Today’s blog is guest-written by Sarah Mainwaring, a senior majoring in business
Today we went to the ruins of Pompeii, the ancient Roman city that was covered in ash by the 79 CE eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Since the city was buried in volcanic ash, it was hidden and therefore preserved for centuries.
The entrance to Pompeii with Mt. Vesuvius looming in the background
The city wasn’t unearthed until the 1700s and then it’s historical value was revealed. The ruins provided historians with an accurate picture of what life was like in the Roman empire. It showed that the Romans were a sophisticated society with things like amphitheater’s, markets and extravagant villas. Pompeii is also home to a significant number of ancient skeleton replicas from those who perished in the volcanic eruption. The originals reside in the national museum of Naples so they can be properly preserved. These remains give us even more clues about the lives these ancient people lead. From what they ate, to their social status and physical biology.
We began our tour at the city’s colosseum, where ancient gladiators fought to the death for the entertainment of spectators. Our tour guide took us through the ruins and explained what the different rooms were used for, and who would have lived there 2,000 years ago. We learned what was original and what parts of the city have been patched up during the ongoing restoration.
In addition to our human tour guide, we had a local dog join our group and accompany us through the tour. The locals call him Lupos and he’s apparently been living in Pompeii since he was a puppy. He was quite popular among the group.
Lupos, a modern resident of Pompeii, stayed with us throughout our tour
My favorite element of Pompeii was the artwork. Some of the walls had beautiful mosaics that have survived the eruption and the course of history. The thing I was most surprised by was the sheer size of the city, which covers almost 170 acres. Not only that but also the amount of detail and sophistication that went into the construction of the city. It was truly remarkable for a society as old as the Romans.
Elaborate mosaic floors are still intact in some villas. This was one of our favorites.
Graffiti in Pompeii… from a Roman graffiti artistPhallic symbols and graffiti at Pompeii…not so different from the Italy we know today.
Thursday December 16th, 2021, 12:26PM EST, JFK Airport NYC
I missed my flight back to the US.
Well, I guess study abroad wasn’t quite ready to get rid of me yet. And I did say I wanted to stay in Spain longer…
But really? Did it have to be THIS big of a CURVEBALL?
The day began yesterday at 5am Spanish time. I got up, said bye to my host family, and hailed a cab to the Alicante airport.
An early morning photo shoot with my Argentinian host brother, right, and my Japanese flatmate, left. I had no idea what the next 50+ hours would have in store for me…
Our plane in Alicante arrived 15 minutes late, which is why I’m still not home with my family in Salem. From Alicante, we flew to Madrid, where we only had 40 minutes to run through passport control and to our gate.
The problem is that the airport in Madrid is huge, so by the time we got to the gate it was already closed. A woman even got on right before me, which just added to my frustration.
Two Linfield students managed to board the plane, so I was stuck with a classmate from New York and another Wildcat. We called our wonderful program director in Alicante and she told us what to do.
So, what did we do? We walked to help desks, waited in long lines, called our families, and contacted Linfield IPO. Thankfully, we managed to change our flight from Chicago to New York City. This meant that we didn’t have to worry about staying in Madrid and getting another COVID test.
We got our new flight tickets an hour before the scheduled departure. Plus, our gate was nearby so we were feeling pretty optimistic as we speed-walked.
And then we got to passport control. The line for non-EU residents was ridiculous. People were crammed in and pleading with airport employees to speed up the line. Some people were crying, others were cutting in line, and lots of boos and jeers were hurled towards the cutters. All of this unfolded as we watched the time tick past our scheduled flight time…
Defeated and discouraged, we made it through passport control five minutes after our flight was supposed to leave. The three of us sprinted to the gate in hopes that there was some kind of delay…
And there WAS a delay!!! Apparently 20 other passengers hadn’t yet boarded the plane, causing the delay. We boarded the plane breathing heavy sighs of relief because we knew that we would be back in the US that night.
Minutes after we boarded our plane in Madrid to NYC. We thought we were going to miss this flight too, so when we boarded we were literally sweating and shaking. What a relief.
