May 27-29 Sevilla

We packed up our bags again, caught the bus along Gran Via in the center of Granada and got off at the street leading down to the train station. We could probably have walked this far in retrospect, we walked further everywhere in DC of all places.

Got our train tickets to Sevilla, about a 3 hour train rain to the west. We left Granada about 11:00AM and got to Sevilla about 2:00. Along the way was some nice dramatic scenery.


A town outside Granada situated in front of a mountain peak, taken from the train.


Crossing over a bridge in the country side.


Olives, olives, olives, olives, olives...

We got to Sevilla after the nice train ride. It was neat a couple times as some olive farmers would be out burning brush or old olive trees or something, and you could smell the smoke and knew immediately it was olive wood.

We exited the station in Sevilla and decided to hoof it to the center of town and from there I figured I could find our hotel. We exited the doors and BLAM! It was about 95 degrees in Sevilla, by far the hottest we'd been yet. And we were roughly walking towards the cathedral based on barely seeing the bell tower when we left the train station. So we just started walking in that direction more or less, cutting down one little street, then another until just having to stop in a small plaza to rest on a shaded bench. We were both sweating and tired, already exhausted mentally and physically from the trip so far. This little square was lined with orange trees again, and I took a random pic here.


I always wanted to try eating one, never did.

In a few minutes a man strolled purposely into the plaza, and suddenly all the pigeons and doves and probably other birds swooped down to him in front of the little fountain. He cut open two full bags of rice and dumped them all over the ground to feed the birds, and they surely went to town on it all. We watched the goofy birds for a few more minutes before stomping off the little bit more before we got to the cathedral, literally stumbling onto it's front steps.

We sat and rested again, sweating like pigs, and decided we needed to backtrace up one little street we had just come down about a block or so and then veer to the left and head north for a couple blocks more. I think at times Lisa was exasperated with my direction finding, as I knew roughly were we should be going, and I think I considered finding it a part of the fun, while she usually just wanted to find it and all that. She was awesome with making me stop and ask for directions at times though..haha. Anyways, we finally found the little hotel, walked up two flights of stairs, and melted in the room for a while...no air. We rented a fan for the night, totally worth the 3 Euro!

That night we went to grab some food, and became more familiarized with the area. Had a few beers in a small corner "cerveceria". We were almost at our breaking point I think, and that night in our hotel room sweating away I think is when we were half-joking, yet half-seriously wondering how much it would cost to change our plane tickets to go home right then...


Plaza de la Encarnacion a couple of blocks from our hotel, went here to the bank to use the ATM. I called it a big crazy space waffle.


Messed up pic of jamons hanging from the ceiling of the cerveceria...and the ice cold beer taps there on the bar.

We slept, and then changed rooms for the next night. We went and got a bus ticket to head to Portugal the next morning after, and then rambled through town towards the center again. First we walked alongside the Guadalquivir River, which runs from Sevilla to the sea. This river used to be much more navigable, and many of the famous Spanish ships leaving to explore the New World left from this stretch of river in Sevilla (also why many of the Spanish in the Americas were from southern Spain).

We shopped for a few souvenirs, had some ice cream (where Lisa forgot her glasses sitting on the bench, and she didn't remember 'til we were far away), and generally wandered around. We finally found our way into the area around the cathedral again.


A street on the very center of Sevilla, with tram approaching.

We sat in front of the cathedral and people watched for a little while. What we sat on the steps of I think was the Archive of the Americas...the building in which all the records of the Spanish exploration and control of its possessions in the Americas were kept.

Scroll right to see all this big pic.

A huge panorama of the cathedral, supposedly Columbus's final resting spot.(They dug him up three times moving him all over.)


The main entrance. Note the tiny people, haha.


The Alcazar of Sevilla, which is still a royal palace. Directly across from the cathedral.


Tiles on the wall of the "Royal Alcazar".


