Drew at the bus station midday on Saturday and then walked with them over to their hostel to check in. Afterwards, Jordyn and I went back to my apartment for lunch with Pilar! Pilar had made Tortilla Espanola and Salmorejo so that Jordyn could have a traditional Cordobese meal. After lunch, Jordyn and I reunited with Kendra and Drew to walk around the city and see the sites. We went into the Mezquita, walked around the Juderia, and got some ice cream. At the ice cream stand we went to, there were three size options: one scoop, one large scoop, and two scoops. I thought that one large scoop sounded like a happy medium. What I had not anticipated was that the "bola grande" came in a larger than normal cone. Let me also add that the normal size spanish cones are already bigger than the American sugar cones we are accustomed to. My "bola grande" sure was grande. 

After ice cream, the four of us walked around some more, this time over the Puente Romano to see a lovely view of the city and walked down to the Roman Ruins that I had explored with Tara the day before. Tara was one of the other few PRESHCO students still in Cordoba at this point, and after our ruins exploration, the four of us went over to Tara's apartment for some dinner. Tara is not with a host family, but rather lives in an apartment with a couple of other PRESHCO girls and several Spanish students. All of her roommates were gone for the vacation, so we had free run of the living room and kitchen. It was great to get a chance to cook for ourselves and the food was delicious! Stephie, an international student from Austria who is also studying at the University of Cordoba, also came over and our dinner turned into quite the multilingual and multicultural event. We had several Spanish speakers, Three German speakers, and all spoke English. We could also throw in some French and Italian (thanks to Jordyn and Stephie). Conversation and great company kept the dinner event going until it was time to turn in for the night. It was a great evening. 

The next day, as everyday of our journey, was up bright and early for a full day ahead of us. First we stopped off at the train and bus station to arrange our methods of transport for the coming days. Then we got some breakfast at the bakery on the corner by my apartment and ran into Pilar there (a funny coincidence). After breakfast, it was time for the Zoo! We were practically the only people at the zoo when we arrived (it was pretty early on a Sunday morning by Spanish standards), so it was just us and the animals.  After the zoo, we headed across the street for a bit to the Botanical Gardens and then I headed home for lunch, a skype date with my parents, and to pack. Then we met up again for more exploring of the city. With a request for a coffee break, we took a pit stop at one of my favorite places in Cordoba, Salon de Te. It is a lovely little arab tea shop in a traditional Andalusian patio. After the tea shop we walked through the rest of the city to find the pasos. 

Pasos are catholic parades that go on all during Semana Santa (Holy Week) all over Spain, though certain cities are known more for this celebration. Cordoba is one such city that is very dedicated to the Semana Santa celebrations. The pasos begin with crowd of hooded people walking with candles and crosses. The costumes worn in the processions looks very similar (well pretty much exactly the same actually) as the outfits of the KKK. This is an unfortunate association that we have as Americans, but it is important to keep in mind while watching the pasos, that the KKK got the costume from the procession, not the other way around. Followed by the hooded men, comes the float. Float is really not the right word to use, but I can think of no other word that may be appropriate. These "floats" are adorned with religious images, statues, candles, and other elaborate decorations. They way up to 5 tons and are carried on the shoulders of many men, who walk hidden underneath them.  Because of this extreme weight, the processions proceed rather slowly. Following the float comes a brass band playing what sounds mostly like a funeral dirge. It is a somber sight to see, but also incredible. I was very glad we got a chance to catch some pasos before leaving the area. Though our paso viewing in Cordoba was not from the best viewpoint. We got a much closer look the next day in Sevilla. 

Monday we were up once again bright and early and off on the train to Sevilla. The city is beautiful! I loved it and we of course had lovely weather. We walked around down by the Cathedral, which I believe is the biggest Cathedral by volume in Europe (If not in the world). We walked through gardens and then headed back towards the hostel to check in and get stuff ready for lunch and the rest of the day. For lunch we sat by the paso route and were able to see very up close the paso procession. 

After watching the paso, we headed down towards the river where we rented paddle boats! It was so nice to get out on the water and a fun way to get another view of the city. We even got to watch some pasos going over the bridge.

After the paddle boats we went further down the river and to a park where we rented another fun form of transport, a surrey! It was a really nice park and a hilarious way to make our way around it. 