Upon arriving at JFK airport, we sorted out our situation. Linfield IPO reserved and paid for a hotel, dinner, and transportation for me and my fellow Wildcat (super grateful). And we hugged our friend from New York goodbye. We were glad to see her make it home that night, even if we didn’t.
We ended up taking a taxi to our hotel, which was only a couple miles from the airport. Exhausted and hungry, we collapsed on our beds and put in an order for delivery pizza.
New York City is a strange place. Our pizza was arriving late, so we called to check the status of our order. The guy who answered had a really thick New York accent, which made it hard to understand him. Honestly, I would have understood him better had he been speaking Spanish, but I did catch the words “in a few minutes.”
We ate our pizzas and slept, although it was hard to sleep because of the noise from the heater and the street. This morning we got up, ate our leftovers, and called a cab. After 15 minutes of waiting for the cab we called a Lyft, which arrived 2 minutes later to take us back to JFK airport.
After some navigating around, we arrived at the terminal to get our boarding passes. The line was hectic and after waiting around, we were told by an airline worker that it was too early to get our boarding passes.
Where I wrote this part of my post in JFK airport. Yes, on the floor…
And that leads us to where we are now, on the floor of the JFK NYC airport. Airline bureaucracy has been a pain but in spite of our challenges, I’m reminded of how lucky I am. I have a wonderful support system (Linfield IPO, Spanish Studies Abroad, and my family and friends) and there are nice airline workers and fellow passengers willing to help out.
I’m coming home, Oregon! With patience and time. More updates to come.
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Sunday December 19th, 2021, 1:57AM PST, Home in Salem!!!
After over 50 hours of intense international traveling, I arrived at my house in Salem, Oregon on Friday morning. Things went smoothly on Thursday, but I had to do a lot of waiting: waiting eight hours to board the flight, waiting seven hours on the plane, waiting to file a claim for my luggage (stuck in Madrid for some reason), waiting an hour for the car ride with my parents to end at our home…
But hey, I made it!!! At 1:30AM Friday…in Salem. Home.
There was no better feeling than returning home to the kisses of my beloved dog, Comet.
I’d never imagined that my study abroad experience would end on such a hectic note. I thought that if anything, there might be a problem with COVID.
However, I think that my study abroad experience has been one of those “expect the unexpected” kind of deals. COVID delayed my study abroad twice. A volcano on the Canary Islands erupted on my third day. I got stitches for the first time. Missing buses and trains. The Omicron variant. And then, my flight.
One could say that the unexpected has been a curse to my study abroad experience. And while I could dwell on the occasional (or frequent) misfortune, I’m choosing not to. I had a WONDERFUL experience: made lots of friends from all over the world, improved my Spanish, gained a lot of intercultural knowledge, and traveled.
In short, the curveballs were a test in resilience, moral fortitude, and compassion. It was easy to get overwhelmed by mishaps, but I managed to pull through. And I’ve got to admit, I feel pretty proud of myself for doing so. Before studying abroad, I didn’t know that I was capable of solving such complex real-world problems.
So here I’ll say it: studying abroad is a GREAT experience. Not just when things go well, but also when the dookie hits the fan and you’re left trying to clean up the mess. It’s all just about learning and growing, living and loving, smiling and laughing…
Well, it’s 2AM now. My sleep cycle is messed up, but at least I’m home. I’d hate to end my blog on such a bummer note, so I’m going to get some rest and do a post about my last month in Spain (excluding flight stuff).
What’s it like getting the opportunity to study abroad? A dream coming true. But, what’s it like traveling across the country within the third year of a global pandemic? Less than ideal.
Dolls following the mask mandate
So far my idealistic fantasy of traveling abroad hasn’t been as luxurious as say the Netflix series Emily in Paris makes it out to be. Instead, I was faced with a sudden flight cancellation, lost luggage, and naturally, sleep deprivation. The irony of it all is that I am still 100% certain this journey will be worth all the mishaps that occur along the way, and I’ll explain why.
After touching down at the Shannon airport and navigating my way through the passport check, airline baggage customer service, and a surprisingly smooth customs encounter, I walked with my fellow Linfield students to our taxis as the sun began setting. We could finally catch our breath with just one last transit until we were at our new home for the next four months. Our arrival there is a messy story in and of itself, but I’ll spare the details as eventually everything worked itself out and we were able to get somewhat settled.