The Giralda bell tower next to the cathedral. This 343-feet-tall tower was originally a minaret for the mosque, which stood on the same spot (built in the late 1100s). The inside is a spiraling ramp, instead of steps, so a horseman could ride to the top to do the call to prayer.


This little street was so tiny, groups could really only file through single file one way.

We then passed through a tiny side street, did a little more souvenir shopping (I think I bought Dusti her keychains here) and then tried to find the place where we decided to see a flamenco show. We had seen the Casa de Memoria listed in our guide book, and the young guy working our hotel desk said it was a good place to go, and for 15 Euro we figured it would be a good way to see some supposedly authentic Spanish flamenco music and dance. We went to get our tickets early to come back for the evening show because this was also recommended since they only have about 90 seats per show in the venue (which is a courtyard of a big fancy house from the 1400s). We stopped and ate some tapas at a little joint around the corner, watched a bunch of people going to a wedding at the little church next to the patio and chilled out before tromping our way back to the hotel.

While resting in our room, we could hear a BOOM BOOM BOOM get closer and closer, but in these old medieval towns it's hard to tell where it's coming from. Eventually, it got close enough to figure out it was passing right down below our balcony. We watched the parade go by for a few moments, before I even thought of trying to catch it on camera, but here is the result:



That was really cool, and it was maybe some foreshadowing to a great evening at the flamenco show.

I didn't really know what to expect for this flamenco show. I thought maybe it'd be a nice way to see some of Spanish culture, but I figured it would be all touristy or something. We were really at a low point in the trip, just from fatigue mainly, but dutifully made our way to the Casa de la Memoria again. It seems this place is run as an institute of sorts to promote flamenco culture and preserve it, something like that. Well, we weren't allowed to take any videos or photos until the very end, but here is someone else's video of the place (not the same singers or dancers we had though, but similar):


Here's another shorter one:


I wish I knew the exact songs our group did, because it was awesome! The guys were out first, just playing the guitar, and the singing and clapping, and once they were into it pretty good the girl came out and started dancing, but much slower than these show. It was weird because it actually hit me pretty hard, it was like seeing history play out right there in front of me. Hundreds of years of tradition preserved and performed so that people that watch it are themselves transported back in time. Our trip had been nice so far, but tiring. We had almost thought about calling it quits early, and too hot Sevilla almost broke us. BUT, then we made it to the flamenco show on our last night there, and it was like the high point of the flood, the hump-day of the entire trip. The show was an emotional mid-point to the trip and helped make coming this far so worth it, and promising more to come.

May 24 - 27 - Granada

We finally left Barcelona on the Trenhotel that evening, and eventually rambled down to Granada on the rails. We unfortunately got a pair of seats that face the other rows at the end of the car, so people are sitting right in front of you. We only had one old man sitting across from us, and I named him Señor Preguntas (Mr. Questions). He was born in Granada, but had lived in France for what seemed like several decades. He asked lots of questions...lol. We did kinda sleep a bit better than on the night bus, but afterwards we decided that nothing beats being able to just lay down and go to sleep for a night.


Rough approximation of our journey through the night.

We finally got to the train station in Granada after seeing some pretty spectacular scenery: mountains, river gorges, etc. Left out of the train station, found a city bus and made our way to the city center. We weren't too sure where we were going, but I figured I'd be able to see the big cathedral to know when to get off, but I never did and we rode all the way to the end of the line! We got off and hoofed it back towards the center and finally made it to our hotel after a little walk and asking directions.

After we got our bags unloaded in the room, we walked back over a couple blocks to the Cathedral area and looked around. We ate for the better part of our trip at the little cafe on the plaza below our room. Our room had a small balcony that overlooked the plaza and for that first day in Granada we rested, got tickets to go to the Alhambra the next day and had a good night's rest.

Granada is one of the most visited places in Spain mainly because of the remnants of the Moorish past here. Granada was the seat of the last of the Muslim rulers in Spain until defeated by the armies of Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492. Los Reyes Catolicos, as they were known, united Spain through marriage and by conquering the last bit of Spain not under Christian control. The Moorish palace, the Alhambra, was made into a Spanish royal palace. This is the place in which Christopher Columbus came to implore the monarchs to support his voyage to "India".

