We left the ‘Manc at 8:30 am Thursday morning and with three stops, we arrived in Granada at yet another beautiful 4-star hotel around 4:30 pm. Andalucia (southern region of Spain) isn’t exactly around the corner. At 5:30, we visited El Barrio del Albaycín where we enjoyed an incredible view of La Alhambra (Arabic Palace where Ferdinand and Isabel lived at one point) and snow-capped mountains in the distance. It wasn’t long before we discovered that Granada is a hippie’s paradise. There were packs of young adults in MC Hammer pants gathered together smoking hash, drinking forties, and selling beads.
At 9 pm, we enjoyed a fabulous buffet dinner complete with everything from buttery salmon and pasta to green olives and an assortment of cheeses. Besides the 50-some-year-old waiter hitting on at least 5 of us girls during the course of our meal, I’d say it wasn’t too shabby.
Later that night, I popped open my finest 69-cent white wine (that’s got to be a record…I’m sure the majority of that was to pay for the bottle) and then headed out to a local bar. My highlight of the evening was meeting some middle-aged Spaniards and being told that my Spanish was almost perfect. Pick-up line or not, I’ll take “almost perfect” any day. It’s so cool being able to have a debate about why Pais Vasco wants to separate from Spain and how their educational system is corrupt and real topics of substance in another language. We also met a football player from Kansas (who signed with Dartmouth!) and 3 girls from Denmark who spoke English very well. It’s like you don’t even have to try and you end up with new friends everyday here.
Viernes, el 20:
Remembering that incredible 70-foot long buffet was the only thing that dragged Kristina (my roommate for Granada) and I out of bed for breakfast at 9am the next morning. And it didn’t leave me disappointed. We were out of the hotel by 10:15am to visit la Capilla Real, a cathedral where Ferdinand, Isabel, among other Catholic kings and queens were buried. Next, we headed to la Catedral de Granada, because you can never have too many cathedrals, right? Besides the fact that I felt like I was in barefoot in the Alps the entire time we were inside, it was really beautifully adorned with ornate patterns of white and gold.
As soon as we were given free time, all the girls flocked to what I like to call “Hippie Street with an Arabic twist.” This is where the beauty of strong Arabic influence in Andalucia and the Hippie culture had a baby. I was surrounded by tie-dye dresses and handbags, jewelery, jeweled tapestries, shoes, bongs (ha), and more. Colleen and I left Alex alone for one minute and found her spending her last food stipend on a pair of green metallic sandals. This is how seductive Hippie Street is…never go shopping here alone. With help, I managed to leave with buying only one hippie sundress for 12 euros.
Around 2:30, we stopped to enjoy a delicious menu del dia at an outdoor café at the top of the street. Arriving back at the hotel, we slipped on our bathing suits (a harsh taste of the reality of what the Spanish lifestyle will do to your body) and joined a large portion of our group lounging by the beautiful outdoor pool. Later, we returned to our respective rooms to siesta, shower, and get ready for our evening activities.
At 7:30 we met up in the lobby to make our way to a flamenco dinner show. QUE GUAY! The food was pretty disappointing, but the dancing was amazing. I was fortunate enough to snag a seat six inches from the stage. This position, however, proved to have its less fortunate aspects as well when I was very close to being kicked in the face a number of times. I’d also like to send out a warning that flamenco is much more beautiful if you don’t look at the dancer’s face. Each one wore the most pain-ridden, constipated, spastic expressions on their faces the entire time. But maybe this isn’t much better than being told to plaster a ridiculously huge smile on your face in all my ballet performances. There was even a male flamenco dancer…I wonder if they feel the same way about men like him as Americans do male cheerleaders. All joking aside, though, he was hands-down the most talented. Alex and I also enjoyed being stared down by one of the creepy musicians during the majority of the performance. I’ll be sure to put up a picture…the gaze is INTENSE, but also pretty typical of Spanish men.
By the end of the meal, I was pretty stuffed and decided to casually “go UB” (aka UnButton my pants) underneath the tablecloth to allow some breathing room. It’s a sad reality, but this has become almost commonplace since arriving in Spain. Of course when going UB, it’s imperative that one remembers to re-B before getting up from the table again, and that night I neglected to do exactly this. Turning around to push in my chair, feeling strangely loose and free, I presented my un-belted, unbuttoned self to the party of 20-some people at the table behind us. Relatively unfazed, I simply adjusted and walked away. After feeling uncomfortable and out of place, misunderstood, and confused everyday for the past two and a half months, you’d be amazed at how much it now takes for me to get embarrassed.
Sábado el 21:
Enjoying the bountiful buffet breakfast for one last time, we packed up and left the hotel at 9:15 am to visit la Alhambra. This was by far my favorite part of the entire weekend, and I have the pictures to prove it. We spent a total of four hours roaming the gardens outside and the incredible Arabic archways inside. The perfectly clear 70-degree weather also helped add to its already seemingly fake appearance.