Exploring the City Centre
While we went trekking through some of Galway that night, it wasn’t until the next morning that we could really see all the city has to offer. My roommates and I decided to take a walk to the City Centre to do some exploring. The walk over only took about 15 minutes and left our eyes lusting to see more of the city. The cobblestone roads were already bustling with locals walking to work and I’m sure our foreignness was obvious by the lack of urgency in our pace. We spent the rest of the morning navigating our way around the city, recognizing that even in its natural day-to-day state it felt magical. I can’t help smiling and thinking, “How lucky am I?”
Our first Guiness
After our outing to the centre, we returned home and hopped on Zoom for our first orientation session for school at NUI Galway. We met one of our roommates later that afternoon who is also from the States. We all decided to head out on a mission to get lunch until we stumbled upon the university’s campus. Our impromptu campus tour left us instantly in love! We eventually made it to a restaurant for a late lunch before finishing the day with a grocery haul. All of our mini adventures so far have helped the stress of getting here fade into the background, and for that I am so thankful. We have a few more days of free time before classes officially start and hopefully they will be filled with more adventures.
I’ve traveled all over the world. When I was the wine buyer for a regional grocery chain, I accompanied my importer partners on visits to wineries and attended trade shows all over the world. My family still jokes about the dense itineraries for our family trips to Peru and England. When I began planning to take 14 Linfield students to Southern Italy to investigate the history of wine and modern viticulture in these volcanic regions, it seemed as though those trips would be adequate preparation. Then, Covid.
Every week it seemed there was a new form to complete, a complicated rule to untangle, and new hurdles to clear just to get the students into Italy. I’ve spent countless nights fretting about late PCR test results and missing forms.
Some of those fears came to pass. A positive Covid test. A late PCR result. A suitcase that missed the plane. But we made it to our hotel – which just happens to be directly across the street from Herculaneum, a Roman town that was devistated by the same pyroclastic flow as Pompeii.
Over the coming three weeks you’ll hear more about our exploration of wine, food, and history of Campania and Siciliy from the students’ perspective.
Toni
Linfield’s JanTerm 2022 gets underway aboard our flight to Italy.Exhausted, nearly all of us fell asleep on the bus between the airport in Rome and our hotel. When I woke up, Vesuvius was just out my window.
Something I did not expect living in Norway was the enthusiasm for Christmas and the holiday season. As November comes to a close, lights are strung up on trees and on the trimming of houses, and slowly but surely decorated Christmas trees pop up in university buildings and shopping centers. Coffee shops move to bright red to-go cups and grocery stores fill up with advent calendars, Christmas cookies, and something known as “Christmas soda” (it is sickly sweet and sold everywhere).
This also means I got the chance to go to my first Christmas market. My German and Belgian classmates seemed very familiar with them, boasting about the food, the drinks, and the decorations at the markets in their home countries. I’ve never been to anything like it though, but “Jul i Vinterland” exceeded all my expectations.
The entrance into Oslo’s Christmas Market.A lit-up walkway next to the market, perfect for pictures.Me in the walkway.
The market is a big loop of stalls selling food like donuts, churros, sausages, waffles, hot chocolate, and more. There are also stalls selling wool beanies, scarves, and gloves. You can buy Christmas sweaters and tree ornaments. Everything is eye-catching and seasonal. There is a ferris wheel, a carousel, and a giant slide children can slide down. In the center of it all, an ice-skating rink awaits.
The ferris wheel at the market, right in front of the ice rink (picture taken from ice rink).
When I went, it was immensely crowded, speaking to the market’s popularity. I could not keep my eyes off anything, and my friend and I went on the ice with just our shoes, doing our best to slide around since the skate rental was still closed. I’ve never been a big fan of Christmas, but for the first time in a long time, I got a taste of Christmas joy, and why markets and celebrations are so popular and wonderful! Everywhere I looked, people were happy and laughing, children fell on the ice and got back up again, and my friend and I stood around a fire, warming our hands and making friends with the strangers beside us.
