Since my last entry which I posted earlier today, I have actually changed locations and am currently sitting in a cafe very close to the Palau de la Musica Catalana which I went with a few friends for a concert on Valentine's Day. It was absolutely beautiful, both architecturally and acoustically speaking. We got tickets for 12 euro, which is such a bargain because if you want to just visit the concert hall, the entrance fee is 9 euro in itself! We had kinda crappy seats which you can actually see in the photo, they're the ones to the right on the side of the hall. But there were a ton of empty ones which had the view that this picture captures (mucho más mejor, ¿no?) so we switched during the intermission. The orchestra played pieces by Schumann and Beethoven, the names of which I don't remember right now, but when I told their names to Peter last night he immediately started humming them with his perfect pitch and then proceeded to send me a youtube video of the Schumann piece that I enjoyed very much (more than the Beethoven one.) My friends and I continued our Valentine's Day night with some cake, wine and cheese in our homestay--it really was quite divine.
SIDENOTE: Holy moly, this cafe I'm sitting in right now is incredible. I'm sitting here with my batido de fresa (strawberry milkshake), free wi-fi (wee-fee, hahaa), and then across from me are 5 TV screens with this thing called "Apple TV" that is absolutely INCREDIBLE. Right now, my roommate is listening to an NPR Podcast on the environment, and I am watching the 9th season of Friends, the one after Joey accidentally proposed to Rachel, which is really great because I only brought the 8th season and my roommates and I already finished it. Then there are a million songs and movies, (like Planet Earth!! and Princess Bride!! and Sex and the City!!) and even YouTube videos (like the laughing baby!!), what is this?!? This is my new favorite spot. Actually, Katie just said that this is like heaven. We are going to live here from now on. My friend brought me here a couple of weeks ago and it is so great! They need to bring this to NYC; specifically, Morningside Heights.
Okay, back to blogging...
Where did the travel bug take me next?
>> Granada: I caught the Southern Spain flu in Sevilla, and my roommates and I took the overnight train to Granada the next weekend (best decision ever, it was cheap, I was energized the next day, just do the Renfe =D) Coincidentally, the topic we were going to study next in my Islamic Art class was the Alhambra, which is the oldest Islamic palace in Europe and is Granada’s main attraction (pictured in the background of the photo above.) My roommates and I embarked on our journey to Spain's Islamic past on the first day (thank God we bought our tickets online before and for the Friday that we got there because our friends at the hostel were not so lucky--tickets for Saturday and Sunday were completely sold out!), but not without first stumbling upon a free walking tour given by a former Oregonian wanderer who decided to stay in Spain and live off of the tips he makes off of tourists at one of the hostels. It was quite entertaining--he actually recited a translated version of one of the poems written by the caliphs/emirs of the Alhambra--and was also probably completely full of BS--he recited a translated version of one of the poems written by the caliphs/emirs of the Alhambra.
I really enjoyed the Alhambra, but I think I liked the Great Mosque of Cordoba more, and one reason may be because I didn't have a guide or anything with me at the Alhambra who was explaining and teaching me things about the subtleties of the architecture at every moment. My favorite part of the Alhambra were the muqarnas which are the 3-D geometric shapes that line some domes like the one pictured to the right!
For some reason, our hostel was filled to the brim with British people, so my roommates and I learned a whole lot more about British culture than Spanish culture. It made me think about London in a whole different way, and made me actually want to go there! Before I had just thought that because London was in England, the origin of the English language that we all know and love so much in the US, it wasn't going to be that different from the states. But from our interaction with the Brits, I broke my previous misconceptions of the United Kingdom and now have every desire to go.
We also helped them to break some of their previous stereotypes and impressions of Americans, making a distinction between Americans like us and the very typical "Amurricans" (prounounced George W. style) who we have encountered a lot in our time here as well. We had some great conversations with the British people, especially one of the hostel staff, Chris, who taught us many different vocabulary words, like "Bollocks!" and "Blimey!" and "Fill up your boots!" and who wrote a declaration in the memory book in which my roommates and I make note of our precious moments that we were the nicest American girls he had ever met.
Similar to our adventures in Madrid, my roommates and I needed to satisfy our cravings for food from home, so in Granada, we found the most amazing Mexican restaurant! Chimichangas, enchiladas, quesadillas, frijoles, guacamole, margaritas... delicioso. However, because this lovely restaurant was still located in the great country of Spain, they weren't open for dinner until 8:15pm when we went there at 7:30pm. So, conveniently enough, there was a Chinese dollar/knick-knack store right next door where we entertained ourselves quite a bit by trying to find a birthday present for one of our new British friends at the hostel who was there with his friends to celebrate his 24th birthday. Naturally we settled on a Spanish-English coloring book, complete with Winnie-the-Pooh crayons and a festive purple bow. There was even a page that said "Feliz Cumpleanos" which we colored in to complete the gift. Needless to say, he was thrilled with the gift, and now we have a friend in London to visit, haha :)
But perhaps my most favorite part of Granada was when my roommate, Katie, and I climbed up the hill of the barrio, Sacromonte, across from the Alhambra that is covered with caves that are where the gypsies traditionally live. Then we found the old city wall and climbed up it and saw the most incredible view of the city. There were mountains, the Alhambra, the city, a monastery... it was gorgeous.
On our way back to Barcelona, we met an elderly Spanish man and his wife who were sending off their sister back to Barcelona. The old man was so cute and friendly, and really wanted to set one of us, any of us, up with his son. I might have seriously considered it because I loved Granada so much!
So next weekend will be the first time that someone from home is visiting me here (Sara and Lana, yaay), and then the weekend after that will be the first time I'm taking a trip outside of Spain (to Paris to visit Melanie while Akhila is there, hooray!) Then I will be headed to Costa Brava (northern coast of Spain), and then will be going to Hong Kong to see my parents and we'll be visiting Shanghai as well (which I am so excited about because I think that is my favorite Chinese cuisine of them all!!) All this traveling is really exciting and I'm just very excited about it :)
No comments:
Post a Comment