I put up a bunch of pictures of Fallas!
Make sure to check out my link.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Granada and Cordoba
This week was an exciting week for all of us. We are almost halfway through our trip and the time is really starting to fly. We spent four days this past week in Andalusia, the most southern region of Spain. We spent our time in two major cities, Cordoba and Granada. Granada is about a 6 hour drive from Denia, a fairly normal amount for traveling in the United States, but a very long time for a Spaniard. For all of our trips so far, we have had awful weather. This time we had rain and wind. We tried to protect ourselves with umbrellas, but with the wind, most of the time our umbrellas would turn inside out, completely defeating their purpose.
Our first night in Granada we spent our time walking around the city to get the lay of the land. The first major site that we visited was the Capilla Real. This mausoleum, attached to a chapel, was built by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. The mausoleum has the remains of Ferdinand, Isabella, their daughter, Juana, and her husband Felipe. The chapel and the Capilla Real are both amazing structures. The cathedral is huge with large pillars and an incredibly tall ceiling. The cathedral as an amazing organ decorated with gold and ornate trimmings.
After visiting the Capilla real, we spent our first night in Granada exploring the city and heading to bed early to be prepared for our early day at the Alhambra. We had to leave our hotel at around 7 AM to make sure that we could get into the Alhambra. We waited for a long time in the rain, but we eventually made it inside. There are many reasons why the Alhambra is the most visited site in Spain. It is situated on the top of a hill and was originally an entire city. Within the walls there were enough supplies to maintain an entire city. The walls of the Alhambra are covered with carvings in stucco of flowers, birds, and of course, writing from the Koran. The intricateness of the carvings and the details in the ceilings and arches is incredible. We were also able to visit the Generalife, which was the summer house for the king and queen when they wanted to spend some time away from the court. Despite the rain, the gardens, architecture, and carvings of the Alhambra are amazing.
In the afternoon we had some free time to spend in the city. Some students visited the arabic baths, while others visited a monastery and an old hospital.
The final day, we drove about 2 hours to a city called Cordoba to visit the Mezquita. For me, although I've seen pictures of the Mezquita in art history text books, it is incomparable to the real thing. I know I've over emphasized this point already, but it's an incredible monument. The red and white arches do look as if they go on for miles. There are so many things to look at at once, the arches, the columns, the ceilings, and the inscriptions on the wall. My eyes were continually jumping from one thing to another while my brain was registering the amazing things I was seeing. It is another worthwhile site to see.
Although we had very poor weather on our trip, overall we were able to see some fantastic things that made it all worth it.
Our first night in Granada we spent our time walking around the city to get the lay of the land. The first major site that we visited was the Capilla Real. This mausoleum, attached to a chapel, was built by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. The mausoleum has the remains of Ferdinand, Isabella, their daughter, Juana, and her husband Felipe. The chapel and the Capilla Real are both amazing structures. The cathedral is huge with large pillars and an incredibly tall ceiling. The cathedral as an amazing organ decorated with gold and ornate trimmings.
After visiting the Capilla real, we spent our first night in Granada exploring the city and heading to bed early to be prepared for our early day at the Alhambra. We had to leave our hotel at around 7 AM to make sure that we could get into the Alhambra. We waited for a long time in the rain, but we eventually made it inside. There are many reasons why the Alhambra is the most visited site in Spain. It is situated on the top of a hill and was originally an entire city. Within the walls there were enough supplies to maintain an entire city. The walls of the Alhambra are covered with carvings in stucco of flowers, birds, and of course, writing from the Koran. The intricateness of the carvings and the details in the ceilings and arches is incredible. We were also able to visit the Generalife, which was the summer house for the king and queen when they wanted to spend some time away from the court. Despite the rain, the gardens, architecture, and carvings of the Alhambra are amazing.
In the afternoon we had some free time to spend in the city. Some students visited the arabic baths, while others visited a monastery and an old hospital.
The final day, we drove about 2 hours to a city called Cordoba to visit the Mezquita. For me, although I've seen pictures of the Mezquita in art history text books, it is incomparable to the real thing. I know I've over emphasized this point already, but it's an incredible monument. The red and white arches do look as if they go on for miles. There are so many things to look at at once, the arches, the columns, the ceilings, and the inscriptions on the wall. My eyes were continually jumping from one thing to another while my brain was registering the amazing things I was seeing. It is another worthwhile site to see.
Although we had very poor weather on our trip, overall we were able to see some fantastic things that made it all worth it.
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