One of the multiple fire pits around the market, great for warming up ice skating.
During the month of November, I would normally celebrate Thanksgiving with my family by having a big feast, but this year was different. I actually didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. Instead I celebrated Guy Fawkes Night, also referred as Bonfire Night. It is a night to remember the failed attempt of the assignation of King James I, also known as the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. The night is celebrated with fireworks and giant bonfires.
November 28th marked the first day of snow in Nottingham. It was a great experience as everyone ran out of their rooms to go play in it. Just like Oregon, it does’t happen often. (Last picture, left to right: Tanner Coulter, Maike Rößler, Bel Florence)
Christmas is my families favorite holiday out of the year. Normally I spend a few days before Christmas baking cookies, cooking different appetizers, and spending time with my family watching movies. This year it’s a bit different. I will be heading to my friend Charlie’s home to celebrate with his family. I am not sure how everything will work, but I am looking forward to it.
Starting the new year before my friends and family is a bit strange. I will be traveling from Charlie’s to my friend Jame’s house to celebrate with him and his friends. I am looking forward to see how England traditions and US traditions differ in how we celebrate the new year. I am also excited to explore the town of Essex, the birthplace of two of my favorite Harry Potter Actors, Rupert Grint and Maggie Smith.
I am looking forward to spending the holidays in England and to see how they differ from the US!
The realization that I have only a few weeks left in Norway has hit me hard. Everywhere I look, I feel like I see aspects of my life in Norway that I’ll miss. Cultural quirks, observations, routines. Some of them are as follows:
The corner of the grocery store dedicated to taco supplies. Tortillas, shells, sauce, with meat and cheese in easy reach. Norwegians are one of the largest consumers of tacos in the world, and this has bled into the layout of many grocery stores.
Speaking of grocery stores and tortillas, lomper. Lomper is a Norwegian-style tortilla, made from potato and flour. It’s a bit thinner and more flexible than typical tortillas, and has an almost velvety feeling when you touch it. They’re versatile and delicious, and I’m already trying to think how I can get them in the United States.
Kiwi, a popular and common grocery store in Norway.The infamous corner of the store dedicated to tacos.
The dedication to personal space on public transport. As someone who is selfish with the room I take up on public transportation, I feel right at home on a bus in Oslo, where people would rather stand than fill up the empty seat next to someone else. The few times someone has sat down directly next to me, despite other options, I was shocked and felt the side-eyes from those standing around me.
The deep love of bundling up. “Cozy”, as a concept, is imbued in Norwegian culture. My personal theory is that no matter the temperature, Norwegians want to feel warm and cozy. As a cold weather lover, I tend to wear just enough layers that I do not freeze. Yet, Norwegians can always be seen in several layers, pulling out their scarves and gloves long before the temperature truly calls for it.
The perfect opportunity to take a cozy walk.Another reason to get cozy– lunch outdoors while on a hike!Personal space isn’t just limited to the bus. The park is a great place to be on your own!
And my favorite, the greeting of “hei hei” (hey hey). When I first started hearing cashiers in grocery stores, Norwegian students I met, and anyone else I encountered start with “hei hei”, I was almost confused because of how childish it sounded. In the United States, I don’t know anyone who would greet someone else with “hi hi” as opposed to just “hi” of “hey”. Except, now I love it. I feel like I’ve entered into an inside joke when I reply in the same manner at the store checkout. I already know I’ll repeat it until annoyance once my semester here is over, even if just to remember the small ritual.
Things have been moving very quickly in Spain. I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve realized that I only have one month left here and a lot of things I still want to do. So, I’m going to keep this post short.
Villajoyosa is a costal town full of brightly-colored buildings. It’s one of the most beautiful and calm towns I’ve ever been to in my life. And with my pink shirt, I fit right in.
So what’s happened this last month? Well, let’s start with my finger. A little over a month ago, I was on a class field trip for my Tourism and Food Culture class. We were at a local restaurant and had just finished making traditional Spanish tapas. As we were enjoying our delicious creations, the classmate sitting next to me wanted some water, so I grabbed the jug to pour her some. When I turned to put the jug in front of me, it collided with my wine glass, which shattered on impact.
