A class field trip

At the Alhambra with my classmate (and roommate) Anna

Over the weekend I took my first college field trip! My Spanish class loaded up the bus and headed for Andalucia, first stop Granada. Definitely beats St. Joe's annual trips to the Minnesota Institute of Art!

We spent Friday afternoon touring the city. We saw the Cathedral and many other landmarks in Granada. But my favorite part was wandering down a skinny little alley to do some shopping. The alley was covered in little stores selling Moroccan handicrafts and tea sets. Everything was so beautiful and different from things I had seen before!

Saturday morning we took a tour of the Albaicin, which is a neighborhood of winding streets built into the side of the mountain. Granada was the last city to be ruled by Muslims in Spain and the Moorish evidence was everywhere in this part of the city. On our tour we ran into a group of Asian tourists all wearing the same blue track suit. We thought it was pretty funny and were trying to take pictures without them noticing, but of course they did, and decided they wanted to pose with us. So we took the stereotypical yet quintessential "Asian peace sign" picture with our new friends!

The Alhambra was definitely the highlight of the weekend for me. The Alhambra was constructed in the 14th century by Moorish rulers and it is gorgeous. The flowers were budding and the panoramic views of Granada were breathtaking. I couldn't believe the amount of detail in the tiles and carvings on all of the walls and ceilings. We spent a few hours exploring the gardens, ruins, buildings and palaces of the Alhambra. We even saw a wedding party!

Alhambra

View of Granada from the Alhambra

At a restaurant on Friday night, there was a wall filled with photos of places around the world. I was excited that I was able to say I had been to a good number of places on the wall! Sometimes I forget how much I have seen and learned since I came to Spain. At the same time this semester has been a reminder that there is so much of the USA that I haven't seen.

After exploring Granada we headed toward Cordoba. I loved the city of Granada because it was so full of character and culture, I only wish we could have spent more time there. Pictures and a post about Cordoba coming soon!

¡Hasta la próxima!

Cuando salimos para Córdoba y Granada, estaba emocionada para pasar tiempo con mis compañeros y ver las cosas que hemos estudiado en clase. El viaje empecé sin Adam (porque él estaba durmiendo…) pero fuimos a Granada de todos modos. ¡Me encanta la ciudad! Tiene mucho carácter y cultura. No sabía que Granada tenía una mezcla tan grande de culturas pero fue divertido verlas y crean un ambiente acogedor y diferente de otras ciudades que he visitado en España. Disfruté tiempo con mis compañeros y fui a comer en un restaurante multicultural con algunas chicas. Mi parte favorito fue la Alhambra porque a mí me encanta el estilo de arquitectura y los mosaicos que cubren las paredes. Aprendí mucho porque entiendo mejor cuando puedo ver las estructuras de los musulmanes en vez de leer sobre ellas.