After the surreys we decided to head back to the hostel to clean up a bit before dinner. Little did we know how difficult that would be. Instead we found ourselves literally spending hours trying to work our way around the pasos which now filled the city in order to make our way back. It was impossible. We ended up literally across the square from our hostel, but simply could not cross. We had to throw in the towel and get some dinner while we waited for the paso to pass by and leave an opening before the next one came through (they continued until 3am!). At this point, we were no longer particularly big fans of the pasos. But we did finally find our way back and while Kendra and Drew headed out to find some Flamenco, Jordyn and I stayed in. We had to get up at 5 the next day to go off to the airport and fly to Italy!

I will try to get an update on Italy up soon, but for now have to head off to class. Hope all is well with everyone!

Adios

La Vida Cordobesa

Before I am reunited with the lovely Jordyn Sims tomorrow (so excited!) and head off on my spring break travels to Italy, I figured I would do one more Cordoba blog post. Last time I wrote, I was looking forward to a lovely Cordoba weekend. Sadly, last weekend, I ended up being sick and spent all of saturday in bed and all of sunday indoors. It was also raining all weekend, which certainly did not facilitate an active weekend. Luckily my time in bed helped me to quickly kick my sickness and I was pretty much better by the time the week began. On Tuesday, my friend Laura and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful spring weather that had returned to Cordoba to take some photos of our everyday sites.  Take a look:

Universidad de Cordoba: Facultad de Filosofia y Letras

This is my school where I have all of my classes:

Standing next to the Facultad and looking down the street, here the the view:

One of the many orange trees that are all over Cordoba:

Horses by the Mezquita: Looks lovely, but can make for some pretty smelly streets occasionally

La Puerta Romana: over the Guadalquivir River

Before my sick weekend, I did manage to have a slightly eventful Friday evening. Friday was our second cooking class of the semester. We got to watch and learn preparation of typical Cordobese dishes and then went to a restaurant across the street where we ate the same meal that had just been prepared. It was delicious. Afterwards I went with a bunch of people up to the Plaza de Tendillas, a very central part of Cordoba to see a parade of Tuna bands. If you remember from my very first post, Tuna bands are formed in the Universities in Spain. This past friday all of the Tunas from the Facultades de Derechos (Law Schools) in Spain (including the same Tuna that performed for us our first night in Salamanca) were in Cordoba. Tons of people were out in the street to watch the Tunas parade and show their pride for their cities. Here is a video of Granada, Sevilla, and Salamanca's Tunas:

After the Tuna parade, Mary and I went to the filmoteca and saw a slightly terrible movie. Then I was back home and in bed since I was indeed beginning to get sick. 

So I think that is all for now. Next time I write I will have been in my third European country: Italy!

Hope all is well with you all. 

Adios 

Granada Significa "Pomegranate"

Hola! I hope everyone is well. For me it is time for another update. This time the update is back in Spain. 

This past friday was the PRESHCO program trip to Granada. Climbing onto the bus friday morning felt like going back to our first days on the tour. It was so very familiar, yet different now that we all know each other so much better. Over the past few weeks, having spent quite a bit of time on trains and buses, I have really developed a love for this travel downtime. It is so lovely to pass a couple of hours listening to music and  staring out windows at absolutely fantastic sites. The country roads through Southern Spain on the way to Granada are absolutely gorgeous.  It was the same route we took to and from Sierra Nevada, and I was happy to see it once again. 

And then the beautiful country changed into sites of Granada. Though some modern areas on the outskirts of the city are not that exciting visually, we continued into some wonderfully interesting areas of the city. First stop was at a church where lie Los Reyes Catolicos (Isabel and Fernando). Our tour guide pointed out some really interesting representations of the Reyes that were depicted in the details of the church. Both the king and queen were the power base. They are represented as equals.  At this church I also learned that the word Granada means pomegranate. This is good to know when you realize how many images and sculptures there are of pomegranates in the city. 

After the seeing the tombs we continued on to the Cathedral. It was nice, but at this point really just seemed like yet another cathedral to me. We have been to many on tours this semester. Basically, it was nice, but nothing compared to what was to come: the Alhambra!The Alhambra was absolutely amazing. We walked and walked (apparently six miles, though I am not sure it was quite that far). The Alhambra is huge and every inch of it was planned and constructed magnificently. Our tour guide explained some symbolism in the design. He was a great tour guide, but I was a little frustrated by how frequently he decided to speak in English. We have become very accustomed to tours in Spanish, and most of this tour was in Spanish, but our tour guide said that he wanted to explain important things in English.  We understood his Spanish, so I think part of his reasoning was that he wanted this outlet to practice his English. I have found that to be the case with one of my professors too actually. In class he speaks in Spanish and then will translate random words sometimes. But he can't possibly be doing it for us because he translates really easy words such as hijo means son (something I have known since sixth grade). Personally in this context I think it is kind of funny. He is just so excited to know words in English.