Out of courtesy for the casual reader, the author has decided not to include any images of his wounded finger. Instead, this blog will only include pleasant photos…such as this one, taken of a cove on the island of Tabarca.
I don’t know exactly how the glass cut my finger, but either way it was a messy situation. Initially, I didn’t realize that I’d been cut. It was only when one of the chefs asked if I’d been cut that I looked down at my bloody finger. Quietly and quickly, I rushed to the bathroom to avoid a scene.
The pink saltwater lake of Torrevieja. Although the water wasn’t very pink that day, the foam from the salt was really neat…and fun to step in.
The restaurant employees tended to my finger very well, helping me cover up the wound and giving me sweets to prevent dizziness. But after about 15 minutes in the bathroom, they told me I’d have to go to a medical clinic nearby to get stitches.
Thankfully, there was a clinic just down the block where I was able to receive emergency services. I had a really cool Cuban doctor and while he stitched my finger up, we talked about our countries. Also, it was funny to see him giving instructions to a young medical student, who was having trouble opening the packaged materials for the procedure. The procedure was very quick: anesthetic, four stitches, pay, fill out the claim form online, and get reimbursed fully by the insurance company (included in my study abroad program). So, despite the brief but intense burning pain of the anesthetic, it was quite an enriching cultural experience.
A wild flamingo in one of the saltwater lakes of Santa Pola. It was difficult to get to the lakes, but the trip was well worth it.
On a less gruesome note, I’ve been doing lots of traveling nearby. Just in the last few weeks, I’ve been to Villajoyosa, the island of Tabarca, Torrevieja, Santa Pola, and Alcoi. Among my favorites to visit was Villajoyosa, a precious coastal town of about 30,000 people with colorful buildings and a laid back beach vibe. I also really enjoyed hiking in the mountains of Alcoi with my Japanese flatmate. Last weekend, we spent over four hours soaking in the views and wildlife. The next day, I went with an American friend to Santa Pola, a coastal town full of foreigners and retirees. There, we visited some saltwater lakes, where we saw WILD FLAMINGOS! Although we had to walk through brush and play frogger on a busy highway, the flamingos were well worth the pain.
One of the most special parts about studying abroad is being able to spend a long period of time in a foreign community. With time and effort, you start to become part of the community and make meaningful friendships with the local people. I think that short trips, like the ones I’ve done these past few weeks, are really great for experiencing new things and interacting with your local host community. Oftentimes, you can gain really interesting cultural insights and see many fascinating things nearby. Plus, with local travel you’ll save lots of money, time, and energy!
The city of Alcoi, pictured from the mountain trails. We saw many mesmerizing views and even vultures in a nature reserve.
With that being said, I’d also encourage future study abroad students to do the occasional long-distance trip. Local travel is great, but to get a more complete picture of your host country’s landscape, culture, and history, I think it’s important to spend a weekend or two in other areas.
It’s a bit late here and I’m tired, so I’ll sign off for now.
One of the amazing aspects of studying abroad is the ability to travel wherever. Even in these dark times of the pandemic, so long as the appropriate precautions are taken, traveling is heavily encouraged! I have had the special privilege to travel several times since my stay out here has begun and it has led me to understanding so much of the rich and diverse culture that is right around the corner here! I mean, travel in any direction and things start to change. I have been to the Czech Republic, Poland and I even found myself in Bulgaria! I emphasize the word privilege because these countries and the cities and/or small towns I have found myself in, have opened my eyes not only to the general culture but also, the family values, religious values, burial traditions, and so much more!
My first excursion, if you will, was to Prague in the beginning of the semester. It was only 6 hours away by train and once a part of the Austrio-Hungarian empire, but my goodness how quickly things can change. One of my colleagues quickly made the side remark that people were already starting to dress more alternatively here. The Bohemian tradition still runs very deep and within five minutes of getting off the train it was explicit. The history here ran twice as deep. From Old Town to the Jewish Quarter and all the way up to the Prague Castle – this city, like many others, holds a plethora of stories to tell.
