Granada

This weekend our program took us to Granada, and...
well, I'd have to invent the correct adjectives to describe the beauty of this city.
I'll tell you what we did, give some history and leave so photos so you can pick your own adjectives.

We left Friday morning for the 4ish hour trip to Granada. We arrived around 1:30pm and were given time to explore the city and find some lunch.
Granada is in the heart of Andalucia, in the foothills of the Sierras and has a huge tradition of tapas. In most tapas bars, if you order a drink you get a free tapa with it. There were too many to choose from so Grace and I ended up eating Kebap (gyros) and then the best gelato I've ever tasted.

After lunch we split into groups and went to visit the Capilla Real, the Cathedral, and the Corral del Carbón.
Granada was the last stronghold of the Moorish empire on the Iberian peninsula. In 1469 Isabel of Castile married Ferdinand of Aragorn, uniting the two provinces. They were known as the Catholic Monarchs (Reyes Católicos) and they set off reconquering the peninsula from the Moors. The last city to fall to the Catholic Monarchs was Granada. The sultan Boabdil held Granada and the Alhambra, but in 1492 he surrendered the keys to the city and the palace to Ferdinand and Isabel; they had successfully united the peninsula under their Catholic reign. After moving in the Alhambra they order the building of a cathedral, but building was halted in 1504 so that a Royal Chapel could be built in preparation for their burial within the chapel. Neither monarch saw it finished; they were interred in the Alhambra until building was finished in 1517 and they were moved to their current tomb within the chapel.
Their daughter Juana the Crazy is also buried there with her husband Phillip the Handsome and one of their sons, who did not live past infancy.
The chapel is extremely ornately decorated with symbols of the Reyes Católicos. They had their initials carved into EVERYTHING (F for Ferdinand and Y for Isabel)!
Above their tomb is a marble representation of them. The pillow where Isabel's head is resting sinks down lower because it is said that she was much much smarter than Ferdinand and so her brian weighed more! (Pictures weren't allowed inside)

The Capilla Real

Their emblem flanked by a yoke and a bundle of arrows
signifying the sharing of power and the uniting of the kingdom.

Connected to the chapel is a small museum holding the coronation dress of both Ferdinand and Isabel, as well as their crowns and scepters and some of Isabel's personal items. I stood in front of Isabel's crown with goosebumps on my arms and tears in my eyes. I tried to explain to my friend Derek how incredible it was to be standing in front of the crown that SHE WORE, a hunk of gold that was present at the CREATION OF SPAIN and he just said "it's creepy." I was in awe and everyone thought I was super weird...but I sorta am so...

Next we went to the Cathedral. Pictures weren't allowed in their either, but it's HUGE and the entire thing is painted white! But the chapel is cooler...

Next we went to the old Moorish quarter of town to see the Corral del Carbón and the Alcaicería.

Corral de Carbón

The group

The Alcaicería is the old Moorish quarter...

made up of extremely narrow alleys and shops.

That night we all got dressed up (well everyone else since I missed the formal clothing memo) and went to these caves in the Albaicín (the old barrio set into the hill across from the Alhambra) to see a Flamenco show. We saw two groups of gitano dancers. They were absolutely incredible, so much so that I cried watching them being taken of by the "duende" or the spirit of the dance. It was an incredibly moving experience.

The view of the Alhambra from the Flamenco Caves.

Our first dancer.

On Saturday it was up early to take our buses over to the Alhambra. Entrance tickets into the Alhambra are timed because 8,000 people visit the palace daily! WHOA!

The Alhambra was built in the 13th century and has been a fortress for Muslim kings as well as Christian monarchs. It is the only existing Muslim palace in the world! 

The palace is huge and absolutely beautiful with extremely ornate carvings covering every wall! The rooms are designed to be cool in the summer, warm in the winter, and to inspire awe in all who visit. I bought Washington Iriving's book Tales of the Alhambra and as I read them I'll leave you tidbits, but until then here are some pictures that barely begin to capture the beauty that is the Alhambra.

Marmiga!

The last weekend in March found me traveling to Sevilla by myself.
I spent Friday wandering around Sevilla and taking in the gorgeous sunshine. That afternoon I got on a bus headed for Aracena, a town in the foothills of the Sierras and home to my friend Mar.
Mar was the native Spanish speaker at Whitman for two years. She lived with me in La Casa Hispana my sophomore year and is my Spanish sister. She is currently working as an assistant and translator at an Australian owned copper mine in Aracena. I spent the entire weekend with her, meeting her friends, cooking her dinner, going dancing, and watching movies. It was the perfect weekend to be away from Alicante and enjoy feeling completely at home.
I'm hoping to go back to Aracena when my program ends in June.

Me in Sevilla!

Me and Mar!

Mar and the wonderful group!

Tapas Course

The week after Las Fallas I took a tapas course! 

