This past weekend our school took us on a trip to Córdoba and Granada, both are cities that are in the southern and famous Andalucia: Andalucia is known as containing countless historical sights from back when the Moores came up from Africa and took over at a time when Islam was becoming prominent in the area, and it is also known for its Flamenco dancing and beautiful fans (you know, for waving when you´re hot).
There was a lot of driving, about 12 hours to go down to Granada, where we slept, and back to Madrid on Sunday. On the way to Granada we stopped in Córdoba to see an old Mosque that was adapted into a Catholic Church, La Catedral de Córdoba. We walked around, and looked at the amazing arches. Since the semi circle has significance in Islam there were hundreds of semi circles all over the place. The use of light was different too. In the center of the mosque is where the Cathedral was added on and there was a lot more constant light coming in from the ceiling there, than anywhere else in the building. The building was added onto I think 4 times over the centuries, until it remains as is.
After lunch we went back on the bus and headed to Granada where the tours and driving ended, and we had a lot of free time. A group of us went out to dinner and bars, and it was alright. Big groups are hard to organize since everyone wants something different and no one wants to make a decision at the fear or being bossy. I much rather a small group of people, and of course I love one on one time. I don´t think I could ever really get to know someone in a big group anyway. After some wine with fanta in it, and some beer with fanta in it we called it a night (I don´t remember the names I´ll figure it out). The schedule started early and I think my sleep is way more important than going bar hopping. Not to mention, everything closed surprisingly early in Granada.
The next day we devoted 3 or more hours to seeing La Alhambra. La Alhambra, from what I understand, is a mosque, and a series of palaces from a long time ago... probably the 1400s or 1500s or something. Isabela is the one who always remembers all of this information, I could listen to it all day and only really take away a little bit. Something that I definitely wont take away was the beauty of it all. The use of light and the reflection of the light on the water outside. Everything looked like it would take years to construct. There were Arabic phrases all over and the walls were all decorated and carved. There was a part that was added on by King Charles V that looked like ruins and I had a lot of fun making echos when I stood in the center. I think I even recorded my echo for a couple of seconds so that I dont forget how cool it sounded.
After seeing La Alhambra the school took us to a fancy lunch that took about 3 hours. We ate really interesting things, and I drank all of the wine which I thought was pretty delicious. We took pictures and just hung out, when after we broke up into groups and I went on a walking tour to La Plaza Nueve, where all of the shops lined the streets and the people were a lot younger than in the other part of the city we were in. As soon as I got back to the hotel room I crashed. I was debating whether to go out or not that night because I felt exhausted and as though I had a lot on my mind that it would have been better if I kept to myself. But, I didn´t keep to myself because a group of people were going to see Flamenco dancing, and I thought that would be an experience I definitely had to have in Andalucia let alone while in Spain. We went out and the dancing was very cool and intense. There was a lot of emotion in the faces of the dancers and singers, and I felt like it was definitely a good decision to go and not miss out despite my reservations.
Afterwards we had a quick tour and went to see La Alhambra at night, which was breath taking. I tried to get away from the group for a minute so that I could just sit quietly and enjoy it and breathe a little. I feel like a lot of the time that I´ve been here I´m holding my breath. I´m not sure why that is because I definitely don´t feel as anxious as I did the first weeks I was here, but for some reason it happens. SO breathing was good for me.
After that we called it a night. The next day we saw the tombs of Fernando and Isabela which is part of the Cathedral that we toured the day before after lunch. The work on the marble sculptures was absolutely amazing. I can´t believe a person can create something like that. We werent allowed to take pictures in the church which was too bad, because I would have had a million of them otherwise.
Shortly after the tour we hopped on the bus and continued our journey back to Madrid.
Overall, I saw a lot of cool stuff that I don´t remember what they are but I know they are beautiful, and I experienced a lot of revelations about myself that I´m hoping to move forward with.
I was able to go to liturgy today for the first time since I´ve been in Spain, and the church service was in Russian, Greek, and Spanish. It was hard to follow the Orthodox service and a lot of things were very different, but I loved it and I hope that I will be able to go back again more often. I need to get my life on better schedules so that I dont keep holding my breath. Mom gets it. haha My life has felt anything but normal lately, and I don't know if it has anything to do with where I am and who I'm with or if it just so happens to be the time and place for me to learn a couple of life lessons. As always I am trying to improve but its hard to meet people who have the patience to give me time and a chance to give more of an effort. I often feel a little bit like pieces of home are the only things keeping me sane. I talk to myself more and more. Myself and I have become good friends, and its becoming more common that myself is the only person I can talk to about what I want to express in a way that doesn't feel as judging. I may be my worst critic but at least I expect it.
Thank God for good health and a beautiful life full of adventures; Andalucia was definitely one of those interesting adventures and it was certainly beautiful.
There are pictures of the trip on my facebook if you're interested! I've finally posted pictures.
This picture was one of my favorites from the trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment