Song of the South (of Spain)

It’s April, which means that finals have begun, but more importantly, it is the month of Spring Break! For UNAV, Spring Break is a two week event starting during Holy Week and ending the Sunday following Easter. I decided to be ambitious during these two weeks and take on six Spanish cities: Malaga, Granada, Sevilla, Barcelona, Toledo and Madrid. Read on for a little taste of each of these awesome places.

Malaga:

            Malaga was the first stop of this break. After class on Monday, my friend, Erin, and I jumped on the train with our luggage and headed South. We met up with my roommates at the train station and went to the city center to see the Semana Santa Processions. This is not the type of parade I am used to. It’s a very solemn affair, with hundreds of people dressed up in cloth outfits that cover their faces, identifying themselves as penitents. After many penitents march by, giant displays are carried by dozens of men to the rhythm of the accompanying marching band. These displays represent scenes and characters from the Bible, the principles being Mary and Jesus. Following the displays are hundreds of people who have pledged to follow the procession for the full nine hours. Some walk blind folded or without shoes. It’s a scene like I never could have imagined, and something that everyone should try to see once in their lives.

            The next day, my roommates went to visit family while Erin and I headed to the beach. It’s not quite beach weather yet for many of the locals, so the beach wasn’t particularly crowded, which was nice. Afterwards, we stopped for paella and sangria, a typical dish in this region. Paella is a dish made up of Spanish rice, vegetables, and either sea food or chicken, and sangria is wine with fruit. Both are delicious and readily available in Spain, especially by the shore.

Granada:

            Erin and I caught an early train to Granada since we had only being able to get morning tickets to see Alhambra. But before I talk about Alhambra, I’d like to take a minute to praise Spanish public transportation. It’s great, it really is. Essentially every city has a bus and train station, and tickets are very affordable. Not only is it easy to travel on Spanish public transportation, it’s comfortable too. Our bus had lazy boy-like chairs that reclined way back, and everyone was provided with breakfast pastries and water bottles. South Carolina could stand to learn a thing or two from Spain when it comes to getting around.

            So, after our super comfortable bus ride, we took a quick cab ride over to Alhambra, a royal residence that plays a very important part in Spanish history. It was originally a Muslim residence, which is evidenced by the calligraphy and decorations of the interiors of the buildings. However, it was ultimately taken over by Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain when they forced the Muslims to either convert or leave Spain. Due to this history, Granada and the surrounding area has a very heavy Arab influence. This is especially noticeable in the shopping areas, which are narrow streets full of goods that seem to have come straight from Morocco, such as tapestries, earrings, embroidered shoes, and harem pants. It would be very hard to walk down these alleys without leaving with something new in your hands.

            That night, we went to see a flamenco show at a small local bar. I had never seen flamenco, and it is unlike any type of dance that I have ever even heard of. It’s intense and involves a fair amount of stomping and complex footwork. Flamenco is somewhat hard to explain, so here’s a video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNhfV_53W7A)

            After the show, we watched another processional. This one was even more crowded than the processions in Malaga, and at some points I didn’t think that the display would be able to get through the narrow streets with all of the people gathered to watch. However, it did, and the procession was accompanied by singing and chanting in the streets. Altogether a pretty awesome night.

Sevilla:

            We took a Bla-Bla car to Sevilla. Bla-Bla car is a ride-sharing service that is pretty popular in Spain. I was a little sketched out at first at the thought of getting in a car with a stranger, but it ended up being a quicker, cheaper way to travel. We arrived in Sevilla in time to attend another Semana Santa procession (no plot twist, sorry). Sevilla is known for having the most beautiful and elaborate processionals, a point of pride over the other southern Spanish cities. We watched for a little while before grabbing dinner and calling it a relatively early night.

            The next day, Erin and I walked around the city. Sevilla is a big city and full of tourists, but I liked it nonetheless. Some of the highlights were seeing the city’s bull ring, walking through a beautiful park and feeding the ducks, and boating through around the canals in Plaza De Espana. For all of you Game of Thrones fans, these canals are the set of the Water Gardens of Dorne in the next season. I was pretty pumped about that.