Anyway, back to the Alhambra...

The day was wonderful and sunny. It was hot too and all the walking was slightly tiring, but nothing in this environment could really get you down. At the end of our tour we walked through the gardens. I wanted to take pictures of every thing that I saw (and I did take over one hundred pictures at the Alhambra) but they just couldn't capture how it really looked, felt, and smelled. It was wonderful for all the senses. 

After the Alhambra we went and checked into our hotel. Laura was my roommate and we both decided to take a much needed nap. Afterwards we walked around a little, talked only in Spanish for over an hour (which was great), and then headed back to the hotel to find dinner buddies. Our dinner that night was simple, but conversation sustained it for hours. It was relaxed and fun and getting back pretty late to the hotel, we turned in for the night. 

Then the next day it was up and out to a nearby town where we went to visit the childhood home of poet Fredrico Garcia Lorca.  It was a more laid back tour experience and I appreciated its laid back nature. And once again, the day was gorgeous. We were back in the city by mid day and had the afternoon to explore and get some lunch before heading back to Cordoba. I guess we had been exploring the wrong neighborhoods the night before, because the Granada that we saw on Saturday was way cooler than the Granada of Friday night. There were tons of shops, tons of people. The muslim influence is all over the city, but also incorporated into new artsy and kind of hippie-ish styles. It was great to explore and then we had lunch at a middle eastern restaurant. 

And then we were back on the bus and back to Cordoba. That night and the next day I was incredibly lazy and now I am back into the swing of classes. This coming weekend I will remain in Cordoba, but after this weekend I will be traveling a great deal! For Spring Break Jordyn is coming down to Spain and then we are going together to Italy. I am so very excited to be reunited with her, I can't wait to show her Cordoba, meet her cousin Kendra (who has been studying in Granada), and see Italy! When I get back from Italy I will be greeted by the lovely Sarah Lewis who is visited Cordoba for a few days. Then the following weekend I am off with some other PRESHCO students to Morocco. I can't believe I am going to Africa! The weekend after than, our program is going to Sevilla, and then the following weekend I go to London to see Jordyn, Sarah, and Sadie. I am going to be a busy girl for all of April. Might be a little crazy, but also an incredible amount of fun. Then my travels are over, and the festivals will begin in Cordoba. May should be fabulous, though I will also possibly actually have quite a bit of work to do then. We shall see. 

Meanwhile, life in Cordoba has really settled into a comfortable schedule. My classes are going pretty well. I really like three out of four. The fourth is a constant question. It is my music class that I am not completely sold on it. The teacher is rather disorganized and hard to understand, but I am trying to stay optimistic. I also have a private voice lesson with that professor once a week and it is kind of the most awkward time in my schedule, but I do think my singing will improve. Other classes: My Women's Studies class has proved quite challenging, but also pretty interesting. I have a mid-term coming up next week. It has been a while since I have really had to take an in-class midterm. I think it should be just fine though. My Film class is great. Our class was pretty big, so we just split into two sections changing around my weekly schedule a bit, but in a good way. The films we have been watching are pretty crazy and I have really liked them (some more than others).  My last class is my Politics class. I really like it as well.  

I have also been taking both Sevillanas (a traditional dance that we will get to dance at the festivals in the Spring) and Flamenco. Sevillanas is fun as is Flamenco, though Flamenco is significantly harder. I need to practice the arm movements and need to always keep my hands and wrists moving. It is rather exhausting. 

So overall all is wonderful. Tonight after another disorganized choir rehearsal and what I am sure will be a delicious dinner with Pilar and Pablo, I will be heading out with some friends to a Jazz club in the center of the city. Should be great!

Hope all is well with everyone. 

Hasta Luego

Adios

Ireland: A Proper Update

Hello Again. Now that I have settled back in and have a bit more time, I thought I would give you a more typical and proper update on my Ireland trip and hopefully also some other goings on. I had a hard time narrowing down pictures for this post, so you may be slightly bombarded by Ireland images, but hopefully you enjoy them. 

In the first picture: Look at how lovely and warm it was in Ireland. Actually we did have lovely weather in Ireland, but this first picture is in Malaga. Our flight left from the Malaga airport and we decided to catch an earlier train to Malaga so that we could explore the city a bit. It was a great decision. We walked around quite a bit through lovely streets, went to Picasso's childhood home, and hiked up through a park in the middle of the city which is really a mountain in the middle of the city. What a beautiful view of the Sea and city. And I think we might have seen Africa from up there, but that could be wishful thinking. 

