happily wandering down south.

ok, you see number 15? that was our journey down south for the past 5 days.  You know how fun it is to take a trip to california to enjoy the warmer weather and sun?  Well, basically Andalucia is like the california of Spain and where I live in Madrid is equivalent to Salt Lake. Just trying to put my life into similar geographical context for you all. haha

Though Andalucia wasn't necessarily short and tank top weather, it was just warm and pleasant enough to  contribute to my happiness significantly :)

In five days, one bus, 23 girls, 2 directors and 2 of their kids, as well as an ultimate creeper tourist man who we literally saw in 3 of the major cities we visited, we were able to see the following:


Consuegra and the windmills. Supposedly Don Quixote thought they were giants...and tried to fight them. Don Quixote is the famous novel and character by a very famous author named Miguel Cervantes, who was actually born in Alcala de Henares, where I live :)


Ubeda: Basically this was just the town designated as our bus driver's "required by law"pit stop. But, it was beautiful and warm! Some bus tour full of spaniards drove by us after this and told us he had room for 5, if we wanted to join. haha we were tempted.

Granada and the Alhambra (check out those Sierra Nevada Mountains in the background!)

Córdoba and the Mezquita as well as the ruins at Medina Azahara.

Sevilla, the largest Gothic Cathedral in the World, the Alcazar, Christopher Columbus' grave and a flamenco performance.




Mérida: An ancient Roman city established by Emperor Augustus. Here, we saw some awesome Roman Ruins.

I'm not gonna lie, I am absolutely exhausted.  We seriously packed an entire region into 5 days.  Each day was filled with more and more and more TOURS. Don't get me wrong, I love tours, but I definitely preferred to be let free to roam the city.  Every night after our tours, we were allowed to just go do whatever we wanted. The night was OURS. so much fun.

So, due to the expansiveness of my trip, I am just gonna talk a little bit about the highlights. Otherwise, this will be super long, and quite frankly I am about ready for a nap.

The Alhambra:
The Alhambra is the last remaining Moorish Palace from the Muslim dynasty in Spain, until 1492, when King Fernando and Isabel took over and pushed Islam out of the country, also known and the "Reconquest." The Calaphs that lived here were apart of the Nasrid Dynasty and the region Al-Andulus, hence the name Andalusia.  The palace was absolutely beautiful.  I am a way bigger fan of Islamic architecture than the Catholic gothic style we have been seeing in all these cathedrals.  It is more simple and directed towards the heavens and God.  Muslims do not believe in worshiping anything other than god and do not include any human being as an art form.  There is no gold or any fancy objects, just beautiful caligraphy and mosaics on the walls.

This last picture is actually in the palace of Charles the 5th.  When the royal family took over, they eventually built this palace for the King.  I find the contrast between Christianity and Islam all over this country incredibly interesting.  Its just one building after another where both art forms are found. This was especially prevalent in the Mezquita in Córdoba.


Sevilla:
Our time in Sevilla was by far my favorite. Our tour guide Ricardo was the most enthusiastic little man and he was so proud of his city.  I loved the way he talked about the different sites we visited, including the Alcazar and the Cathedral. The Alcazar is another Moorish palace that was eventually overtaken by Catholicism.  Interestingly enough, we got to go inside a room here where Christopher Columbus actually asked the King and Queen permission to start his journey to the Americas.

The gardens in the Alcazar were my favorite.  Islam considers water to be the essence of life.  Without water, there is no life.  This is the reason the Alhambra and the Alcazar are filled with so many quiet fountains and pools.  The water adds so much.



We then visited the Catedral de Sevilla where Christopher Columbus is buried and were also able to go to the top of the bell tower, where you can see the entire city.  The bell tower has a bell for each neighborhood in Sevilla. 


After this visit, we were free to do as our hearts desired.  What did our hearts desire most? Bicicletas!
Yep, it was time to tour the city via bike.

synchronized biking around the Plaza España.
riding through the park singing "Do a dear, a female dear"...it was a total sound of music moment.

ziplining through the park.  Don't worry, this is just a debut for our travel book we are going to make and sell called "zipping around the world". Watch out Rick Steves.

Too cute.Riding all the way out to Macarena square, just so we could all dance the Macarena. hahah this was definitely one of the most memorable moments of my life. It took us quite a bit of time and talent to find this plaza, it was seriously all the way across town...but don't worry...we pursued. I'll never forget the faces of all the Spaniards watching us, as 6 girls rode in a perfect line through their narrow streets on the way to Macarena square!

Flamenco performance. I haven't ever really been into dance that much, but you would have thought I was a 5 year old little girl after we saw that Flamenco performance. Oh my gosh, they were so talented. I had never seen anything like this before! Lets just say, I feel a little more cultured.

(this wasn't the actual performance we saw. Ours was wayyyyy cooler.)

Gelato and delicious pastries. Story of my life. Nap time anyone?