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Central Granada, showing our hotel and the big sights.

Most pictures I have from Granada are mainly from the Alhambra itself. But, the first thing we did was to go check out the Capilla Real (Royal Chapel) that was built onto the side of the main cathedral downtown. We bought a ticket and went inside the first room which is just outside the actual chapel. I didn't get any pics of inside the place, but here is the website for it which has some good stuff:


The entrance to the Capilla Real. The actual chapel is the building on the right side of the corner.

These are some pics I lifted from the Capilla Real's website:


The tomb of Ferdinando y Isabella, Los Reyes Catolicos, seen from above.


One could walk down a small stairwell in front of the tomb and look through a small opening to see inside the actual crypt. These are the coffins of Ferdinand and Isabella, in the center. Their heirs are buried on the sides.

The coffins were pretty tiny actually, but I'm not sure why. Were they just much smaller people than us? That's what I figured. I'd be surprised if the total length of them were 5 feet long. There was also another window on the opposite side of the window into the crypt, which from the vantage point of the crypt the main altar was visible. I guess so the departed king and queen could still "see" and take part in the Mass.

After the main chapel, the sacristy housed a small museum of things belonging to the king and queen, her crown and scepter, books and religious objects, Ferdinand's sword, etc.


You can see some of the tapestries and a flag used by the monarchs way back 500 years ago. Isabella's crown and scepter, and Ferdinand's sword are in the pyramidal case in the center.

It was kinda weird seeing that stuff. It was one of the times you see this old stuff that doesn't quite seem real. I think we're used to seeing movies and television so anything that IS real seems fake. Weird paradox.

Also, in the streets lining the cathedral you have to dodge the gypsy women trying to offer you a twig of rosemary or something like it. They come up to you saying in Spanish "Un regalo" (a gift), and what they do is take your hand and read your fortune, but demand you pay them for the service of reading your fortune. They won't accept coins because they are "bad luck" so the smaller paper money that exists is the 5 euro note, so about $7. I knew of their scam from reading my guide book so I knew immediately who they were when I saw them. A firm but polite "no gracias" and we continued on our way.

The big site in Granada is the Alhambra. It was built over several centuries on the hill overlooking the town as a palace and fort. The history goes back forever, but the main site today is the 14th-century Nazarid Palace, the Muslim group that ruled Granada. When Ferdinand and Isabella conquered Granada in 1492 the last Muslim kingdom fell in Spain and it was all "reunited". Ferdinand and Isabella made the Alhambra one of their palaces and still today it attracts probably thousands and thousands of tourists a year.


After you pass the gate with your tickets, you walk down through the gardens towards the palaces at the end of the hill overlooking the city.


Almost there, some huge manicured hedges.



Some of the scenery in the gardens.


Waiting to get into the palaces at the time stamped on our ticket, we can see people checking out the Alhambra from across the valley at San Nicolas church in the neighborhood known as the Albaycin, which is the old Moorish part of town.


Part of the old city wall running along the hillside.


A panorama I stitched together out of several photos of the first room.


Another panorama showing the detail. All the designs are made in plaster, but instead of being carved they were made using molds. Intricate tile work everywhere also.



Detail of the plaster work. It's the same phrase in Arabic repeated over and over all over the walls of the palace. It says something like "Without Allah there is no victory". They decorated with geometric designs and words because it is forbidden to make so called "graven images", only God could do that.


A detail of one of the windows. Notice the same phrase here as before surrounding the window.


A goldfish lined pond in the Court of the Myrtles reflects the Hall of Ambassadors across the way. This was the throne room of the sultan and later of Ferdinand and Isabella. It is also where some goofy Italian named Columbus came to present his plan to the king and queen.


Inside, the ceiling along one corner of the entrance. So intricate and reminds me of cave formations.


Detail of the walls inside the throne room.


