Las Alpujarras

Out of all my vacations so far, going to Las Alpujarras has been truest Spanish experience that I have had. Las Alpujarras are a group of small towns way up high in the Sierra Nevada. One of the towns is actually the highest in Europe. Our town was called Busquistar and when I say small town I really mean a small town. I’ll get into that more often. Let me first tell you what we did.

Fifteen of my friends and I rented a house in Busquistar. Yes, I’m not making this up. We found a house with room for 16 people. Actually our house could comfortably fit around 25 people with around 12 rooms, 2 kitchens, 3 fireplaces, and three bathrooms. The best part was that it was ridiculously cheap too. Anyway, I’m getting of topic. My friends and I took a bus up into the mountains. It was a three hour bus ride through hell. Our driver didn’t even bother slowing down for the curves, of which there were a lot, and this of course meant everyone on board got sick. One of my friends puked as we were pulling into town. I felt really bad for him but of course we laughed for a good hour after it happened.

As we were driving up the mountain we passed through a few of the other towns. Each town was a little cluster of all white buildings perched on the mountainside. The biggest city couldn’t have more than a thousand people. Ours probably didn’t have more than 200. We met our guide who took us to the house and showed us to the “biggest” supermarket. It consisted of one ten by fifteen room under someone’s house. Since there was only one restaurant in town and we weren’t entirely sure if there was room for all of us, we decided to make all of our own food. Our first night was pasta, then pasta again, and finally soup with pasta in it. The last wasn’t that good surprisingly.

During the one day where it wasn’t pouring, we walked around town and through the mountains. In our town were little farms with lots of sheep. We must have seen a dozen baby lambs all baa-ing from their stables. They were adorable. Once we got outside of town, we walked over to a part of the mountain that jutted out. We climbed all over it as we waited for the sun to set. We discovered what was apparently an abandoned stable and house at the end of the hill. It was a little creepy but exciting at the same time. The sunset was so beautiful. Unfortunately I didn’t bring my camera, not like I could have captured the beauty anyway. After we returned to our warm house and talked by the fire as we ate dinner.

The next day it rained all day so we just laid on the couches and were bums, which is what I do best. One of my friends discovered a local cheese that was the best thing I have ever tasted. It was made a few miles, or should I say kilometers, away from our house. I think by the end of the weekend we bought at least three or four wheels of it.

All in all, we didn’t really do much in the Alpujarras since it was raining, but I still had an incredible time. I definitely want to go back, at least to eat some more of that cheese. I can’t describe feeling of Las Alpujarras but I hope my pictures say more than I can.

Oh yeah, one minor little detail about my trip here. I decided that since I was in Spain, I should get a haircut like a true spaniard. Right now in Spain the cool hair-do is a mullet. So I had one of my friends cut my hair on night while we were there. It was a pretty rough looking mullet but it was amazing nonetheless. Don't worry, I got it trimmed when I got back. Only now I have a mullet mohawk. Way cooler. Im planning on keeping it until I get back.

Gibraltar, Sevilla, and Cordoba

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Whenever I go on any vacation with my program, we seem to pack in so much stuff into such a small amount of time. When I signed up to go to Gibraltar, Sevilla, and Cordoba, I was sure it was going to be one of the busiest weekends of my life. I wasn’t wrong but I definitely have built up a tolerance for marathon touring after spending so much time in Europe.

Our first stop was Gibraltar which is in the south of Spain. Strange as it may seem, Gibraltar is owned by the British and you have to pass through customs in order to get in. Gibraltar is around the size of a midsize city with about around 200,000 people living there. Most people just commute here during the day and live in Spain. I think the worst part was that the currency changes. Technically you are supposed to use Sterling Pounds but most places took Euros too. Personally, I didn’t like the city of Gibraltar. It felt a little dirty and run-down with nothing very exciting to see. Luckily we didn’t spend much time in the city because the main attraction is the Rock of Gibraltar. Half of Gibraltar is a giant rock or mountain that sticks out like a giant’s thumb coming up out of the ground.