            After a full day of walking, Erin and I headed back to Malaga to catch our respective modes of transportation: hers was a train to Madrid and mine a train to Barcelona to meet my parents for the week.

Barcelona:

            I won’t spend too much time talking about Barcelona since I covered my first trip to this particular city in my last post. My parents and I spent four days here, and during this time we took a bus tour (super tourists), saw la Sagrada Familia (it’s still really cool), went to church on Easter Sunday (didn’t understand a whole lot of that), and walked through Park Guell, which was designed by Gaudi. It’s a stunning park that snakes up a mountain and includes Gaudi’s Gingerbread Houses, which look so realistic that you half expect Hansel and Gretel to run out. After Barcelona, we took a train off to Madrid for the second half of the week.

Madrid:

            This trip was my first time in Madrid, except for some brief stints at the city’s train station and airport. It is the capital of Spain, and much different from the other major Spanish cities I’d visited. In the words of my mom, “In some ways it is so different from U.S. cities, and in other ways it doesn’t seem very different at all.” We were lucky enough to stay by Plaza del Sol, the city center of Madrid, so it was a quick walk to most of the stores and restaurants. Our favorite go-to place in Madrid was El Mercado de San Miguel, which was made up of a bunch of mini restaurants and bakeries and bars. People go to the market all day, but especially in the evening for small plates and a drink or two. Definitely a must-visit for anyone spending time in Madrid.

            On our first day in Madrid, we took a guided bus tour around the city (I know, tourists extraordinaire). While I don’t love feeling so “touristy” after living in the country for almost 5 months, it is a great way to see a lot of the city and learn its history. We also spent a great deal of our trip walking around the city without any real aim, which is generally how I like to spend my travels. I find that it’s the best way to discover and experience the city. One of my favorite finds was a row of vintage book stands, where I spent quite awhile perusing the available books.

            Madrid was in some ways a little overwhelming for me. It’s a huge, crowded city, and like all big cities, it has some seedy areas. Growing up near New York City and Philadelphia, this isn’t a new experience for me, but after living in Pamplona, it was a bit of a surprise. This experience made me think about the potential difficulty I’m going to face readjusting to my life in the U.S., but that’s a post for another day.

Toledo:

            During my and my parents’ trip to Madrid, we took a day to visit Toledo, the historical capital of Spain. Toledo is exactly what one would expect from a historical Spanish city with beautiful architecture, narrow winding roads, and a plethora of history. It is also the home of famous painter El Greco. Unfortunately, it was a very rainy day when we visited Toledo and we only had a limited amount of time to visit, so the sites we were able to see were somewhat limited. However, we did have the opportunity to see the El Greco house museum as well as the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo, which was completed under the Catholic kings and is one of the most stunning churches I’ve seen in Europe.

After two weeks of travel, I headed back to Pamplona, where I am now in the midst of final projects and exams. Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for my next post!

 (Photos: Malaga, float in Holy Week processional, Toledo, Barcelona,  ceiling in Granada, Granada, Plaza D'Espana-GAME OF THRONES)

Adventure is Out There

To start out this entry, I’d like to apologize for the delay in posts! I had just started writing this entry when my laptop bit the dust. I then had limited access to computers and had to focus that time on school work. However, to make up for this lack of communication, I will be posting twice this week! Lucky you! We’ll start out with the post I started (in March) before my laptop’s untimely death.

March is here (and now almost gone) and my months of more frequent travel have begun. The fun started a few weeks ago when I spent two full days in Barcelona.  In general I tend to favor smaller cities, but I have to say that I lost my heart to Barcelona. For those of you who don´t know, Barcelona is a beach city on the east coast of Spain, about four hours from Pamplona by train. While two full days wasn´t nearly enough time to see all of the city, I did get to visit some great places. On the first full day, I ventured to la Boqueria, a food market. There were tons of stands with meat, fish, spices, fruit, juice, vegetables, and most importantly, CANDY. After filling up at the market, I took a boat tour around the ports of Barcelona. It was a gorgeous view, and there was a man playing the accordion which added greatly to the experience. I was feeling very posh, let me tell you.