The course was two evening sessions where we learned how to make a variety of tapas including Tortilla de Patatas and croquetas! It was a wonderful way to try some tapas I hadn't yet (like blood sausage) and to learn how to make the ones I've been eating for months (croquetas and mejillones)!

If you want some recipes let me know, otherwise I'll cook them for you when I make my epic return to the States!

Mushroom caps with peppers and jamón

Calamari

Tortilla de Patatas

Mejillones con vinigreta

I got to help make the croquetas!

Frying up the croquetas.

Blood sausage, Peppers with quail eggs, and Peppers stuff with Bacalao!

Valencia and Las Fallas!

March 19th is the feast of St. Joseph and in Valencia that means Las Fallas!
Every year over 4 million people flock to Spain's third largest city for the most spectacular and most dangerous festival I have ever seen!
Las Fallas is a celebration that begins at the very end of April and lasts throughout the month until the 19th. In honor of St. Joseph, the carpenter, sculptors throughout the city build these huge statues out of wood, cardboard, and paper maché. Each sculpture is made up of lots of little ones, called ninots. A grouping of ninots is called a Falla, hence the name of the celebration.
They spend the entire month building and painting these gorgeous Fallas. Each day of the celebration there is a Mascletá, held at 2pm in the Government Plaza. The Mascletá is essentially a concert of fire crackers! They are timed to go off and create a rhythm that you feel in every bone of your body, and it all ends with the "terremoto" or earthquake that shakes the entire city. Every mascletá lasts 10 minutes and each one is conducted by a different "pyrotechnic" and the best performance wins the honor of performing the mascletá on the 19th. And on the night of the 19th each barrio gathers around their falla which has been strung with "petardos" or firecrackers and doused in alcohol to watch it burn to the ground.

We went to Valencia on Friday the 18th to see all the Fallas before the burning. They are the size of buildings and each one has a theme (many of them political). They are absolutely gorgeous!!!

A Falla of Thor 

Patrick and Me!!

One of my best friends from high school, Patrick Nyberg, is studying in Valencia so I spent the day with him and my friend Grace from Whitman (he's the first of my high school friends to meet any of my college friends)! It was an incredible day filled with gorgeous fallas, beautiful weather, and delicious buñuelos (the valencian version of funnel cakes) and chocolate!

Buñuelos de calbaza y chocolate

On Saturday I went back to Valencia with a group of students from the University. We filled 8 buses! 

We left Alicante at 8 am (it's a 2 hour trip) and left Valencia at 3:30 am  Sunday morning. We got to see more of the Fallas as well be a part of the MASSIVE crowed present for the final Mascletá. We ran into some friends from Whitman who are studying in Madrid, took a nap in the park, drank mojitos, ate tapas, and watched the fallas go up in flames. The EMT in me was going a little nuts around all those people with firecrackers as well as the lack of fire safety equipment...

But the kid in me was fascinated and intrigued and simply enjoying the excessiveness of such a festival!

I could have slept for the next week afterward, but it was completely worth it!

We met up with Dorian and Max! 

Falleras! The mascots of the festival!

Before

After

Catching up...

First off I apologize for not having written since Carnaval!!! Wow, the time flies!

I lost my camera the night of carnaval so there are no pictures, but I can say that it was like Halloween only there were a lot more drunk people. 

After Carnaval the next adventure to tell you about is Madrid!

Las Meninas - Velazquez

In the middle of March I went to Madrid for a weekend with Mary, my freshman roommate from Whitman. We left on Friday morning at about 5am for Madrid and spent the weekend exploring the capital city in the rain. We visited the Prado, the Reina Sofia, and the Thyssen, which are Madrid's three art museums. The Prado is Spain's treasure. It's full to the brim with incredible Spanish art, as well as Flemish gems and Italian prizes, but I was only interested in the Spanish art. I had a lot of trouble explaining to Mary why I was crying while standing in front of Las Meninas. There aren't words to describe what I felt seeing the masterpieces of Goya, El Greco, Murillo, and Velazquez. 

Guernica - Picasso

The Reina Sofia is home to Spain's modern art. The museum itself is a very neat building, but the organization of the exhibits is beyond confusing. But once you orient yourself you'll find my favorite Picasso, Dalí, and Solana paintings, as well as some sketches by Goya. 

The Thyssen is home to a wide range of art that include Degas, Van Gogh, and Georgia O' Keeffe.

We also visited the Royal Palace, which is huge and filled with lavishly decorated rooms. It is home to the royal armory which is full of old weapons that date back to the foundation of Spain as a Catholic state in 1492.

Me with Goya's statue outside the Prado

On this trip we also visited Parque de Retiro (Spain's Central Park) and the Rastro Market (Europe's largest flea market). 

Despite the rain, it was a great trip to Spain's capital!