At 2:30, Jesus dragged us out to load the bus and head to Córdoba. The only site we visited here was la Mezquita de Córdoba (Mosque of Cordoba). Once again, we oo-ed and awed over the red-striped archways and the beautiful Arabic architecture. After briefing exploring the quaint town, we broke for ice cream and re-boarded the bus at 6:30.
Arriving in Sevilla, I almost had the wind knocked out of me as we entered the hotel. Suspended lighting, atrium-style levels…there was even a mini forest and large fountain! Hombre, we’re spoiled.
Mary (my Sevilla roommate) and I took quick showers and changed to be ready for a group dinner downstairs at 9:30. Sitting at a table with Danny, Thomas, and Alex, we enjoyed yet another incredible meal, which began with the closest thing to an American salad I’ve seen since being in Spain. While this still included iceberg lettuce, there was also corn, tomatoes, hard-boiled egg, tuna, and olives, and honey mustard dressing. After bacaloa (white salty fish) with tomato sauce and peppers, warm bread, and chocolate flan with whipped cream, and café con leche, I was full as a tick. I probably would have gone UB too, but I happened to be wearing a dress.
Tired from a long day of travel, most of us decided to enjoy a low-key evening, enjoying the luxury of free wireless Internet and the “champagne” shower setting.
Domingo el 22:
Another beautiful breakfast at 8:30 the next morning, complete with warm chocolate croissants, jamon, cheese, kiwis, yogurt, and CEREAL!! Although this particular selection didn’t quite measure up to Honey Bunches of Oats, excursions are always such a treat being able to eat cereal again. We are in college after all…it’s just not healthy to go this long without any.
At 9:30, we left the hotel to visit los Reales Alcázares. This was another incredible Arabic palace with equally incredible gardens, complete with tiled walkways, railings wrapped in lilacs, fountains, and ducks. This was yet another place we’ve visited in Spain where you could literally close your eyes, spin in random circles snapping your camera and still end up with professional looking pictures.
At 12:30, we left this Eden for la Plaza de España, which looked more like a semi-circle than a plaza to me. Semi-circle de España…really has a ring to it, doesn’t it. Besides the plethora of fans and scarves and souveniers being sold in la Plaza, I was drawn to the major cities in Spain represented on the perimeter. It was cool to see all the places we’d visited, decorated in their own ornately blue-tiled cove, our favorite of course being the ‘Manc itself.
At 2, we broke for free time, where Sasha, Alex, Kelley, Colleen, Emily, Leah, and I discovered an incredible Cuban café. We sat outside under umbrellas for 2 hours (in the name of Spain), sipping mojitos and gorging ourselves with Arroz a la Cubana, chicken and guacamole, and fried eggplant. After lunch, we met up with Thomas, Danny, and Kristina down by the water and decided to hop on an hour-long boat tour together. Although the tour information was pretty lame, it was a fun way to wrap up the afternoon.
The hotel bus picked us up at 6:15. After showering, checking emails, and changing, most of the group headed into the city once again for a tapas crawl. This is when you start at one tapas (like appetizers) bar, order one or two tapas and a glass of wine or a beer, and walk to the next tapas place to repeat the process. This is what the Spaniards do anyway, but being typical Americans, we filled up at the first place and only made it to one other bar for drinks afterwards. Activities like going out for tapas or for drinks or sitting in the plaza have become so much apart of my everyday life that I sometimes have to step back to remember how cool this actually is! I loved walking down those streets of Sevilla at 11pm, seeing people of all ages standing at outdoor tables, talking and laughing over food and drink. You can really feel the life pulsing through the veins of Spain.
Lunes el 23:
Breakfast at 8 the next morning, we reluctantly left Sevilla for Mérida at 9:15.
Arriving around 12:00 p.m, we visited a Roman amphitheater and theater. GUAY! So much of it is still so well preserved and the parts that were not were a result of Visigodos and other people groups coming taking the materials and re-using them for their own structures. I am truly blown away each time I hear about the Romans and their innovative ideas in engineering and architecture, especially when in our day an age it’s so easy to look back and label past civilizations as foolish compared to ourselves.
At 1:30 we were given free time, knowing that we wouldn’t be leaving again until 3:30. If you knew how small of a nothing town Mérida is, you would have been a little panicked too. We just about bought out the Spanish subway and the adjacent ice cream shop, both of which were being worked by one poor frantic man. Our presence had probably temporarily doubled the population of Mérida. After lunch and ice cream, Alex, Will, Danny, and I walked around stopping soon after for a café con leche at another outdoor café. I’ll probably have to slowly wean myself off of this café lifestyle before returning back to the states☹
We hopped back on good old Tres Pilares and returned home in Sal a little before 8pm. Before I conclude this extremely long post, I’d like to explain a little something about our love-hate relationship with our excursion bus, Tres Pilares, which has accumulated a wide variety of nicknames like “Tres P,” “T cubed,” and just plain “TP.” Driven by dear old Lucio (who not even the fluent girl in our group can understand), Tres P constantly smells of feet and BO, lacks ventilation, bathroom and legroom of any kind. And yet, we’ve become strangely attached to this disgusting bus over the course of our excursions.
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