During World War II, the Allies used this as a headquarters. They dug over 30 miles of tunnels throughout the rock which is incredible since Gibraltar is only around 8 square miles in total. Our bus ride up was exciting cause we got to drive through some of the bigger tunnels. At the top, there is cave with some pretty neat stalagmites and stalactites. The cave wasn’t that incredible but inside was an amphitheatre with a stage that was surrounded by the cave. I would love to see a band perform there. Even though all these things were cool, the most memorable part of Gibraltar were the monkeys. Excuse me, the apes. Apparently the locals don’t like to call them monkeys since monkeys have tails. These apes covered the mountain and were not afraid of humans at all. One of my friends had a banana in his pocket and the moment he stepped off the bus, a monkey ran over and grabbed it. Another one of my friends was carrying a purse when a monkey jumped at her and tried to take it away from her. Luckily our guide scared the ape away and he dropped her purse. She was really scared but I thought it was hilarious.

Well, that basically sums up Gibraltar. We only stayed there for a few hours and then we drove on to Sevilla. I loved Sevilla and I can’t wait to go back with my family. We spent the whole day there and we got to see so many cool things. It was especially interesting because I have been studying a lot about the ancient building in my art history class. We saw La Torre de Oro (Tower of Gold) which was the old Moorish tower that those traveling by boat would see as they came into the city on the river. It wasn’t made of gold but it was covered in tiles so it reflected the light. These tiles are gone now, unfortunately. We also saw the Giralda which is a bell tower that used to be an Alminar, or the tower of the mosque. When the Christians came in they added a bell to the top of the tower. They destroyed the mosque and put in a cathedral. The Giralda was fun to climb cause there were no stairs. Instead the moors put in ramps so you could ride a donkey or horse. This was fun for about ten ramps but by the time we had climbed past thirty-something ramps I was pretty tired.

Besides the Moorish architecture, we saw where they had the world’s fair back in the 20’s. Each country designed and built their own house. Some were incredible while others were pretty boring. I think I remember Mexico’s looked like a cheesy restaurant with cacti painted on the walls. In the middle of all the houses was the main building. It was a giant semicircle building with a little river that ran through it. Around the building were mosaic pictures for each region in Spain. I got my picture taken next to the Granada one.

Oh, I forgot about the royal palace in Sevilla. The palace was built in three parts. One part was the old Moorish palace modernized, the next was a mix between Arabic and Spanish style, and the last was a more modern western European style. The most memorable part for me were the gardens. Orange trees and palms were scattered throughout with fountains placed here and there. It wasn’t the biggest or best garden I have seen but it was really pretty.

After all the sights, we walked around town and then laid by the river with the other Spanish college students. It was a gorgeous day.

The next morning we left for Cordoba. I have somewhat mixed feelings about Cordoba. First I’ll tell you about the Cathedral which is incredible. Cordoba used to be the capital of the Arabic dominated spain so the mosque here was arguably the most beautiful in the world. Sadly, the Christians destroyed part of it and built a cathedral. Thankfully they saved the majority of the mosque only now its referred to as a cathedral. Row after row of columns surround the cathedral which is in the middle. At the far end of the cathedral, on the Quibla, which is the name for the wall that faces Mecca, is the Mihrab. The mihrab is the nook where the leader of the prayers speaks so that his voice is amplified. It is always the most decorated part of the mosque. Since Cordoba was such an incredible place, the mihrab there is the most beautiful in the world.

Besides all the beautiful columns and decorations, the cathedral is actually very pretty too. The seats were carved from beautiful dark wood. I don’t remember what kind but it’s beautiful nonetheless.

Now you may be wondering why I have mixed feeling after such a glowing review of the cathedral. Well, the city itself is not that exciting. It might have been cause it was Sunday and most things were closed or the fact that so many tourists and gypsies were everywhere. Either way, I didn’t love the city. Another downer is that the huge roman bridge is closed for repairs so I couldn’t even walk across it. Oh well, if you get a chance to come to Cordoba, make it a day trip cause the cathedral is worth it.

Well that is about it for that trip. I’m glad that all my classes about the history of Spain are starting to pay off. I hope you enjoyed the history/architecture lesson. I’ll try and incorporate more of that into my other posts. Don’t worry, I still have a few more trips to talk about. Get ready.

London, The Gateway to Magic

Right now my mind is refusing to believe that it actually is May. I only have three more weeks of class and then I’m done. This thought is just too painful so instead I’m going to pretend its February and that I just went to London.

First off, I would like to say to Aunt Jean and Uncle Chris that I am very sorry that I didn’t have enough time to visit you guys. I feel like the worst nephew of all time. My excuse is that I was with my friends from my program and I only had three days in London. Also, I thought that I could weasel my way into another trip to London since I still haven’t seen Cambridge. Pretty sly huh?