After exploring it was back to the train station and off to the airport. Side-note: European cities are way ahead of US cities when it comes to transportation to airports. They make it so easy. In Malaga we had two options. One a bus that was taking forever to arrive, or a train which was actually less expensive than the bus and shuttled straight to the airport. When we were leaving Dublin we were able to take a shuttle bus from inside the city straight out to the airport. So easy! Way better than taking three different subways from JFK to Grand Central. Thumbs up to Europe on this one. Also, in most of the cities I have been to the train station and bus station are super close to each-other if not side by side. Once again, just logical and easier. 

So since our transportation was so easy, we got to the airport excessively early and had quite a bit of time to kill before our incredibly easy check in and security check and then another spell of time before the flight actually boarded. In the terminal we met a guy from Cadiz who was also on our flight and so we were able to spend that time practicing our spanish some more before embarking on an english filled weekend. 

The flight was on time and easy, though I must say Ryan air makes it quite difficult for you to sleep on their flights because they are always trying to sell you something. Rather annoying, but it was all okay because then we landed and were in Ireland! We flew into Shannon airport and then after bidding our new Spanish friend goodbye found and taxi to take us out to our Bed and Breakfast for the night. We were spending the night at Tara Green B&B. It was a bit of a splurge for the cheap college traveler, but completely worth it. I slept so well that night in an incredibly comfortable bed and awoke bright and early the next morning to a traditional Irish breakfast complete with delicious homemade bread and eggs that came from the chickens they had in the backyard. To all your Trinity folks out there, this chicken coup did not only have chickens, but had a rooster, and two bantams. That is right, my first real bantam siting. I had such Trinity pride to see our silly little mascot strutting its stuff.  

During breakfast we met an American couple visiting Ireland for the weekend. They lived in Germany. The boyfriend/husband(?) was stationed there with the army. We also met two men from Spain who we once again could practice our Spanish with. They were in Ireland for some sort of Karate class. I don't know, I wasn't entirely clear on the plans of their trip. But I do know that one of them was an anthropology professor which was very exciting for my friend Tara who is an Anthropology major. 

After breakfast we thought we had to head off straight to Limerick to catch our train to Cork, but the woman who ran the B&B was rather insistent that we not rush out and spend time stopping at Bunratty Castle nearby. She even called the train company to see if we could change our reservations. So after paying and receiving a complementary Irish Whiskey shot glass (haha what?), we were off to explore the castle. 

View from a Castle Tower

Coming out of the dungeon

Rayna and Viola atop another tower

The castle was fun to tour and we had a hilarious guide. He was a little Irish man who acted out everything he was describing. Quite entertaining. After a brief tour, we could explore the castle ourselves and headed through some rooms, up to the towers, and down into the dungeon. Our tour guide had explained to us that people would be lead down the narrow stairs to the dungeon and then pushed down the last "stair" which was around and sudden corner and was a five meter drop. ouch. What an unfortunate fate. 

After spending some time in cute shops across the street from the castle we got on a bus to Limerick. We ate lunch quickly in Limerick and then it was off on the train to Cork. 

Tara admiring the beautiful Irish Countryside from the train

Tara and Rayna both have friends studying in Cork and quite the stroke of luck, these friends lived super close to each-other so it was very easy to spend the evening together and then split up for separate sleeping arrangements. We cooked dinner that night in Rayna's friend Rachel's apartment to save on spending and then headed out to a couple of Pubs. I really enjoyed the Pub scene. It was very relaxed and a nice relief to have nightlife without cigarette smoke (which is currently not permitted inside public places in Cork). Tara and I turned in a bit earlier then the others and left with her friend Tess to her apartment. 

The next morning we awoke to see sunshine! We got so lucky with our weather while in Ireland. The first day had been gray and a bit misty, but after that we saw quite a bit of the sun. Tara and I met up with Rayna and Viola, got some breakfast at a nearby grocery store (I had a bagel for the first time since January and it was delicious. I was also quite pleased with the amount of tea I was able to have this weekend). Then we walked around Cork a bit on our way back to the train station. Cork is a small city and was very enjoyable to explore, especially in the lovely sunshine. 

