Since Sunday I have been exploring the diverse lands of Andalucia - the cities of Córdoba, Sevilla, and Granada. Here's what I did
Toledo - Madrid - Córdoba - Sevilla: 1 April
The six of us leave Toledo for Madrid via Renfe train at 9 am. We arrive in Madrid just a short 20 minutes later and have a 3 hour lay over before our train to Córdoba. We just satin a small café and drank té (tea) and snacked on some croissants and chatted for a long while. We got into the train platform just 15 min before departure, FREAKING out that we were late because the destination was blinking on the board. Turns out that just means "boarding". I was on a different car than 4 other girls, and another girl was in yet another different car (you'll see this being a trend) and I sat next to these chicas who 1.) I knew were talking about me because I understand Spanish and they kept looking at me and 2. were eating this awfully smelling chips that were supposed to be flavored like ham. Yes, ham. I wanted to vomit. I bet the girl who sat next to me felt pretty dumb when I asked her to move so that I could get out and said "Me voy ahora. Esto es mi parada" (I'm leaving now, this is my stop). Puta española (spanish bitch).
The train ride was about 3 hours, but had 2 or 3 stops in other cities along the way. I don't remember well because I was trying to sleep with these cackling spanish girls next to me.
When we finally arrived to Córdoba, the girls who weren't taking a train later that day had to get bus passes. Luckily the station was right across the street from the train station. They should really do that more often throughout Spain, it makes life easier. We knew what we wanted to see, but could not find a map for the life of us. So we used our survival skills and Spanish knowledge and just asked people in the streets along the way. We were trying to find "La Mezquita". Considered a World Heritage Site, it was first built as a temple, then converted to a Church, then the Moors turned it into a Mosque and it stayed that way. They consider it a Cathedral-Mosque. Original name, right? It was very beautiful.
After this we took a walk down to find this beautiful bridge that led to the opening of the city. I can't remember the name for it, but it was used as a tactic to keep the people they wanted out of the city to stay there - especially during war times. When we got there, we heard drums and horns. We approach closer and we see that there is a procession going on. Processions are very important to Semana Santa. They can last up to 12 hours, but the norm is 6 hours. They walk incredibly slow and wear uniforms that you might recognize. Don't worry, they aren't symbolizing our friends back in the States.
Their hats represent that this is when they are closest to God and Eternal Paradise. We couldn't stay long as we would have been trapped in for 6 hours if we didn't leave when we did.
We then went to search for some food. Probably tapas or something cheap because we wanted to spend as little money as possible while traveling. Sure, I was a little upset that I wasn't eating 5-star meals, but I get to do that in my host house :-) By the way, I have YET to have official paella! I have seen it, and holy cow, the shrimp are huge and they still have eyes and legs. That is NOT what is going to make me try shrimp in the slightest! HA
On the way back, we found this place that was very sweet. We got 3 different plates of tapas, a shared plate of desert, and of course a liter of Sangria :-) After we paid the bill, the waiter gave a business card and told us we would get a small gift for visiting their other store. Just browsing for postcards and cute little trinkets, we found the place that was on the card our waiter gave us and the woman at the counter gave us a small sample bottle of their EVOO. I haven't tried it yet, but apparently the place that we sat down to eat was the maker of the oil.
After this we head back to the train and bus station and we call met up in Sevilla at our hostel about the same time (since 3 of us took train and 3 of us took bus). We get to the hostel, grab a free "Welcome" Sangria, met some awesome Canadians, showered, and headed to bed. As I'm laying in my bed, I hear drums and horns again. I look out our window and, lo and behold, another procession is happening right outside our hostel. They were playing some of the creepiest music to fall asleep to, but I loved it.
Sevilla: 2 April
We woke up, got some free breakfast, and gathered up to take a free walking tour with our hostel. Our tour guide was very nice. He was from NYC and liked to make jokes, but the thing I liked most was that he knew his history very well. I enjoyed listening to all the history because I got to see it right in front of me. It was purely amazing. We took our route past the Cathedral, Rio Guadalquivir, the Gold and Silver Towers, the opera house (with a statue of Mozart in front of it - Remember one of the acts of Carmen? Yeah, he wrote it), Plaza España (which you'll recognize if you watch Star Wars Episode I), parque de Maria Luisa, and some statue of a very wealthy woman of Spain that apparently no body like because she is the reason for such bad unemployment (~40%). Anyway, my favorite part of that was Plaza España because it was absolutely beautiful. Despite the weather, I enjoyed every bit of it.
We came back, ate some Italian pizza and gelato, and took a siesta. We woke up and heard another procession! So we threw on some clothes, grabbed our cameras and away we went. Apparently, Sevilla is THE place to be for Semana Santa, for there are 82 Brotherhoods that do a precession. Each one of them has a set time and their own Imagen. This is the one thing that when you see in the streets, you stop. Don't even try to walk past it or get around it. It's when everything gets serious and you stay quiet and don't move. They are simply spectacular looking and weigh a ton. Sixteen men have to hold it up. Can you imagine? For 6 hours? In this procession, we saw all kinds of marchers, although they were hooded and you couldn't see their faces. We saw women, children, babies, and some men even decided to sacrifice their shoes and marched this cold, long route barefooted. The women and children thing was a very recently allowed thing.
