Granada y Cordoba

Friday
6:30 AM
We left on a charter bus 21 kids from ISU and 20 from the ERASMUS program(Italians, Turks, Austrians, British, Czechs, and others). We had to stop at least every 4 hours so we made 2 half hour stops on the 7 hour bus ride(which could have been much quicker)

2:00 PM

We arrived at the Alhambra the best preserved Arab palace/fortress in Spain. It was gigantic. At first we went to a few towers and other outlooks where you could see the entire city of Granada and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Also there were a lot of the keyhole arab style doors there(we saw hundreds of these throughout the trip.) We then went to the military zone of the fortress, only the lower parts of the walls remain, but you could tell it was definitely cramped quarters. Afterwards, we went to the main palace, it was meticulously decorated from floor to ceiling with intricate mason carvings, ceramic and glass murals, and as well as some bronze. The palace contained many of the keyhole doors and windows, beautiful pillars, vaulted ceilings, and very impressive domes. Additionally, there were small gardens with pools, fountain, and hedges spread throughout the palace. Outside the palace there was a gigantic garden(dwarfed the one at Alcazar though not as pretty). I walked around with my a few of my Iowan and Austrian friends through these until we left. Notable highlights of the garden 6 point star shaped hedges, fountains shooting arcs of water into pools, and a tunnel of hedges(the girls said it was very romantic looking).

9:30 PM
After going to the hotel and resting for a little bit we went out to a restaurant as a group. The resteraunt was disapointedly American although the food was good. It was buffet-style with you getting a whatever you want at the salad bar and a drink before you paid. After you paid you sat down and could go up to the hot food buffet that had pizza(cut in squares and thin crust{very common here}), pasta, and bread w/olive oil(por supuesto (of course)). After that I went out with the Austrian girls and Claire(Iowa girl) to a cocktail bar. We talked for about an hour and then decided to return because everyone was fairly tired. I got back to room to find my roomate Charles and two other iowa girls playing cards. So we played egyptian rat slap and hearts until 3ish. It was a good time, but we definitely needed sleep.

Saturday
10:00 AM
We met then after eating by far the best breakfast I have had in Spain(pieces of ham and cheese, croissants, chocolate-filled croissants(just as good as they sound...actually better), and an orange.
We proceeded to go to some church not really sure what, but the highlight was the tombs of Isabel of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon(The Christian Queen and King who united Spain, expelled the muslims, and supported Columbus) They are a pretty big deal, so naturally their tombs were carved beautifully out of white marble. Afterwards we went to the Cathedral, which was much more incredible. It was completely white inside with gigantic vaulted ceilings(~100ft) As is the norm the altar was decked out in a bunch of gold(I now understand why the Spanish wanted it so bad in the Americas). Basically an incredible sight, but very similar to the other large Renaissance and Neo-Classical cathedrals I have seen here(that makes it sound average, but there is nothing like it in the States, just incredible).

12:30 PM
We had free time to do whatever we wanted, so me and a few others wandered around the market area where they sold all sorts of souvenirs(many were distinctly Arab). We found a nice plaza that was very beautiful on that sunny day(we have had rain for the last 10 days here and it probably won't end until next week). We hung around the plaza for a bit, grabbed a bit to eat, and then went to a lookout point we had heard about called the mirador. We did the usual bit of getting slightly lost on the way there, but found a local park(mainly cobblestone, benches, and a few decorative trees) that was very popular with locals and quite pretty. However, the mirador was something else. It was a plaza filled with gypsies peddling their goods(they were actually quite nice, unlike what i've heard), but the best part was the view. We could see the Alhambra with the snow covered(i mean completely white no rock showing) Sierra Nevada mountains providing a beautiful backdrop. Simply stunning, i will get the pictures up as soon as i can.

4:00PM
We reloaded on the bus for the 2.5 hour drive to Cordoba. Well it was supposed to be 2.5 hours, but our director didn't know where the hotel/hostel was, so it took a bit longer. We rested for a bit again until dinner at 930. This dinner was much better than the previous, it was basically a ton of tapas, appetixer sized portions served family-style. Some of the things we had was a tomato-based puree, cochetes with cheese, fried eggplant with molasses, ham and bacon in a fried log shape, and some really good deserts(kind of hard to describe, but some chocolate caramel and honey were in them). Afterwards we went as a large group to Carnaval(apparently Cordoba has theirs a bit late, i have no idea why) It was much smaller than Badajoz, but the costumes were very interesting and we danced for a few hours until it started to rain. We decided to head to the hostel then(about 3AM).

Sunday

10AM
After a decent breakfast we went to the ruins of an old city(Madinat al-Zahra) that was the capital of the Muslim Caliphate in Spain. At the museum we watched a short 3D animated film about the history. Then we walked through the main exhibit, it had a really cool holographic video of the sultan's interaction with nobles. Afterwards we went up to the ruins of the actual city. It was really large and only part of it had been uncovered. In the official part of the city there were some arches at least 30 ft high and a lot of keyhole doors. It was raining during this, so the ruins were pretty drab looking for the most part, but the sheer size of the city was impressive for the time.

2PM
We had some free time before we went into the Mezquita(explain later), so i went with the Sevilla group to get something to eat. We found this great tapas bar that we stopped at(best restaurant food i have had, but nothing beats my host mom's cooking(except Grandma's of course))Anyways there I had cochetes of wild mushroom(incredibly good), fried calimari(tender not rubbery unlike in the US), and beef tripe stew with garbanzo beans(very good, yes i knew tripe was a weird organ before i ordered it, later found out it was stomach, but nonetheless very tender and delicious.)

4PM
We went to the Mezquita(mosque) which is the largest preserved one, the only one that doesn't face Mecca, and the only one where the Muslim altar isn't in the center(because they expanded it many times). The funny thing was that this building is well known as a Mosque, but Catholic Spain couldn't have that so they call it the Cathedral of Cordoba (Old Mosque). Anyways inside the first thing you see is the unique red and white striped double arches(they stacked arches on top of one another so the ceiling was higher.) This place was massive most of it was just the mosque although the Catholic alcoves dedicated to saints lined the walls. In the middle was the altar for the Cathedral as well as the choir area. It was absolutely amazing(i think it was better than the one in granada) giant angels were carved into the ceiling along with other decorations, gold lined the alter, and a giant dome was in the center. In the back of the Mosque was the muslim altar. A large keyhole door that only Mohammad(their prophet) can enter. Also there was a few rooms filled with catholic relics. For instance, large processional crosses made of gold, silver, and precious gems; a giant tower of gold with bells and candles with intricate scenes within it; large paintings with gold frames. I have not seen so much gold in one place outside an altar it was crazy(I felt like a raccoon attracted to all the shiny things). I can't really explain the size, but i think five football fields side-by-side would be close, thats just the interior there was also a courtyard about half the size of the mosque too.

6PM We left for Caceres and got back around 11:30 exhausted, great weekend though.