Cordoba

“Worth seeing, yes; but not worth going to see.”

Cordoba was the only city I wasn't entirely impressed with. That could be in part due to the fact that the majority of the time we were there, it poured raining. We only stopped there because it was too far to travel from Sevilla to Granada, and had heard this was a good middle ground.


There are definitely some points of interest: another Spanish palace, with impressive fountains & pools. In my opinion though, Alcazar is much more impressive overall, & this was highlighted for me, by the rain as well. We also went to a mosque, which was quite gorgeous, and the main selling point of Cordoba. It was gigantic and pillared and beautiful to walk around in. I don't know much about the Muslim faith, but could tell just from the paintings and statues that it is different from Christianity. Regardless of your faith, or even if you have any, the mosque was just as awe-inspiring as any of the cathedrals we had been too & quite worth seeing.

Those are really the main things in terms of sites...we did go to a synagogue, which was NOT impressive at all. It was a single room with one painting. We actually had to ask a security guard if we were in the right place. There are no plazas, like in most of the other major cities & they're not well known for tapas. They do have a large Arabic influence, as already evidenced by the mosque, and we did go in a traditional tea shop which had gorgeous blown-glass tea cups & delicious tea. I'm not sure if it had all the health benefits they claimed, but tea is quite a big thing in Europe in general, and this was clearly really nice tea. I could see how one could get accustomed to taking tea. I have it now at least once a day...it's a very comforting drink. There's something to be said for curling up with a nice book, a cup of tea, and blanket...which is what I think I'm going to do now.

Sevilla

"What an enormous magnifier is tradition! How a thing grows in the human memory and in the human imagination, when love, worship, and all that lies in the human heart, is there to encourage it."

Sevilla is classic Spain...all the traditions and streets like I had imagined. We went to the Bullfighting Museum & Ring, which was so gigantic & had so much history attached to it. Bullfighting has been in Spain for hundreds of years, it's very much a part of their culture. It's not in season right now, which is just as well, since I'm not sure I actually like the idea of seeing one live. It's just not my thing. We also saw flamenco dancing in Sevilla. It was not the kind you imagined...no fancy dresses, just simple black clothing, but amazing footwork & live music. I wish we could've been close enough to see all the intracicies, but it is definitely a must-see. It's not really like any other type of dance I've been exposed to, and I think it would be fun to learn or try one day. I guess that's another thing to add to my bucket list! The last Spanish tradition we crossed off our list in Sevilla was eating tapas...and lots of them. Tapas are small portions arranged by restaurants that are quite cheap, designed to give you a good taste of a restaurant's specialties, and allow you try a bunch of different things. This is great thinking, because if you know me, you know I can never make decisions, so trying everything works just great for me. Our hostel gave us a reccomendation for a restaurant with great tapas called Levie's. We liked it there so much we went twice! It was cheap & delicious!

We did so much other sightseeing in Sevilla too. We saw Alcazar, an ancient 14th century palace that was absolutely beautiful...espeically the gardens. We also went to the Sevilla Cathedral...more Spanish churches. It had great stained glass, but in my opinion, nowhere near the stained glass at Saint Chapelle in Paris. We also saw the University of Sevilla and the Plaza de American & the Parc de Mary Louisa...all pretty, all good places to go.

The best thing we saw was the Plaza de Espahna. It was a huge central area with a gorgeous moasiced building. Surrounding the builidng were mosaics of each region in France and matching mosaic benches. There was a large stream running through the middle of the plaza with bridges crossing it. It was my favorite thing there, just because of how beautiful it was.

Sevilla as a whole was quite beautiful: cobbled streets, stone archways, palm trees, and orange trees, oh orange trees everywhere. Very old town, very traditional, very much worth the trip there.

Barcelona

“Traveling is like flirting with life. It’s like saying, ‘I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.’”


They say New York is the city that never sleeps, but I think that title more aptly belongs to Barcelona. It is the most vivacious city I've ever been in. When I arrived at one in the morning, many people were just starting their night with dinner, and on the weekends, people stay out all night...and morning.

There is lots to do there, and not just at night. We went to the La Pedrera a house which was built by the famous architect Gaudi. It had breathtaking views of the city & incredible architecture. His buildings are all over the city & we saw many of them, but only went inside this one. We also went to Parc Guell, his old property, which is covered in gorgeous mosaics. Even though it was raining, we didn't want to leave because it was so beautiful! He is very celebrated all over Spain, and most especially in Barcelona. We also went to la Sagrada Familia & the Barcelona Catherdral, both old churches with lots of history and local landmarks. We also wandered along the pier and saw all the ships in the setting sun.