The portico in the Court of the Lions (which was being worked on) is so experted carved, almost like lace. Check out the light coming through it.


Towers of the mostly ruined fort overlooking Granada.


A long ways down to the valley floor below. Put some cannons here and defend the palace.


The city of Granada spread out below. You can see the big cathedral in the middle, our hotel would have been a few blocks on the other side of it.

I'm leaving this next pic huge because it is one of my favorite scenes from the whole trip:


The Sierra Nevadas (Snowy Mountains) from the tower of the fort at the Alhambra.


Some old cannons. I have no idea if they are original or not, no signs on them or anything.

We were there at the Alhambra just checking it all out for several hours and still didn't see everything. We finally left after 7PM and made our way back to our hotel, went and ate supper and settled back down for the evening. We had slowed down in Granada some and stayed an extra day and pretty much rested up. Lisa had been feeling bad and we went to the pharmacy and got her some allergy medicine and she felt better. We also got some Q-Tips there too, ha, neither of us brought any and we wanted to swab out our ears so bad by then, haha.

We were getting up and going to Sevilla next, which was only a short 3 hours train ride to the west. Well, it was the shortest traveling we'd done in country yet anyways. See you then!

May 23 - Last Day in Barcelona

Monday morning was our last morning in Barcelona, so we attended to some housekeeping...or in our case repacking our bags, throwing away stuff we didn't want (food, etc.), getting shower, brushing teeth, eating nice breakfast, etc. We then made sure to grab our student IDs and headed to Casa Batllo to get our discounted ticket!

Casa Batllo was just a block over from our hotel. When we first got to Barcelona Saturday morning we came out of the Metro on our way to the hotel and Lisa had spotted it and got all excited. She had written a report on it for her Spanish culture class and didn't expect it to be right there when we got off. We had gone to it before, but forgot our student IDs which get your a whole 2 euro or something off admission...lol, we figured it was worth it to remember our IDs and come back. So, that morning we had reserved for checking it out.


The front of Casa Batllo, rebuilt by Gaudi in 1904-1906.

The building was a big row house type of building, with several stories built for this Batllo guy who was a textile magnate or something. The trendy thing to do at the time was built fancy inspired houses, so he hired Gaudi to remodel his family home. Anyways, we bought the tickets and entered and got a little audio guide that you hold up to your ear that tells you about the place as you go through. First you go up a set of stairs, immediately showing the nature inspired look of the place...very few straight lines, things resembling animal and plant shapes, etc.


Lisa coming up the winding staircase.

At the top of the flight of stairs, you come into the main salon which has the window facing out onto the street. Right before the main room there's a little entry room with a funny mushroom shaped fireplace nook.


Cute mushroom fireplace, no gnomes though.

Then into the salon, which has a cool light fixture and swooping ceiling, looks like waves.



Here is the same room showing the archways that divide it into section with stained glass in them. On one side they appear certain colors, then on the other side they look different. All the doors and window in the house are made to shut and close, or half open to vent, etc. Even handles on windows are custom made to fit hands in a unique way.


I thought this pic was funny because of the people all with the audioguides to their ears.


A random window with curved shapes. If you look really closely, you can see the scaled texture painted onto the walls.


The lightwell in the center of the building. The blue color of the tiles gets darker as you go up, playing with how the lights reflects down into the house. The top floors windows are smaller, while the bottom ones are larger to let in more of the natural light.


Now up on the roof, even the chimney pipes are fanciful...I think they almost look like some sort of alien instruments, maybe an organ...haha.


The crest of the facade in front, which some say looks like a dragon. What do you think?


And, part of the attic, which housed maids' quarters, laundry, storage, etc. Pretty nice for a utility area!

We emjoyed seeing Casa Batllo, was as if a house was a sculpture really. After we finished up with it we went back to our hotel and grabbed our bags and went to the train station to catch the night train to Granada. We spent a few hours at the train station eating, lounging around and playing on the internet on my phone and then finally we boarded the train. Here's a tease of things to come from Granada:





See ya in Granada!