The Fragrant Flowers of Andalucia

[The orange trees in southern Espanya]

Andulucia...sweltering heat and absolutely stunning views of rolling hills and azure skies. We started off in Grenada and saw the Al-Hambra Palace, which was incredible. Beat Versailles anyday! It was built for Grenada´s muslim caliphs between the 13th and 15th centuries. The plaster work and intricate woodwork is breathtaking and pictures definitely didnt do it justice. It is an excellent example of the beauty of islamic architecture using perfect semmetry and a combination of tranquil pools of water with lotus flowers and an assortment of roses in full bloom. In its intricate design and sumptious inner quarters, we could not even begin to imagine what the Nasrid Palace (Palacio Nazaris) looked like in full color before the process of natural weathering.



Cordoba was our next stop and it was a cute little town. We were a stones throw from the Mesquita, which was an 11th century mosque that was turned into a cathedral when the Muslim empire fell in cordoba. After both Sevilla and Cordoba fell, the Muslims moved to Grenada, which is when the Al hHambra was built. It was crazy to see how the characteristic Islamic architecture was ¨Christianized¨... the delicate woodcarvings were stripped and worked over by embellished gold and the 8 point stars atop the domes were redorated with flowers. Lattice worked windows were converted to stained glass and crucifixes replaced the spaces under the characteristic arches. After seeing the Mesquita we walked in the sweltering heat and passed the famous Andulucia orange trees. It was beautiful! That night we went to the Festival Guitarra Cordoba and watched manuel Barrueco play the spanish guitar.



We got into Sevilla (pronounced Sev-ee-ya) yesterday morning and it is such a cute town. Beautiful old hispano-muslim architecture and horse and carriages everywhere! i wish i could get pictures on this thing! There are Rebajas (sales) everywhere but the stores were closed today (domingos-sunday), the only day we had to shop! maybe its a sign!!! The heat sucks the life right out of us and we are trying hard to stay hydrated. We went to the alcazaba today which had some more beautiful islamic architecture that was retained in some areas and christianized in others when the muslim empire fell. Then we saw the Sevilla Cathedral which was beautiful as well... we went to the top of the Giralda tower (which was a minueret of the mosque in the muslim days) and soaked in beautiful views of the city. Right now is siesta time...it is way too hot to walk around! Tonight we are going to see an authentic flamenco show and then go to a festival where there is food from around the world and awesome spanish music. On to Madrid tomorrow!

Hola...Siesta Time!

Currently in Barcelona -- and its actually not all what i expected it to be. I find that the city doesnt have much unique character...it could be any big city with lots of people and odd smells. I dont see much local culture, and there are a lot of random people on the streets.

The timings here work so differently...clubs dont start bumping until 2:00 am ... so what are people supposed to do until then? Its pretty crazy...so most people wake up really late, then go shopping or to the beach, then siesta time you eat and sleep and rest up...until around 10:00 when you go for a really late dinner, then a pub until the clubs open at 2:00, then party till 6:00 and start all over again. We haven´t done any of this yet because we end up getting sooo tired by 12:00...so lame!! But we have been waking up quite late and its more laid back and relaxed. Today we decided we are going to nap until about 12:00 am and then go out!! lets see if it actually works!!



I guess there is a bit to see here...we saw some very very random architecture by Gaudi...and tomorrow we might see some Picasso. Shopping season started on July 1st --we saw the prices change over night. Other than that i feel as though Barcelona is quite the dissapointment! I have 2 more days here...i´ll keep an open mind and hopefully my opinon will change.



As for trendspotting...Satin is in in in!! Longer leggings seem to be the new rather than the calf long ones and white skinnys are chic!!

There is a HUGE roach at this internet cafe! ewww!

i´m cutting my losses and leaving!!! EWWW

The Land of The Basques

Currently in San Sebastian --the Basque are absolutely beautiful people. They have a language that has no latin roots and they have no traceble lineage -- meaning that they are one of the oldest civilizations living here in Spain.

We got an absolutely amazing little hostel and are so upset that we just booked one night! The hostel is like a home -- not too many people so everyone becomes like family -- huge bathrooms like we are in someonés house &we can cook anytime we want in the little kitchen. We even have a dvd player!

Yesterday after getting into town we sat on the beach -- so nice to finally wear bikinis. Then we ate some amazing Pinchos (called Tapas everywhere else in Spain...basically like little appetizers served during siesta time). So we had cod, skewers of sizzling shrimp and sangria of course!!

This morning we did our first Spain shopping (make room in the shoe closet mummy!!). Although my bag is already quite heavy with the 4 articles of clothes i brought with me so i´m really going to try to limit myself.

Tonight we are off on a first class night train to Barcelona. Adios!

To view some pictures of the trip this far, click here!