We headed back, grabbed a couple more Sangrias and went to find food. This quaint little restaurant was great. We were their only customers at the time, and we were sitting outside. The waiters were very nice and the food was even better. I had Tortilla Española (basically a potato and cheese omelette, but SO MUCH BETTER!) and pollo al curry con cous-cous (chicken curry and cous-cous). Before we left, we asked where the nearest flamenco bar is, they told us where to go and we headed that way. We couldn't find it for the life of us. Suddenly, I see our tour guide walking down the street. I called him over and asked him if we were going the right way. He said it was on that same street, but honestly… 30 minutes later we gave up trying to find this place I was a little upset that I didn't get to see Flamenco in the Heart of its nativity, but at least I was making a point to see it sometime in Spain.
It was Natalie's birthday so we grabbed, yet again, a Sangria and enjoyed the night. We met out hostel neighbors and they were awesome. A man from Chile who works in Barcelona, a guy from England, a 19 year old traveling all of Europe in 7 months from West Hollywood, and a woman from Holland. We were having a ball. When we left, the man from Chile told us to give him a ring if we're ever in Barcelona for a beer.
Sevilla - Granada: 3 April
Today we were catching a train to Granada, we got up early, showered, and went to get churros y chocolate. As much as I loved them, I felt like I was exuberayting the oil that they were fried in. But since all I eat in my house is healthy things, I was DYING for some kind of grease. And of course, it didn't sit well with me. Oh well. At least I can say I ate churros y chocolate in Spain :-)
We took quite the hike to the train station and once we boarded, we realized, yet again we were on different trains. The other 4 girls were always on the same train though. We don't know why.
I fell asleep on the train and woke up in Granada. Totally not what I had expected. We were super hungry and grabbed a bocadillo (sandwich) for 1,50 EUR. Super cheap. We tried to find the bus station so that we could go buy our tickets for the next day from Granada to Madrid and had a hell of a time finding it. We walked a good 2 miles to get to it. Luckily I didn't bring much with me and my Rick Steve's bag helped out a lot ;-) We got the tickets, some post cards and headed to catch a bus that would take us to our hostel because we were not about to walk another 2 miles to get there. The hostel was the same chain as where we stayed in Sevilla and it was located in the heart of this touristy street with a whole bunch of arab shops. As we would walk by, people would offer us things. I felt like Princess Jasmine in Aladdin when she is walking through the market… "Sugar dates! Sugar dates and figs! Sugar dates and pistachios!!" Granada has a lot of Moorish decent so I wasn't too surprised when I saw that. After we checked into the hostel, we got another free "Welcome" Sangria and we looked at some places for Flamenco. We went to go look around at all those shops and I bought some souvenirs. Everything was so incredibly cheap I couldn't believe it. Especially since a lot of it was actually made in India. Half of us went to get tapas and drinks (Sangria) and the other half went to get Arab food. I didn't think all the spices would sit well with me, so I got tipsy with Teri and Alexis waiting to go to Flamenco :-)
When the other girls came back, Teri, Alexis and I were ready to go to Flamenco. The show started at 9:30 and we got there at 9. Little did we know that we need to get tickets before hand. I was upset once again because I thought I wouldn't be able to se Flamenco in Andalucia at all. The ticket woman at the door, however, said that there was another show at midnight. So we bought tickets, went back, showered, and packed up the majority of our things because the next morning we were getting up SUPER early to stand in line to get our tickets to see La Alhambra. A Moorish palace that all royalty lived (including Isabel of Castilla y León and Fernando of Áragon). More on the Alhambra in a bit.
The flamenco was amazing. At first it was only a vocalist and guitar, as Flamenco is both an art, a type of music, and type of dance. At this point in the trip, I was really getting burnt out of waking up early to go somewhere else and take pictures. Don't get me wrong. I loved it all! But we did SO much in SUCH little time. Which is why I didn't do anything my first day back. I needed ME time :-)
Granada - Madrid - Toledo: 4 April
Seven o'clock strikes and we are on our way, walking up a "mountain" to stand in line for an hour to get tickets to see this amazing Moorish Palace: LA ALHAMBRA. Apparently, when the Moors built it, it was so extravagant and so advanced, that their irrigation systems and plumbing work TO THIS DAY have not been replaced. Surely they've added things like restrooms and food places for tourism, but the original architecture and construction is still there. It was amazing. Not to mention it was built on a mountain and you had the BEST views of everything. This has to be the greenest place that I have seen in Spain thus far because of its amazing gardens and foliage. The views were extravagant and the detail inside was breathtaking. It was rainy and cold however, and all of our feet were frozen and soaked. Except me. I brought boots ;-) 
We headed back to the hostel to check out and grab our stuff. Since I finished the Royal Diary of Isabel during this trip I thought it was only appropriate to go visit her remains. I went to find the Royal Chapel because Queen Isabel and King Fernando were laid to rest there. I asked around and they all said "Go to the cathedral" . Well, no one wanted to come with me, so I explored the Cathedral by myself after I paid 4 EUR to gain entry. To be honest, I think its strange that since a cathedral is a place of God, they have to ask for a toll to gain entry… Well anyway. I looked around and what did I find?! Nothing. I couldn't find them. At the exit, I asked a woman where I could find them. Apparently the Royal Chapel is just next to it and it cost ANOTHER 4 EUR. I couldn't afford it since I was trying to save money and had to take a bus later that cost money as well.
We got to the bus station soundly and had about an hour to relax before we left. The bus ride to Madrid was a gruesome 5 hours and then another hour bus to Toledo. Finally when we got home, I unpacked, took a shower and immediately went to bed. I was so happy to find both of those thing and to be able to call it "home"… sort of.
So in conclusion - What did I do for my Week 2 of Spring Quarter in Spain? Took no classes, finished a book, explored Spain's delicacies, and sipped on Sangria. What did YOU do? :-)