After the boat tour, it was off to Parc de la Ciutadella, a beautiful park. The first thing I came across was a row of orange trees. I almost lost a shoe trying to get an orange down, but eventually had to admit defeat. There was an ornate fountain in the middle of the park, and street performers entertaining the crowd just outside. Overall, the park was a lovely place to be in the city.

The next day I had the opportunity to visit La Sagrada Familia. Work began on this church in 1882 and continues to this day. Much of its façade and inspiration comes from famous Catalan architect Anton Gaudi. The church is overwhelming in every respect of the word, and so I won´t try to describe it but rather encourage you to check out my picture below. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, and I sincerely doubt that you want to read that many of my words (nor do I want to write them!)

Another interesting experience that I had in Barcelona was going to a restaurant with a set tasting menu. Now, anyone who knows me well knows that I´m a picky eater. I don´t eat anything from the sea, and anything somewhat out of the ordinary simply isn´t my style. So imagine my concern when I saw the words monkfish, duck, spider crab, and lamb included on the menu. However, I´m pleased to say that I enjoyed the meal and have a new appreciation for Spanish cuisine. That being said, I still don´t think I´ll be ordering any monkfish next time I go out to eat.

My next trip was to Ireland with a fellow USC student. Before anyone asks, no, I did not go for Saint Patrick´s Day. I actually arrived the day after and spent four full days on the Emerald Isle. The day I arrived was spent in Dublin exploring and watching a rugby game at Trinity College. I also had my first Irish dinner, shepherd´s pie, which is a pie crust full of beef and veggies and topped with gravy and mashed potatoes. I can truly say that I could live in Ireland for the food if for nothing else.

The next three days were spent in Galway with day trips to the Burren, the Cliffs of Moher, the Aran Islands, and Connemara.  I completed these trips with the Dublin Tour Company, during which I ran into another USC International Business student!  Small world. The Burren was our first stop. It is a national park full of limestone, and is also home to several ancient Irish tombs. Afterward we visited the Cliffs of Moher, which is simply stunning and also a little terrifying. The cliffs seem to challenge you to get as close to their edge as possible for breathtaking pictures, and then remind you of the waves and rocks that lay hundreds of feet below.

The next day we headed to the Aran Islands on a ferry. This visit felt somewhat like stepping back in time. There are very few stores or houses on the island, just sprawling farms with stone walls holding in sheep, horses, and goats. My friend, Keira, and I rented bikes and spent the day peddling along the coast of the island and trying to justify buying the giant woolen sweaters for which the Aran Islands are known.  Unfortunately, no sweaters were bought.

Our final day with the Dublin Tour Company consisted of a trip to Connemara, a somewhat barren part of the country. The highlight was Kylemore Abbey, a breathtaking castle that has served as a private mansion, a school for girls, and an abbey in its long and interesting life. After the abbey, we made a quick stop in the village of Cong, which is one of the smallest villages I’ve ever seen. It is, however, famous for being the location of the movie The Quiet Man. I’d never heard of this movie, but the few residents of Cong are quick to bring it up to any visitors! Rightfully so-the village didn’t have electricity until the film’s shooting.

After days of touring, we returned to Dublin for the last full day in Ireland. In the morning, we took a free tour of the city which included sites such as Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Temple Bar, and Trinity College (Side note-look up these tours in any cities in which you travel-they’re awesome and FREE). After the tour we headed over to the Guinness Factory for a little more information about this famous beer and a free pint. The free pint was somewhat wasted on me-after all this time in Spain, I’m a wine kind of girl.

            So ends my travels for now-check out my next post this weekend to hear about my spring break travels and Semana Santa in Spain!