La Bella Vida: Flamenco, Toros y La Mezquita

Alright, this is LOOOOOOONG overdue, but here it is. The weekend of the 20th-22nd of February is when I went with ISA (my study abroad group) to two beautiful cities of Andalucia, Sevilla and Cordoba. Friday and Saturday night we stayed in Sevilla and then spent Sunday in Cordoba and drove back to Granada during the late afternoon on Sunday. Sevilla was absolutely beautiful and so much fun. For a large city, it has a very small city feel to it which was nice; I didn't feel bombarded like I sometimes do in Madrid (which is somewhat like New York). I saw so much, but I would like to return if possible.

Sevilla 20th and 21st
Our first evening in Sevilla, we were given a mini tour of part of town where the Rio Guadalquivir runs through. It is a very long and wide river that passes through southern Spain. It was absolutely beautiful at night and warm, a light sweater was all we needed to walk around. Around 10pm we were done and it was time for dinner. With the wonderful girls from my "intensive trimester" program, we went to a really good Italian restaurant that was along the river. It was actually a really cool place and they had really random pictures of American celebrities posted everywhere. We shared a pitcher of Sangria and talked about our plans for the next day.

On Saturday, everyone went on a tour of Sevilla to see the highlights of the city. We walked around the streets that were least populated, which was nice to not see hundreds of people around, and visited La Alcazar. This used to be an Arabic palace, but when Los Reyes Catolicos (Isabel and Fernando) expelled all the Muslims from Andalucia they converted the palace into a Catholic palace. They didn't destroy the structure; they kept the architecture the same. The palace has some small gardens, but lots of patios which are full of beautiful plants and fountains. We also went underground where the royal family used to bathe in a very long "bathtub".

We then visited the Cathedral of Sevilla, which is the 3rd largest Cathedral in all of Spain after Toledo and Salamanca...I've been fortunate to now have visited all 3! The Cathedral is very large and open. This is where Christopher Columbus' corpse now is buried. It's actually in a very large stone tomb and there are 4 statues of guards carrying the tomb and each guard has a coat of arms on their chest. There are 4 coats of arms that represent the 4 most powerful areas of Spain: Castilla-Leon, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha and Navarra. One of the guards has a spear that is stabbing a pomegranate, which represents Granada. It is actually really cool. We were then given free time for the rest of the day. Before we left the cathedral we walked to the top of the bell tower to see all of Sevilla...all I can say is.... que impresionante!!!

We walked around for a little while and found a quaint little restaurant, with a terrace outside, where we decided to eat so that we could enjoy the sun. I ordered paella (which is from Valencia) and it was pretty good; of course I didn't get any mariscos with it. We all really wanted to see the Plaza de Toros (the bullfighting "stadium") in Sevilla because it's one of the more famous ones. We took a tour of the inside of the plaza and then saw the museum where there were outfits and pictures of famous toreros and even some heads of more famous bulls...yes, these bulls were famous. It was really interesting to see and it is actually very beautiful. The bottom of the plaza is painted yellow to represent the sand in the plaza and the top is painted white, I think for purity, and then all the trimmings and borders are a deep red for the bull's blood. A lot of buildings in Sevilla were painted like this and I found them beautiful. Later, we walked around for awhile and went back to the hotel to rest a little bit.

That evening we saw a Flamenco show because we decided that if we are going to see one in Spain, it should be in Sevilla. Anna had a book on Sevilla and it recommended this small flamenco place. We walked there, bought the tickets, and then went to get tapas an hour before the show. The show was incredible! We were seated in a patio that was in the center of the building we were in but without a roof. It was decorated beautifully with bowls of water with floating flowers and vines going up and down the sides of the walls. In the center of the patio was the small platform and three chairs behind it. There was a guitarist, a singer and two flamenco dancers, one male and one female. It was an hour long show and one of the most moving things I've seen in my life. Something about the flamenco guitar and the singing mixed with the dancing really moves me emotionally. I really enjoyed it and both dancers were spectacular! Enjoy the pictures, we were allowed 5 minutes at the end to take these pictures....magnificent.

At the Plaza de Toros. The colors are just beautiful! In the picture: Anna, Me, Katie and Maggie.

The tomb of Christopher Columbus with the 4 statues symbolizing the four strong powers of Spain. The pomegranate is underneath the spear of the statue on the front right.

The "imagen" in the center of the altar in the Cathedral of Sevilla.

The Jewish quarter of Sevilla, which is behind the Alcazar.

The largest fountain/pond in Alcazar.

Katie, me and Maggie.

This is the royal bath, pretty nice, huh?

One of the patios inside the Alcazar.

If you notice, these trees were planted lower than the path you can walk on. The reason these orange trees were planted so low was so that when the trees grew to their full size, it would be easy for the people to pick the oranges from the trees....very smart people!

One of my favorite architectural designs inside the Alcazar....so beautiful.

The entrance to the Alcazar.

Gothic architecture! Sevilla's Cathedral.

The main patio outside of the Alcazar, but still within its walls.

The archway to get into the Alcazar.

One of the streets in Sevilla...look at all these colors! One of my directors said that Sevilla is so colorful because the Spaniards designed Sevilla similarly to the towns in South America...love it!

The first night in Sevilla, this is the river Guadalquivir. Sorry if it is a little blurry.

The bathroom inside of the Italian restaurant. You will never be alone in the bathroom, because you have Johnny Depp watching over you....hehe...in the guys bathroom there are pictures of female celebrities (I am told).

Statue of a Torero.

Anna, Me and Katie in front of a look-out tower on the river.

These seats belong to the Royal Family when they come to watch the bullfights.

In front of the Plaza de Toros...Katie, Anna, Mikayla, me and Maggie...what angry bulls...

The incredible flamenco dancers, singer and quitarist!

The guitarist and the male dancer. The male flamenco dancer was absolutely amazing...one of the best male dancers I've seen. I wish I could explain completely what I saw, but it is just too hard. Just incredible.

Cordoba-Sunday 22nd
We left Sevilla around 10am and then drove to Cordoba, which wasn't too far away. When we got there we were given an hour and a half to walk around and have lunch. We walked around the streets near the Mezquita and checked out the small shops. Then we had lunch at a cafe right next to the Mezquita, which was nice because we were able to admire it from afar. Then, as a group, we took a tour of the Mezquita, which is a mosque that was later turned into a Catholic church after 1492. Just to remind you, this is where Mario, my brother, studied abroad last fall. The Mezquita was so beautiful inside. It had tons of archways inside, over 800. I would imagine it used to be easy to get lost inside. In the very center of the mosque there is an altar, which was added during the Spanish inquisition after all the Muslims were removed from Spain. Thankfully, the rest of the mosque kept its design and form because it is very beautiful. I like the gardens even more. After the Mezquita, we were given a tour around the quieter part of the city which was really nice. We then headed back to Granada. Enjoy the pictures!