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)
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