So this past weekend I took my last ISA excursion and we went to Córdoba and Granada! The group had a tour of the Great Mosque of Córdoba, which was pretty cool because you can see all the influences of past conquerors in this one building! The Muslims first came to Córdoba and built a mosque, with its characteristic horseshoe arches and red and white coloring from the Umayyad Dynasty (all the I learned from my art and architecture class so I was well verses before I visited haha). The Christians then took over the Muslims in the area and turned the mosque into a cathedral, with characteristics such as high ceilings and a bell tower. It's a really cool building and it was cool to see the different architectural styles that blend into one. After the tour we found a quaint little restaurant called 101 Tapas where I enjoyed some fried calamari and croquettes! We didn't spend much time in Córdoba before boarding the buses and heading to Granada, which I was really excited to see! Granada is set in between the Sierra Nevadas and the beach so it makes for a perfect location. The city is smaller than Sevilla but has some awesome history. Granada was the last territory in Spain to be taken over by the Christians from the Muslims who had previously occupied the city. Because of this, Granada has many Muslim influences, as well as many parts around Spain, including Sevilla. While in Granada our group visited The Alhambra, the previous home to Charles V, the Royal Chapel, where Ferdinand and Isabel are buried, and we even saw a authentic Flamenco show! It was an awesome experience! The only downside to Granada was that we had rain almost all weekend but that didn't keep me from exploring! On the last day in Granada I had the crazy coincidence of running into someone that I knew from Clemson! I was just casually walking around the city with some friends when I spotted a Clemson shirt...and low and behold I knew the kid wearing it! We actually played Club Tennis together my freshman year at Clemson and it was so crazy to find out that he was studying in Granada this semester! It was nice to get to catch up a little bit and it was so cool to see someone from back home! What a way to end my trip. After the trip I made the conclusion that if I hadn't picked Sevilla to study in then Granada would've been my 2nd choice. But Sevilla still tops my list ;)
The Great Mosque of Córdoba
The Alhambra with the snow capped Sierra Nevadas in the background
Me and Megan hanging out at the Alhambra
this is how Amuricans deal with rainy days...
ran into a fellow tiger, Jay, in Granada!
Also, today in between my classes I decided to sign up to learn Sevilliana, which is the typical Flamenco dance of Sevilla, that was being taught by one of the ISA directors! Feria is fastly approaching (it begins on Monday!) and I thought it would be fun to learn the dance that's so popular in Sevilla! Feria is like a huge party for Sevillanos, complete with rides, lives music, great food and drink, and of course, Flamenco! It was definitely fun learning the dance but I've realized that I'm not coordinated enough for the dance. It will take some practicing that's for sure! Here's a pic of my attempt ;)
And one last thing, I'd like to remind everyone that I come home in...22 DAYS! Where did the time go?
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