I can't post a lot today because siesta time is almost over and I have another class to get to. As some of you saw on Facebook, I am in Salamanca and have been since Friday. I love it here. The Plaza Mayor, Las Catedrales, my host mom, the parks, the arquitectura(architecture), everything. The food is delicious but their's too much to list since I have to catch up on so much. For now, I don't want to go into too much detail because I have to catch up on the week of traveling I didn't blog!
Jumping back to last Tuesday where my adventures left off, we got on the bus that morning and rode to Granada where we spent the day and stayed the night(in a very swanky hotel, I might add. We felt very underdressed). The two important sites we visited were the Capilla Real and La Alhambra. The Royal Chapel was very beautiful and the burial sight of Los Reyes Católicos, Isabel y Fernando who forced the moors out of spain after 700 years and united the country under a single flag and religion. They're a little controversial in the history books for their treatment of other religions, but experiencing the history gives so much depth to the situation than you can read in a classroom. In the transept of the chapel there were marble statues of the king and queen and you could take a staircase down to see their caskets below. Very cool. There was also a small museum off the side of the chapel with paintings and religious objects used by the king and queen. It was all very beautiful and probably cost a fortune.
For lunch(thinking of you, mom) most of us went to lunch together at a small restaurant near the chapel. If I haven't explained Menú del Día to you yet, it's a popular restaurant tradition. The restaurant serves three courses(two main and a desert) for about 8-10€. Each day they give about 3 options for each course that you can choose from. I love it. I think that day I had a salad for the first course and a chicken dish for the second, but it's hard to remember. The salad wasn't quite like what you get at home. Instead of a pile of lettuce with a few other veggies on top, it was equal-serving portions of corn, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, some lettuce, and maybe something else I've forgotten. The chicken was the best course. Yum!
The other event of the day, the Alhambra, was very tiring, but also very beautiful. I felt like I lived behind my camera a bit too much, but I took lots of pictures! The Alhambra was at different points in its history a military fortress and a palace. It was built by the muslims and possessed by los reyes católicos after the defeat of Granada in 1492. It remained in use for some time before the royal family moved elsewhere(Madrid?). The name Alhambra actually means the Red Castle which is a very adequate description as you'll see from my pictures(although it's really the most red at sunset). One of the most beautiful parts of the tour were the gardens of the Generalife gardens(pronounced hen-ey-rah-lee-fey) which were a part of the muslim king's summer home. You'll have to look at the pictures(which will be up soon! I promise!). The other most impressive part was the throne room. You'll really have to see pictures of the ceiling in there. Throughout the whole palace, there are so many intricate designs covering the walls. Apparently they never depicted humans or animals, so they decorated with a lot of patterns and words of the Qur'an.
Lots of history, lots of sunsets. I should also mention going to the top of the watchtower to overlook Granada. Amazing. Oh, and being next to the Sierra Nevada. They were beautiful to have in the distance. Rumor has it there's a ski resort at the top, but we didn't have time for that. Anyway, we finished our day back at the hotel and went straight to bed after dinner so we could journey to Córdoba and Sevilla the next day.
Sadly, those adventures will have to wait until next time because I have to get back to class. I have afternoons free from about 1 to 5, but I'm in class between 9:30AM and 1PM and then varying times in the early evening.
Hasta luego!
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