¡Saludos de España! Spanish keyboards totally make typing Spanish words way easier, btw. Ñ HAS ITS OWN KEY!!
Ok, so this post will be lacking in fotos because I´m on a public computer, but I am otherwise eager to post this first update from Spain. Here follows the account of our first misadventures.
MADRID
Kevin and I left Seattle on Thursday morning and landed in Spain on Friday morning. I still feel like that day never existed. Kev slept not at all on the plane, and I ill-advisedly kept my contacts in for the entire 24 hours of travel and location of our hotel. So my eyes hurt real bad. But other than that, Madrid was totally great. I was able to navigate us to the airport to our hotel without too much trouble. Even though our hotel´s street wasn´t listed on any map (seriously), I figured out that madrileños (Madrid-folk) are really nice and helpful with silly American tourists who own faulty maps. The first afternoon, we checked out the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) which destroyed my definition of opulence. First of all, there is a ceramic room. I´m talking walls, ceiling, ornamentation - everything. It looks like one giant piece of pottery YOU CAN SLEEP IN. Secondly, the carpeted walls and intricate tapestries make Graceland look like a hovel. Later that evening, after totally taking advantage of a FAT siesta, we walked around the Plaza Mayor and strolled around the La Latina district and got some tapas. I don´t know if you are familiar with Iberico ham, but it is the stuff of dreams. It comes from a pig that ONLY eats acorns its whole life. I seriously don´t understand why cannibals bother with human flesh. It is brilliant. We had a night cap in the Plaza mayor and then went off to bed. The next morning, we hit up the Prado Museum (must see) and spent about 4 hours with my friends Goya, Velazquez, and El Greco. I didn get a chance to go the Reina Sofia museum (home to Guernica) but I will be sure to hit that up when I go back through Madrid for my flight back. The weather in Madrid was actually really pleasant. Probably low to mid 80s and sunny with a breeze. Things took a turn, however, after that.
CORDOBA
We took an afternoon AVE express train to Cordoba, a city of about 300k people. I insisted we include Cordoba in our tour of southern Spain for the Mezquita, the cathedral neé mosque, originally founded by the Visigoths in the 6th century, then razed by the Moors after their invasion of Spain in 711 where they built an elaborate mosque, then converted to a gorgeous cathedral after Cordoba fell into the hands of Christians during the Reconquista. I fell in love with the Mezquita after watching Darren Aronofsky´s exquisitely flawed film, The Fountain. I recommend seeing it if only for the visuals. It was everything I could have asked for in person. Easily one of the most beautiful structures I have ever seen in my entire life, and the depth of its history is apparent in its unique beauty. I will definitely be loading pictures when I get the chance with more explanations. After the wonder of the Mezquita, we went to the Museum of Torture, which had really graphic depictions of the torture inflicted on heretics (mostly women) during the Inquisition. Mel Gibson would have loved it. As we wandered around the beautiful historic whitewashed buildings and (pre)medieval architecture, we realized the temperature just kept climbing - even after like 5 pm. It got to about 101 before we decided to splurge on an Arab bath. Three temperatures of soaking water, and a relaxing massage at the end. It was glorious. Well, except for the really hairy men in the baths. I wonder how often they have to clean the drains with mediterranean men in there all the time? Anyway, it was a lovely experience and the perfect cure for footsore tourists adjusting from the 45 degree rainy climate of Seattle. We also checked out the Puente Romano later that evening (Roman Bridge almost fully restored) and had a great dinner at this restaurant called El Churrasco, and I had the eponymous Churrasco, a pork filet served in Arab sauces. It was off the hook.