A trip wouldn't be complete without local food of course & there are two things worth mentioning about Barcelona: the Paella, which was fresh & delcious & Las Ramblas, this gigantic fruit market where you can literally buy any fresh fruit you would ever want incredibly cheaply. As I LOVE fruit, you can bet I was in heaven!

The best thing that happened in Barcelona though, was something we stumbled upon quite by accident: a local Spanish band was playing in a courtyard for Valentine's day & a crowd was gathering. Then, all of these older Spanish people started a traditional Spanish dance to the music. One by one, everyone started dropping their coats & purses in the middle of the circle - older couples remembering better times, younger people learning the old traditions to keep the alive for another generation, little kids trying to imitate the older people...it was fantastic, and personifies exactly how much energy the city has. Of course, we had to join in, even though we had no idea what we were doing. It was easy enough to pick up, & I'm so glad we got to be a part of it.

Of course, Barcelona is known for it's nightlife, and we did have lots of fun going out. We went to a club & listened to this great Brazilian band play for Carnaval & danced the night away. When we left in the very early morning, there were still tons of people there, and I'm sure the party carried on until at least 7 am!

Barcelona was great! It's a big city, but it definitely has a traditional Spanish flair.

Kindness of Others

“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.”

Right now I´m on my trip in Spain and only have time for a quick update. Being in a foreign country, sometimes by myself, I find I am increasingly and incredibly grateful for the kindness of others. My trip got off to a rocky start. When I got to the aiport to fly to Barcelona (alone), there was over a three hour wait to check in because the ENTIRE computer network across Europe had shut down for the airline and they were checking EVERYONE in manually. Who wouldn´t start freaking out just a little? Especially when they are telling you all of this in a different language.

Luckily, there was a girl my age in front of me from Geneva who spoke English & we started chatting. She ended up being on my flight & we spent the whole long ordeal together. At first, she asked me to hold her bag while she ran to change currency..that´s when I started freaking out, because aren´t you always told NEVER to hold bags for strangers? But I trusted her...we trusted each other & it all worked out great. When we got to Barcelona, she met her Dad, who gave us some Chilean cookies, helped me find my hostel on a map he then gave me, & they escorted me to the train station. I don´t know what I would´ve done without them. & now, we´re facebook friends! Who knows, maybe we´ll even see each other again one day?

Even here, I am constantly grateful for Larissa & Marianna, who planned this whole trip where we are doing SO much (more about that later) & they can speak Spanish for when we get lost, to order food, & everything else I would have to gesture & hope for someone who spoke English. I´ll have to save my travel adventures for another day, because it´s late here & we have another full day tomorrow.

On the whole being gracious note, happy valentine´s day to all my friends! You are all wonderful & amazing & I don´t know what I would do without you. I am so thankful to be surrounded by so much love in my life!

Life in France...

Appartently these days, with all this social media hype, jumping on the bandwagon was only going to take a matter of time... & now that I'm in France, people apparently miss me & think I might have interesting things to say. So here I am.

I've just graduated from the University of Idaho, & packed up my bags & moved to Chambery, France. Being here has helped me to realize how little "stuff" matters. I brought two suitcases here & so far, with the exception of a few things, had everything I've needed to live. What does that say for all of the things I've left behind in my closet in New York & all of the stuff filling my car in Idaho? I think I'll definitely be doing a little spring cleaning when I get back, and trying to remember that all my clutter isn't what really matters in my life.

France is beautiful. If you look out my balcony window, you can see the Alps. I've already been skiing there twice & it is gorgeous. The snow is perfect & it is so quiet, even though there are lots of people there. I've never been colder in my life, but it was totally worth it. Cross one more thing off my bucket list. Our French friends took us, and afterwards we watched the sunset over the alps, ate baguettes, and drank a little Bordeaux. I coulndn't help but think what a lucky girl I am. I know some people question whether now was a good time for me to go abroad, what with the job search pending & all. It may not be the right time, but when is it? Who knows when I'll get this chance again? So right now, I'm seizing the day. Doing as much as I can, whenever I can. School is school, but life here is where I'm really learning. Speaking French (gasp - who knew?) & being completely out of my element some of the time. It's pushing me to be better than I was, & learn things I never could've learned from another semester in Idaho. It's time for me to grow up - & it's great to be doing it here, finding "joie de vivre" as the French say. There's no US equivalent exactly, but it basically means living authentically & finding joy in life.

Now I'm off to Spain for 10 days on winter holiday: Barcelona, Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada & Vallencia. Expect another update soon!

<3