El Albayzín, Sevilla, Córdoba, y baile Flamenco

After a whole week without a blog I finally decided it was time to take a break from my crazy life right and sit down to write a little something, specifically for my momma (who I miss dearly). I can not believe that I have been in this beautiful city for 12 days already, it blows my mind. I feel like yesterday I was packing all my last minute items into my suitcase and standing awkwardly in the lobby of O'Hare while my mom took pictures of me. It scares me to think about my last week here and how sad it is going to be to leave this city, my host mom, and all the AMAZING people in my program. I don't know if I can even express how great these people are. To sum it up there is not one person that is in this group that I would not feel lucky enough to be friends with. Fortunately I am lucky enough to have a couple of these special people going back to my school with me :).

Alright, enough of looking to the future. This past week was so much fun! If you couldn't tell from the title I have been out and about exploring this city and a few others. Last Thursday my group went to a neighborhood within Granada called El Albayzín. It was actually the same place I had gone shopping before with all the moroccan stores lined up next to each other and the Tea House with the bohemian decorations. But this time while I was walking through the streets I was given a little history lesson. I wish very much that I could tell you guys more about the history of the area and the buildings but after almost a week of constantly receiving new information by brain has started to overload. We eventually made our way to the top of the town where there was a look out over the whole city of Granada. The first thing that Noellia (our leader) said as we were walking up to the spot of the look out was "don't freak out when you first see it" and let me tell you, this view was worthy of a melt down. I am typically more of a nature person and find the most beauty in views of mountains, oceans, and mother nature's purity. But the scene of the blue sky, the Arabic buildings, and Maze of streets from above comes close to some of my favorite Colorado landscapes. I have some pictures but they will never be able to do the beauty of the view justice.

We then spent the weekend taking a road trip to Sevilla and Córdoba. Saturday we drove to Sevilla. When we arrived there we were first taken to the beautiful Plaza de España, which this scene of Star Wars was filmed at -

So cool.

It was so beautiful and, like everything else in Spain, romantic. There were horse drawn carriages every way you looked and a small river where couples in row boats were enjoying the view. 

After talking around and enjoying the movie-esq. scene we moved onto La Catedral de Sevilla, which is the third-largest cathedral. Only Saint Peter's Basilica of the Vatican and Notre Dame stand before it. Without knowing the extent of what lay before us, we started up the stairs of the tower within the church. More than 30 (yes THIRTY) flights of stares later, we arrived at the top of the tower. In Spain they would say "vale la pena" or it was worth the pain. You could see out over the whole city. 

As cool as Sevilla was to visit, I definitely gained an appreciation for Granada. It truly is THE most beautiful city.

The next day we woke up early and headed to Córdoba. It was yet another magical town. We visited a former Islamic mosque that had been turned into a Catholic Cathedral. It had the elegance of the Arabic arches mixed with the grandness of the Catholic paintings and carvings. It was a very unique and beautiful buildings. 

After a whole weekend of traveling we had Monday off for free time. I explored a beautiful park that was decorated with every color of roses imaginable and enjoyed my free time. 

Tuesday we went Flamenco dancing. It was the most fun I have had in a long time! We learned how to do a short dance. For some of you that knew me in high school you will understand what I mean when I say that my Deb was really showing ;). The real Flamenco dancers then put on a show for us. It was a good half an hour of dancing and I was not bored once. The romance of this type of dancing is captivating. Here are a few pictures: 

Well, that's all for now. I will try to be more consistent with my posts!! 

-Danielle