GRANADA
We got up really early this morning to take a 2.5 hour bus to Granada, home to La Alhambra. Although Granada has almost the exact same population as Cordoba, the two could not have felt more different. Cordoba felt so relaxed, the old historic district (where we stayed) was incredibly well preserved with hardly any modern infiltration, and while there were definitely a fair amount of tourists, I never felt like I did in Paris and Rome: e.g. waiting in line for hours next to screaming kids, guys who wear socks with sandals, and a full mosaic of fanny packs. Cordoba felt like a vacation. First impressions of Granada are that it is crowded, busy, packed, monuments are side by side with apartments and office towers, and (since La Alhambra is the most visited site in Spain) I felt like a grumpy member of a cattle herd during my visit to La Alhambra this afternoon. Perhaps the integration of the old and new in Granada is what makes Granada feel so vibrant and alive, but the flip side is it feels overstuffed and at times kitschy. Cordoba, while great for a tourist looking for a peaceful vacation, gave me the feeling it is more a city in decline, or struggling to find its place in modern Spain. But hey, I only spent a few days in each place so what do I know? Anyway, La Alhambra was absolutely beautiful. There was so much to see. Like La Mezquita, it was built by the Moors but recaptured by the Spanish and converted for the latter´s puposes after the Reconquista. The difference is that La Alhambra was the last bastion of Moorish stregnth in Spain, so, as the haven for Islamic culture in Spain, it had a few more centuries of wealth and artistic development as the other regions fell one by one - and the results are insanely intricate and beautiful. I didn´t even know it was possible to create the type of detailed fixtures I saw in La Alhambra - and the Moors did it a thousand years ago. Lots of pictures coming soon. Probably too many, in fact. The gardens and grounds are just as lovely. Aside from the cattle-like nature of visiting La Alhambra during peak tourist season and the HEAT HEAT HEAT that comes from visiting Spain during July, I really enjoyed the experience. I look forward to tomorrow: the Capilla Real (Royal Chapel), final resting place of Ferdinand and Isabela, the Cathedral, and touring the gardens of the first mosque to be built in Spain in 500 years. Someone tell those people boycotting the Ground Zero mosque that Spain survived a new mosque on controversial ground totally fine.
Ok, if you´ll excuse me, I need to go ingest some salt so I don´t dehydrate. Tomorrow afternoon we leave for Cadiz! Itś a 5 hour bus ride, and I will probably finish the third Game of Thrones book (Is it just me or is it getting TOTALLY EFFED UP AND DEPRESSING?). Iǘe gotten some great suggestions from you all so far. Keep them coming!
Ok, so this post will be lacking in fotos because I´m on a public computer, but I am otherwise eager to post this first update from Spain. Here follows the account of our first misadventures.
MADRID
Kevin and I left Seattle on Thursday morning and landed in Spain on Friday morning. I still feel like that day never existed. Kev slept not at all on the plane, and I ill-advisedly kept my contacts in for the entire 24 hours of travel and location of our hotel. So my eyes hurt real bad. But other than that, Madrid was totally great. I was able to navigate us to the airport to our hotel without too much trouble. Even though our hotel´s street wasn´t listed on any map (seriously), I figured out that madrileños (Madrid-folk) are really nice and helpful with silly American tourists who own faulty maps. The first afternoon, we checked out the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) which destroyed my definition of opulence. First of all, there is a ceramic room. I´m talking walls, ceiling, ornamentation - everything. It looks like one giant piece of pottery YOU CAN SLEEP IN. Secondly, the carpeted walls and intricate tapestries make Graceland look like a hovel. Later that evening, after totally taking advantage of a FAT siesta, we walked around the Plaza Mayor and strolled around the La Latina district and got some tapas. I don´t know if you are familiar with Iberico ham, but it is the stuff of dreams. It comes from a pig that ONLY eats acorns its whole life. I seriously don´t understand why cannibals bother with human flesh. It is brilliant. We had a night cap in the Plaza mayor and then went off to bed. The next morning, we hit up the Prado Museum (must see) and spent about 4 hours with my friends Goya, Velazquez, and El Greco. I didn get a chance to go the Reina Sofia museum (home to Guernica) but I will be sure to hit that up when I go back through Madrid for my flight back. The weather in Madrid was actually really pleasant. Probably low to mid 80s and sunny with a breeze. Things took a turn, however, after that.
