Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Rain or Shine

Once again, I apologize for the length of time between the last post and this one.  Things are getting very busy.  Believe it or not (I can’t) but I only have two weeks left here in Granada.  The last two weekends my friends and I did our last trip outside the city, to Sevilla and Cadiz.  Although Sevilla is an amazing city full of things to explore, we only did a day trip there.  Sevilla is the capital of Andulucia and also one of the hottest places in Spain.  I thought that a trip there would be a great break from the constant rain Granada had been experiencing, but we arrived to weather that with only a little exaggeration could be described as a deluge.  Despite the weather, we managed to see everything on our checklist, and have a great time. 


The first stop was the cathedral.  Previously, the Cathedral had been a mosque, but was converted to a church after the reconquista.  The whole thing was rebuilt after earthquakes damaged the original mosque, and the cathedral is now the third largest church in the world and the largest Gothic cathedral.  Needless to say, it was amazing.  Inside the church, you can see the location of Christopher Columbus’ remains.  There had been some confusion as to whether Columbus was actually buried in the Cathedral, but after DNA testing it was confirmed.  Originally Columbus was buried in Cuba, but moved back to Spain in the early 20th century.  His tomb is marked by a monument with four men, representing the kingdoms of Spain, León, Castile, Aragón and Navarra.  Attached to the Cathedral is the Giralda tower.  The tower is really tall, and provides an amazing view of the city, even when it is raining.  Rather than climbing stairs to the top of the Giralda you take ramps.  The Giralda was built with ramps to allow horses to climb to the top. 

After the Cathedral, we walked through Sevilla a bit and got a feel for the city.  We walked by the Plaza de Toros, which looked pretty.  We also hid in a McDonalds for a while in an attempt to avoid the worst of the rain, and enjoyed French fries and McFlurries.  Once the rain lightened up a bit, we headed to the Alcazar.  We took to calling the Alcazar the “Practice Alhambra”.  It served as a royal palace for when the city was the capital of Moorish Spain, or Al-Andulus.  The architecture was very similar to the Alhambra and it was very pretty.  There seemed to be more gardens in the Alcazar, and the flowers and trees were beautiful.  There were also animals, the most interesting of which were the peacocks.  It actually stopped raining for about 20 minutes while we were walking around the gardens, which made them even more enjoyable. 

After the Alcazar, we went to the Plaza de España.  The plaza was built when Sevilla hosted the world fair, and was built in the style of Moorish architecture.  It is surrounded by buildings, mostly government buildings, and has a fountain in the middle.  Along the outskirts of the plaza there are alcoves representing the different regions of Spain, and we made sure to stop and take a picture in Granada.  The sun came out for about an hour and we sat and enjoyed it and watching the people in the plaza.  After the plaza we walked through a park, and enjoyed some more flowers, trees and animals, and then went back to the bus station.  Even though we only spent a day in Sevilla, I definitely got a good feel for the city.  Hopefully I get to go back and explore it more someday, but if not, I saw the most important things. 

The next weekend was our last trip, and happened to be with the whole group.  The program planned a trip to Cadiz, a beach town about four or five hours from Granada.  Even with the pretty scenery, five hours is too much for one bus ride.  The first night there we had our farewell dinner.  It was the last time we were doing something as a group, and they decided that it would be an ideal time for the dinner, since now everything is crazy with exams coming up.  It felt very strange to be having a farewell dinner.  I have come to know many of the people in the program pretty well, and it was sad to think about saying goodbye to everybody.  However, the food was good and everybody had a great time.  After the dinner, my friends and I went out to the beach (which was right across the street from our hotel).  

Cadiz is a very interesting city, with plenty of history.  However, after so many trips and so much planning, we just didn’t feel like being tourist that weekend.  We spent the whole two days on the beach, taking in the ocean and sun.  It was nice not to have to worry about getting to museums before they close, and figuring out the best time to beat the crowds to the historical landmarks.  It was nice to just relax and hang out with friends, before papers and final exams took over our lives.  The whole weekend was great, but I was surprised by how emotional I was.  Being on the beach again made me miss Rhode Island so much more, and I was excited that pretty soon I would be back home and at the beaches I know and love, spending time with people I know and love and have missed.  On the other hand, the weekend made me realize how close I am to leaving.  I have made some great friends here, and have grown to love Spain.  I know the next two weeks will be filled with the same mix of emotions, but I am not going to let that get in my way of enjoying the time I have left here.  

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