In the study abroad program there are two mandatory trips that we have to attend in Spain. The first is Andalucia and the second is Barcelona. Last week we visited Andalucía which is a region in southern Spain on the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. It would be considered something like a state in the US if that makes sense. Anyhow, in the four days that we were there we visited three cities: Córdoba, Sevilla, y Grenada.
First up was Córdoba. The city of Córdoba seemed pretty small. We didn't stay there that long and I feel like I seen all there was to be seen in Córdoba within 2 hours lol. We got a tour of the Mosque of Córdoba. Our tour guide's name was Africa. I thought that was pretty cool. "Supposedly" this place was ALL MOST one of the 7 wonders of the world lol but it didn't make it. Word on the street is that it's under review (Womp. Womp.) But no the place was really cool tho. It was originally a pagan temple, then a Visigothic Christian church before the Umayyad Moors at first converted the building into a mosque, and then built a new mosque on the site. After the Spanish Reconquista, it once again became a Roman Catholic church. It's a fascinating building that symbolizes the many religious changes Cordoba has undergone over the centuries.
What's anything without orange trees in Spain ?
One of the altars
Even though I'm not sure what's so "wonder"ful about it for it to be considered one of the wonders of the world..it does look pretty legit in the background of this picture. When I think of 7 wonders I think of the Grand Canyon. Like seriously how did it get here?? See...makes me wonder. This...I KNOW how it got here lol. People built it! Africa showed us around the old town and Jewish quarter. I noticed the streets were really small. They immediately reminded me of the street in Brazil that the little boy ran down to give Snoop the phone in his "Beautiful" video. Random I know lol. I'll show you in case you forgot. It's only 20 seconds.
I crack up every time I think about the streets in Córdoba now.
There's Africa lol
It's winter so the flowers don't look their best but I'm sure they are beautiful in spring.
Next on the itinerary was Sevilla.
Cliffs we passed on the way to Sevilla. I'm happy I was sleep when we passed through here. They woke me up for a second so that I could look at them, but the bus driver was driving a little too fast and any sane person would rather die in their sleep. So I went back to sleep lol. Samara said she heard the breaks screeching. That's crazy.
Picture reminds me of a car commercial.
I think Sevilla was my favorite city out of the three. It reminded me so much of Florida plus the weather was warm! We stayed in a nice hotel called Doña María. In the bathroom they had the best hotel condiments ever. Shoe shine?! Have you ever gotten shoe shiner from a hotel?? I mean I know it would be pointless for me to have shoe shiner, but the idea was nice! The only weird thing about the hotel was that the beds were a little too close for comfort.
Why did they not just make it a Queen/King sized bed? Beats me.
We saw the place where a scene from one of the Star Wars movie was filmed. I don't watch Star Wars but if you are a true fan maybe you will recognize it. It is called the Plaza de Sevilla.
Every city in Spain has one of these little thingys.
Looks familiar? Today, the plaza mainly comprises government offices. We didn't get to go inside but the outside was cool. Nice chill spot to people watch. After that we visited the Royal Castle. They don't allow people to see the Royal Castle anymore but I guess we got superstar treatment because they opened the gates for us......I meeeeean after all this money we paid we BETTER see some Royal Castles!
So cute.
From there we walked to La Giralda which is the 3rd largest Cathedral in the world! What I thought was reeeally interesting about this place was that this is the Cathedral where Christopher Columbus is buried! Yea! Crazy I know!
Not sure what the deal is with this. I tried to read the card but everything was in Spanish :(
This is Christopher Columbus's tomb! You're actually looking at a box w/ his skeleton in it! Can you believe it? I'm not sure if you can see the picture all that great but I'm guessing now the significance of the the 4 kings maybe representing his 4 voyages. Not certain just my guess. I know the one one the right is representing his discovery of Grenada. If you notice there is a pomegranate at the bottom of his pole. Pomegranates are the fruit of Grenada. The king on the left is holding a paddle to represent his discovery of North America. It was really interesting. Another fun fact about Chris that I just learned was that he discovered Trinidad. He named it Trinidad because the island had 3 hills which I guess reminded him of the Holy Trinity.#WhoKnew . Of course like all the other Cathedrals in Europe there's a tower to climb. The unique thing about this Cathedral was that it wasn't stairs you had to climb..it was ramps. Sounds easy right? Wrong. It was 35 ramps and I only made it to level 16 lmao.
I couldn't take another step lol
I still got a nice view!
After the Cathedral we met up with one of Samara's friends who's studying abroad in Sevilla and had lunch. Lunch was decent. Lil upgrade. Her name is Nicole and she was really nice.
...got a lil distracted
Leggings for only 2 euros hell yea
We ended the trip in Grenada.
Unlike Sevilla, Grenada was really cold. There was huge snow covered mountains surrounding the city.
We toured the Alhambra.
Prison used for Christian knights
Something like a sauna. They had steam rooms. Fancy.
Palace of Charles V. The decision to build the Palace in the Alhambra symbolized the triumph of Christianity over Islam.
Possibly what knights used to tie their horses
Girls in the garden :)
700 year old tree. It was the meeting place for the Queen and her side man. The King got word of it and hung the both of them.
He was a nice tour guide even though he left us a couple of times
Later that night we went to a Flamenco show in a traditional "cueva" (cave) that Michelle Obama visited last summer! I remember hearing the news last summer complain about her staying in a 5 star hotel and wasting money. I mean where else do you expect the First Lady to sleep? In a hostel?? But anyhow while she was here in Spain visiting she stopped by to see a show. The Flamenco dancers were really good!
They had these posters posted everywhere lol
The seat she sat in! (well I sat in it too lol)
Ok so I didn't exactly sit in it...I sat next to it, but I thought I did lol. Close enough.
Old lady had sex appeal lol. Don't sleep on her.
He did the singing
Shall we dance? voluntario número 1
voluntario número 2
Andalucia turned out to be pretty fun. The Flamenco show is so far my best experience in Spain! I wish I could describe the way the music sounded and the whole atmosphere, but I can't. It was just amazing. I'm excited to undergo many more cultural experiences :)
Until next time............................Adios!
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