After Cork, it was time to head up to Dublin. The day in Shannon and Cork had been Tara's birthday. Now, Day 2 was dubbed Goat Day. Tara has a friend who lives on a goat farm about an hour outside of Dublin and that was our destination for the evening. It was amazing to go there. In Dublin, after quite a bit of confusion and frustration (we were having cell phone and communication troubles) we met up with Tara's friend Soren and I was able to meet up with Claire! Soren had been in Dublin for a hockey match (men's field hockey that is) and was able to drive us out to the farm. I actually went in the car with two of his hockey friends, Ashley and Chris, who were nice enough to also drive to pick up Claire. It was a huge help and really nice of them. They were great guys and invited us to a Pub to watch the Rugby match, but after being there briefly we had to get to the farm and be able to look around a bit before the sun went down. 

The house was absolutely amazing. They live in the most gorgeous countryside on 500 acres of land. And the house itself is an 18th century farm house. It was huge and easily accommodated all of us. When we got there, Soren's mother offered us tea and apricot cake (which was great) and then we got a bit of a tour of the house. And then it was goat time!

There were so many of them. I won't elaborate on this too much, since there is quite a bit of goat time featured in the film in the previous post, but I will say that I loved seeing the goats and Soren and his mom were very nice to show us around and be such great hosts. After seeing the goats we went with Soren, his brother, and their friend to the Greyhound track to see the greyhound races. Now, I have heard before that greyhounds who race a very mistreated animals, but apparently that is not the case in Ireland. They assured me that all the dogs were treated well. Seeing the races and the families that turned out for this as their Saturday night activity was quite the cultural experience. Tons of people were there. Children got dressed up and girls around my age came dressed as if they were going clubbing: skimpy shiny outfits, tons of makeup, super straightened hair, and incredibly high heels. It seemed a strange place to be dressed like this, especially since a few of us equated the family aspect of it to a night of bowling with your family in the US.  We stayed through I think about 7 of the 11 races and then headed back to the farm where we spent the rest of the evening hanging out around the fire and talking. It was great company and great fun. It was great to be in a place that was not a tourist destination. I really feel we saw some of the real Irish life. And we also learned some Irish lingo such as "That's so savage" to mean "that is so cool." 

The next morning we had planned to get up to see the sunrise over the fields, but unfortunately we misjudged the time and when our alarm went up the sun was already shining. But that was okay, because we were met by a most beautiful morning anyway. We got dressed and headed out to the fields. It was serene. So peaceful and wonderful. Claire described that she was experiencing a weekend she knew she would not forget. I agree completely. It was a dream. 

A view of the house from the field

Claire and I 

After breakfast with the family it was time to leave. I had been such a comfortable stay and they had all been so welcoming. Soren's dad took us to the train station and then we were off back into Dublin. We only had about two hours, but luckily we had Claire with us to show us some sites! She took us to lunch at her favorite destination, Lemon crepe and coffee. It was delicious! After lunch we walked around a bit. The streets were full of people as it was the weekend before St. Patty's day. It was fun to see the crowds, but it did prevent us from getting around quickly and seeing more. Then Claire brought us to our bus stop and bid us farewell. It was wonderful to see her and sad to leave her. 

The airport was pretty easy once again, but we did end up running to our gate since it was really far away from the security check. Turns out we were in no danger of missing our flight, but it certainly didn't hurt to get there as quickly as possible. For Ryan air flights there are no seat assignments so you want to get in line to board as soon as possible if you wants seats together with your fellow travelers. We succeeded on both flights. 

And then we were back in Spain. Our flight got into Malaga to late to make the last train back to Cordoba, so we stayed in a hostel that night (my first hostel experience) and the headed back to the train station bright and early for a 6:45 train back to Cordoba to make my first morningclass at 10am. Needless to say I was quite tired that first day back.  What a wonderful weekend it had been. I must say, it was also quite lovely to arrive in the very familiar Cordoba train station and feel right at home. 

I could take more time right now to update you on Cordoba life, but I feel this had been long enough for one post. Check back in the coming days for more updates. Hope all is well with everyone!

Adios

Tara Day, Goat Day, and Dublin Day- My Amazing Ireland Weekend

I will try to write later, but for now I wanted to put up something of my trip to Ireland. The video below are some very poorly edited clips from our adventure! We started in Shannon, then went to Bunratty Castle, and then Limerick to Cork. We spent the night in Cork with some friends and then the next day it was off to Dublin. My friend Tara has a friend who lives on a goat farm an hour outside Dublin and staying there was incredible! (Don't worry, plenty of the goat farm is featured in the video.) The last day it was back to Dublin briefly, while my good friend Claire showed us a few sights and then we were off to the airport and back to Malaga. It was an absolutely amazing weekend. And while I am happy to be back in Spain, I didn't want to leave. I definitely want to go back at some point hopefully not too long from now and spend more time in Ireland.