Monday-Wednesday was our group trip to Andalusia - southern Spain and basically the last strongholds of the Arab world in Spain. Our trip also coincided with the first half of Semana Santa (Holy Week), thus making it extra special.
The bus to Andalusia took about 6hrs with a break in between, driving through what I think was La Mancha, thus the occasional windmills. Not to mention the home region of Almodovar as well.
Day 1 Granada - absolutely the last Arab fortress and stronghold in Spain. They had lived in Spain for 800 years until 1492 when they were pushed out by the new Castillian kingdom, thus allowing Colombus to sail the ocean blue. The city is no doubt ancient but also FULL of character - graffiti, hills and mountains, tiny curving streets, tea houses, and what I think are hippies. They sure have some good falafel and kebab. Not to mention the beautiful tour of the cathedral we had. Almost makes me want to be catholic.....Nevermind.
Day 2 Alhambra - before we made our way to Sevilla, and after our awesome continental breakfast at the hotel, we spent a few hours on top of a hill at the Alhambra the last Arab fortress, from which the view of the city and even the Sierra Nevadas (the other one) can be seen. At this point I should direct you to pics that are (or will be) on Facebook, because it was truly gorgeous. But at any given place I've been on this trip, I have to say that no matter how many pictures I take, none of them will ever do the real thing justice. It is, just so very immense and cool.
2nd stop Sevilla - Formerly the gateway port for ships arriving from and going to the New World. Here we had another tour of the the Alacazar, the royal palace of both Muslim and Christian influence during a time of co-existence between the two. We also saw, if only for 15 minutes, the Plaza de Espana the next morning. Again for both of these places, words are not sufficient. What I can say is the the processions in Sevilla are INSANE. Already about 30-40 walk away from the hotel, it took us 3hrs to find our way back because of the literally thousands of people in the streets at night following the processions, constantly confusing us and cutting us off. I used to think they were cool...not so much anymore
Day 3 Cordoba - the only thing really to see here is the Mosque/Mezquita, the mosque so large and beautiful the Christians decided to leave the foundations in-tact and just add to it.
On the whole the trip was well worth it. The history so very rich and the sights like none I've seen before, all in a span of 3 days. PLUS a few extraordinary finds that totally made my trip, such as seeing a couple singing "Volver" flamenco style (a la Penelope Cruz's character in Volver) in Cordoba, and some other very special find...
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I can go home now.
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