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Granada Province Blog Today we went to Granada. It was beautiful! We spent the morning exploring the Alhambra. It was incredible! I love how the original Moorish fortress is still intact. I looms of the city just as it has for more than a thousdand years. Once within the fortress there were many rooms to see, all with extremely intricate detail and beatiful carvings. The gardens of the Generalife are however my very favourite. The were lush and beautiful. I could spend all day wondering through them. I loved climbing the towers also- you can see for miles around from up there. From the Alhambra we made our way up to the next hill over and to the barrio of Albyzin. This whole neighborhood is made of of whitewashed houses and narrow winding roads. Nestled within this neighborhood is a little plaza aptly named Mirador-St. Nicholas. This view point offers the best views of the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevadas available anywhere. I would have liked to come up at sunset and watch the lights that illuminate the Alhambra come on. Unfortunately this wans´t in our schedual. I didn´t want to leave the Mirador but it was now time to grab some lunch and enjoy some traditional Moroccan tea at one of Granada´s many tea shops, or as they´re called here teterias. We enjoyed a couple of pots of tea and some good curried chicken at a resturant called the Kashba. The atmosphere was really cozy and authentic. There were tapestries form the celling and many pillows on the benches. From here it was time to explore the Cathedral and the Chapel. I was impressed, as I always am with cathedrals, as to the magnitude of the chathedral. It was impressive, even more so when one considers that it was built by hand and all the minor details are actually great works of art. The Chapel was interesting because Juana the crazy is burried there. I think that is a funny name for a ruler. I was hungry again after all this exploring and so I was excited to go get tapas. We visited several tapas places; one was called Bella y Bestia and it had very large portions for a reasonable price the other was called Poe and it had international tapas and cheap prices. Poe was my favorite meal in Granada. As if our day wasn´t long enough it wasn´t yet over, it was time to go to a Flamenco show up in the gypsy neighborhood of Sacromonte. I couldn´t believe how fast the dancers could move their feet, and how passionate a guitar could sound. After the long day of sight seeing I was excited to have a day on the beach. We enjoyed taning and relaxing. I enjoyed eating fresh seafood and drinking lots of sweet sangria. Our thrid day in Granada Province was spent hiking and exploring the mountain villages of the Alpujarras. I loved the Alpujarras! They were breath-takingly beautiful! I wanted to stay forever! My favorite part was shopping for local hand crafts and exploring different trails. On our last day in Granada Province we enjoyed an old favorite-skiing! The ski resort was wonderful and I had some of the best ski runs I´ve ever had. The little town that the ski resort was in was also fun to wander around in.

Córdoba Province Blog Córdoba was a great city. The streets are full of history and culture. It has the look of a typical Andalucían city with small white washed houses, fountains and grey cobblestone streets. The Mezquita was grand and colorful, with white and red stripes decorating the curved columns that make up the room. The brick floors were a nice contrast to the stained glass windows which let light into the historic building. I enjoyed seeing the Medina Azahara and the Puente as well, they are so remenisent of past times, and while it was a busy trip, I am so glad that I got to see these pieces of history.

Lucena was a nice break since it is a smaller city that Córdoba itself. The Church of San Matthew was beautiful and differently designed than other Cathedrals that I have seen in Spain so far. The outside has more wear and tear, but you can see the work that went into building it. The city offered a nice place to wander, with unique pottery and bronze work specific to the city. Their brandy wasn’t half bad either.

Sevilla Province Blog Today, we went to Sevilla. We started out doing a walking tour of the city that was sponsored by our hostel. We walked all through the old part of the city and found a bunch of places that we went back to later to explore more. The guide was really cool and gave us a lot of information about the city and the history of the area. For instance, did you know that the original founders were the Tartessians? Then the Romans built their city pretty much right over it!! Then when the Moors invaded, they took it and turned it into their own place. What a cool history!!! We ended back at the Cathedral where we got to go inside. Now we have been seeing a lot of different churches and cathedrals on this trip but this one was gorgeous!! The work inside was amazing! There were two really cool things there as well. We got to see Christopher Columbus’s tomb and we got to climb up the Geralda tower. It was beautiful!!! We had an amazing view of the ENTIRE CITY!! How lucky are we? After lunch, we headed to the Alcazar. It was really similar to the one in Granada but from what I understand this one was built first. There were a bunch of gardens that we wandered through. We even saw a few peacocks! The other kind of cool thing we saw was there were a few couples getting wedding pictures taken here! It is an amazing place to get pictures for on your wedding day!!

We had another day in Sevilla. Today we had a little bit more of a tour of the city. We walked to the Torro de Oro and got to go up into it. In the past, when ships came into the port, this tower was the point where they would stop and get their gold taken from them. Sort of like a check point. The Jewish Quarter was next on our journey. It was designed with small streets with lots of turns. They built it so people would get lost! The sidewalk and streets were designed to let air through! It was really cool! They didn’t really wear shoes so they made it so that the stones didn’t get hot so your feet don’t burn. What an ingenious idea!! After lunch, we went to the Plaza de Espana. The plaza was amazing!! All of the different provences were there and I got my picture taken with some of my favorites that we have visited. We then went on to see the Parque Maria Luisa. Wandering around the gardens was so relaxing! The flowers were beautiful and in full bloom! What a way to end the day!

Our last stop was Carmona! How sad that this was our last stop in Andalucia! We went through the museum of Carmona City. This was a really good way to start out our trip. We were able to learn all about the history of the city. Our next stop was the Roman Necropilis. It was really cool! This city has so much history and to think that actual Roman people were here and buried here. A little morbid to go and look at a cemetary but still very cool! After our lunch break, we went to the Cave of Batida. It was kind of cool to explore! Our last stop for the day was the market. I love walking through markets. You can tell so much about the city by what is for sale.

Our last day in Sevilla province was spent in Carmona. Our first stop was the Iglesia del Salvador. Its a beautiful church!! The next two stops kind of go together: the Cordoba Gate and teh Seville Gate. Each of these gates is a way into the city: Seville from the west and Cordoba from the east. Our last stop for the day was the Tower of the Peak. It was a really good way to end our trip in Andalucia!