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| Inside La Mezquita |
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| The Mihrab (facing Mecca) |
After one week free in Madrid without exams (and many 'goodbyes' to friends that were leaving :( ), I left on the train from Madrid to begin my trip through Andalucía with my friend, Jose. I arrived in the city of Córdoba, where Jose met me. I had been anticipating the heat, as Andalucía is known to have days well above 100ºF, but the first day was still quite uncomfortable, especially passing the day walking around and sightseeing. Fortunately the rest of the week we got lucky with a cool week, temperatures only climbing to the mid-90's.
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| Catholic Decor |
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| Inside La Judería |
In Córdoba, Jose and I spent most of the time in Las Mezquita (the Mosque), which was created in the 900's A.D. when the south of Spain was occupied by Arabs. Once this region was again conquered by Catholics in the late 1200's, the Mosque was converted into a cathedral and now is an interesting mix of Muslim/Catholic decor. After the Mezquita, we walked through La Judería (the Jewish Quarter), which contains a lot of small, irregular streets. After a long, hot day, we drove to Jose's country house in the mountains outside of the city of Jaén.
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| Cathedral of Jaén |
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| Cross by the Castle |
In Jaén, I met Jose's family who were extremely welcoming. The first day there, we spent the morning and early afternoon by the pool, and after lunch, went to see the city. In Jaén we visited the cathedral, which is famed to contain one of the five acclaimed casts of Jesus's face (Santo Rostro) taken after his crucifixion. After that, we went to a bar in the university neighborhood where I was first exposed to Andalusian tapas. With just one small drink, the bars in Andalucía give a huge sandwich or snack of some sort, free. So for about 3EUR, you're well fed with thirst quenched. After that, we drove up to the top of the mountain overlooking Jaén to visit the castle that was constructed when Jaén was also under Arabic control. The next day, we went to visit Jose's friends from high school at the pool, to see the Arabic Bath Ruins, and finally, out for drinks and dinner with Jose's friends.
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| Outside of the Castle |
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| Me Inside La Alhambra |
The following morning, we left for the city of Granada where we would be staying with Jose's aunt and uncle. When we arrived, Jose's aunt went with us to see La Alhambra, the most important monument in Andalucía. Again, it was heavily-decorated in Islamic motifs, but this time, more intricately than ever. La Alhambra was completely exquisite, unlike anything I have ever seen. All of the walls were covered with chiseled designs, no corner was left without immaculate elaboration. I was completely blown away.
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| The City of Granada |
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| Muslim Decor within La Alhambra (note detail!) |
After an already wonderful morning, we went with Jose's aunt and uncle to eat lunch and later walk around the city. At sunset, we climbed the district of Albayzín to see La Alhambra from the Plaza de San Nicolas. The environment was very liberal and bohemian, perfect. After that, we took some tapas down below by the river and I knew then that I had fallen for Granada.
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| Entrance to Gardens of La Alhambra |
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| More of La Alhambra |
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| Looking out La Alhambra at Sunset |
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| View from above with La Alhambra in Background |
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| Plaza de San Nicolas |
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| Approaching La Albujarra |
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| A Group of Older Couples Dancing in Granada |
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| Me in a Village of La Albujarra |
After our first day in Granada, Jose's aunt and uncle took us out to visit La Albujarra, a collection of small historic villages outside of the city in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada. The villages we visited were super quaint, filled with windy streets, artesanry, and flowers. It could have been wonderful to pass a week there, as one could feel completely relaxed and worry-free.
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| Málaga Cathedral |
The next day, to my dismay, we left Granada. However, I was still excited as our destination was Málaga, a city along the Mediterranean. In Málaga, we stayed again with another pair of Jose's aunt and uncle, and like all of Jose's family friends, were equally welcoming. That day, we walked around the city. We saw the cathedral of Málaga and the Picasso Museum, located in the neighborhood where Pablo Picasso was born and raised. Then that evening we walked along the boardwalk and had a fresh seafood dinner. The next day, we went to the beach and had a long lunch with Jose's family. Later in the evening, we went to see the Gibralfaro Castle overlooking the city. Finally that evening, Jose and I went to see Transformer's 3 mostly because it was shot in Chicago. In our final day in Málaga, we went to see the Alcanzaba Fortress, the Roman Forum, and finally, again to the beach. Our time in Málaga was a nice refresher from our faster-paced days before and to come.
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| Roman Ampitheatre |
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| Gibralfaro Castle |
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| Málaga from Above |
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| Málga's Alcanzaba |
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| Park of Maria Luisa |
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| Entrance to Cathedral of Sevilla |
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| Authentic Flamenco Dancer |
The following day we made our way to Sevilla, wher Jose studied. This time we stayed in a hostel because Jose didn't have any family living there. That afternoon we went for lunch and a long walk around the city. We were able to see the Park of María Luísa and the Plaza de España, unequivocably the most impressive plaza I have seen yet. I might also add it was used for the filming of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. The next day, we went to the Cathedral of Sevilla (world's 3rd largest), the Alcázar (another Muslim castle like La Alhambra but not as big), and climbed the tower of La Gilralda. For lunch we met with a student from Sevilla that would be doing the same exchange program as Jose next year at IIT. I hope that we will be able to meet up in Chicago (so I can keep up with my Spanish)! Then we took a relaxing cruise along the Guadalquivir River and then went out for drinks and tapas with some of Jose's old university friends.
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| Plaza de España |
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| Sevilla from Above |
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| Me in Plaza de España |
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