CORDOBA
We took an afternoon AVE express train to Cordoba, a city of about 300k people. I insisted we include Cordoba in our tour of southern Spain for the Mezquita, the cathedral neé mosque, originally founded by the Visigoths in the 6th century, then razed by the Moors after their invasion of Spain in 711 where they built an elaborate mosque, then converted to a gorgeous cathedral after Cordoba fell into the hands of Christians during the Reconquista. I fell in love with the Mezquita after watching Darren Aronofsky´s exquisitely flawed film, The Fountain. I recommend seeing it if only for the visuals. It was everything I could have asked for in person. Easily one of the most beautiful structures I have ever seen in my entire life, and the depth of its history is apparent in its unique beauty. I will definitely be loading pictures when I get the chance with more explanations. After the wonder of the Mezquita, we went to the Museum of Torture, which had really graphic depictions of the torture inflicted on heretics (mostly women) during the Inquisition. Mel Gibson would have loved it. As we wandered around the beautiful historic whitewashed buildings and (pre)medieval architecture, we realized the temperature just kept climbing - even after like 5 pm. It got to about 101 before we decided to splurge on an Arab bath. Three temperatures of soaking water, and a relaxing massage at the end. It was glorious. Well, except for the really hairy men in the baths. I wonder how often they have to clean the drains with mediterranean men in there all the time? Anyway, it was a lovely experience and the perfect cure for footsore tourists adjusting from the 45 degree rainy climate of Seattle. We also checked out the Puente Romano later that evening (Roman Bridge almost fully restored) and had a great dinner at this restaurant called El Churrasco, and I had the eponymous Churrasco, a pork filet served in Arab sauces. It was off the hook.
GRANADA
We got up really early this morning to take a 2.5 hour bus to Granada, home to La Alhambra. Although Granada has almost the exact same population as Cordoba, the two could not have felt more different. Cordoba felt so relaxed, the old historic district (where we stayed) was incredibly well preserved with hardly any modern infiltration, and while there were definitely a fair amount of tourists, I never felt like I did in Paris and Rome: e.g. waiting in line for hours next to screaming kids, guys who wear socks with sandals, and a full mosaic of fanny packs. Cordoba felt like a vacation. First impressions of Granada are that it is crowded, busy, packed, monuments are side by side with apartments and office towers, and (since La Alhambra is the most visited site in Spain) I felt like a grumpy member of a cattle herd during my visit to La Alhambra this afternoon. Perhaps the integration of the old and new in Granada is what makes Granada feel so vibrant and alive, but the flip side is it feels overstuffed and at times kitschy. Cordoba, while great for a tourist looking for a peaceful vacation, gave me the feeling it is more a city in decline, or struggling to find its place in modern Spain. But hey, I only spent a few days in each place so what do I know? Anyway, La Alhambra was absolutely beautiful. There was so much to see. Like La Mezquita, it was built by the Moors but recaptured by the Spanish and converted for the latter´s puposes after the Reconquista. The difference is that La Alhambra was the last bastion of Moorish stregnth in Spain, so, as the haven for Islamic culture in Spain, it had a few more centuries of wealth and artistic development as the other regions fell one by one - and the results are insanely intricate and beautiful. I didn´t even know it was possible to create the type of detailed fixtures I saw in La Alhambra - and the Moors did it a thousand years ago. Lots of pictures coming soon. Probably too many, in fact. The gardens and grounds are just as lovely. Aside from the cattle-like nature of visiting La Alhambra during peak tourist season and the HEAT HEAT HEAT that comes from visiting Spain during July, I really enjoyed the experience. I look forward to tomorrow: the Capilla Real (Royal Chapel), final resting place of Ferdinand and Isabela, the Cathedral, and touring the gardens of the first mosque to be built in Spain in 500 years. Someone tell those people boycotting the Ground Zero mosque that Spain survived a new mosque on controversial ground totally fine.
Ok, if you´ll excuse me, I need to go ingest some salt so I don´t dehydrate. Tomorrow afternoon we leave for Cadiz! Itś a 5 hour bus ride, and I will probably finish the third Game of Thrones book (Is it just me or is it getting TOTALLY EFFED UP AND DEPRESSING?). Iǘe gotten some great suggestions from you all so far. Keep them coming!
Loved reading this - your trip sounds awesome so far! (and you're getting me super excited about our voyage over there - yay!)
ReplyDeleteHey! I'm finishing the third book too! The fifth just arrived in the mail...
ReplyDeleteCAN'T READ FAST ENOUGH.