Alright, now its time to talk about my trip. I have to say that I was really worried about the pound and running out of money so I took the poor man’s tour of London. Luckily for me, most of the museums are free. Hurray! So the first day in London, my friends and I went for a super walking tour around the city. The weather was so nice which was surprising cause I thought for sure it would be raining the whole time. We walked by the houses of Parliament, Westminster Abby, Big Ben, and went across the river. Standing on the bridge and looking at Parliament was unbelievable. I felt like I was in a movie and not actually there. Basically wherever I go in Europe I feel this way since all the famous sights just remind me of pictures or movies. I guess I should read more books.

After we crossed the river we walked by the London Eye. Unfortunately we never got the chance to go up it. We planned on going later that night but it didn’t work out. There’s always next time! Then we walked by the giant cathedral, I forget the name right now, St. John is what I want to say but I have seen so many basilicas and cathedrals that they are blending together right now. Whatever it was called was really awesome from the outside. We didn’t go inside for some reason, probably cause we are poor college students. Sorry, this is a really boring entry so far. I’m going to try and include actual details from now on.

We headed over to National Museum to check out some FREE artwork. There were so many incredible painting in there. In the basement there was a new exhibit with Van Gogh, Monet, and so many other awesome artists. The one bad thing about these museums is that the first time you go, you are overwhelmed with all the artwork. You feel the need to see everything and so you try and run around while absorbing an incredible amount of art that your brain ends up shutting down. So after about two hours, we all needed to rest our brains.

We walked over to the Royal Palace and were surprised to see a sort of military parade walking through the park towards the palace. Even now I don’t know what it was but I have a picture of them. The palace was so pretty but we only had around five minutes there before guards came and escorted all of us away. We heard them saying that there was a suspicious package left outside the gate. As we walked away we kept our ears tuned for any sound of explosion but luckily nothing happened.

For dinner the first night, we found an all you can eat Indian restaurant. It was my first Indian food experience and I thought it was amazing. It probably wasn’t the best Indian food around since it was pretty cheap but after two months of measly spice-less little Spanish dinners, it was heaven to engorge myself on as much spicy food as my stomach could hold.

The next day, my friends were set on going to Stonehenge but it was going to be an all day trip and I really didn’t feel like wasting one of my three days going to see a pile of rocks. So I set out on the town by myself which was really exciting. I loved traveling in the subway and getting lost around the town. I went to my favorite place in London today, The Tate Modern. This is a modern art museum in a giant building. I’m not sure what the building used to be but I would guess a shipbuilding plant cause the main room is enormous! The art was great and everything but the best part were the giant slides that were up to five stories tall. My biggest regret is that I didn’t have enough time ride the giant one. When I wasn’t riding the slide and giggling like a little schoolboy, I saw some beautiful and often times incredibly confusing modern art. I’m trying to think of something to describe but there is really no way I could possibly explain any of the things I saw there. Just go.

After my museum trip, I bought a sandwich and went to the park. I ate on a bench and watched birds land in the pond. It was so peaceful. The parks in London are some of the best that I have seen. Hyde Park was so peaceful and pretty that I probably could have just walked through it all day. I did for a solid two hours but then I met some other friends who happened to be in London the same weekend at the British Museum. There is way too much stuff to see in the British Museum. I really think they should share some of their stuff to less fortunate museums. I was only there for about an hour and a half and I think I went to about three rooms. I saw mummies, Japanese drawings, a Michaelangelo sketch, and the Rosetta Stone. Somehow I think I missed the Parthenon. I definitely need to go back there.

That night I went to a discoteca called Fabric. It was crazy! There were four rooms with different live DJs and so many smoke machines and lazers that I never was sure where I was. I danced for what seemed like forever and then crashed into my bed. My legs have never been more tired.

Since my friends were back the next day, we did some more museums and saw more sights. We walked over to the Tower Bridge and I went inside the Tower of London. This was another place with way too much to see. By far the coolest thing there were the Royal Jewels. I didn’t know that the biggest diamond in the world was there. I went on the conveyor belt thingy at least three times.

The rest of the day we just enjoyed the city and then we left early the next morning. Sorry this was a really vague description of London. I’m sure that I missed a lot of stuff cause it did happen a while ago. Get ready for my next belated vacation!

This last one is for all of you Harry Potter lovers. I'm off to Hogwarts!