Bohemian street music in Prague.
My second excursion was to Bulgaria over my fall break. Another one of my colleagues and Linfield student has family there and we had the treat of being able to stay with them. Two hours outside of the city of Sophia, there is located the small town of Troyan. It is filled with tiny, quaint farms that are blocked side by side with little romantic courtyards filling the middle. Here I grew a stronger understanding of the Orthodox Church and how that really aids in creating the fundamentals of the family structure here. This is something I will cherish.
We were able to see one of the oldest monasteries in Bulgaria, learn some of the brutal history behind religious wars and struggle and see some of the old remnants of the Eastern block from the late portion of the 20th century.
Chris and I (Dmitri) standing in front of one of the oldest monasteries in Bulgaria.
Third, was my recent trip to Poland. Much like Troyan, the signs of the Eastern block can still be seen. However, we spent the majority of our time in Krakow, a prospering city that mostly went untouched by the fabled War. This trip was primarily centered around the Jewish population and included a very hard, yet very needed, trip to Auschwitz. We also had the lovely opportunity to attend traditional Polish music performances. (Which if you have never listened to it- DO IT -RIGHT NOW. You can thank me later.)
A traditional band playing in the streets of Krakow.
Traveling here is vastly different to the United States. Sure, you may get some different aspects of our own culture as you go state-to-state or town-to-town, but it all varies so quickly out here it truly can make your head spin.
Traveling!!! It’s one of the most essential and exciting parts of studying abroad. Each trip presents loads of opportunities for seeing more of your host country and the world. During these first six weeks of my study abroad journey in Spain, I’ve done lots of traveling. Here are a couple of the cities I’ve visited in Spain:
A view of Tarragona from atop a Roman Circus, which dates back to the 1st century.
-Tarragona, a city of just over 100,000 people in the Cataluña region of Spain. An hour away from Barcelona, Tarragona is by no means a well-known city. Most people that I’ve talked with here in Alicante say they’ve never been to Tarragona but they have visited Barcelona multiple times.
However, there’s a lot to do and see in Tarragona. First of all, there are various Roman ruin sites that are spectacular (Tarragona gets its name from “Tarraco,” the ancient Roman city). With my flatmate from Japan, I went to a Roman circus, an amphitheater and an aqueduct.
An illuminated tunnel in Tarragona’s Roman circus.
Each ruin site possessed its own intrigue and unique features. The circus, built in the first century, featured illuminated tunnels that were breath-taking. Although the amphitheater didn’t have any tunnels for us to explore, it was just minutes away from the beach, which gave us a really nice panoramic view.
Even though it was a cloudy, Oregon-like day, we enjoyed the beautiful oceanfront views of Tarragona’s Roman amphitheater.
And then the aqueduct. By far my favorite of the ruin sites in Tarragona, the aqueduct is located just outside the city. We took a bus and then had to hike some nature trails to see the aqueduct, pero valió la pena (but it was worth the pain). Despite being built in the first century and no longer serving any aquatic purposes (the river is dried up), the aqueduct of Tarragona remains a very sturdy and symmetrical piece of Roman architecture.
Likely built during the reign of Caesar Augustus, the Roman aqueduct of Tarragona is a sight. Its symmetricality and enormity are mind-bending (I felt tiny).
Oh, and did I mention that we walked across the aqueduct? And that, yes, it was perfectly legal? Walking across a two-thousand year old aqueduct/bridge/whatever-you-wanna-call-it is one of the coolest things I’ve done abroad and in my life.
Walking atop the Tarragona aqueduct. Despite having been built nearly two thousand years ago, it remains structurally sound for tourists to walk on.
In Tarragona, my flatmate and I also visited a Gothic cathedral and the central market. Both were enormous and offered us glimpses into Catalonian culture and history. The cathedral featured impressive works of art from the Gothic and Renaissance eras. One of the most impressive features of the cathedral was a gigantic organ that stretched all the way to the ceiling. The outdoor garden was also delightful, with fountains full of turtles and koi fish to entertain us during a mask break.
The organ of Tarragona’s cathedral is enormous! Some very wealthy folks must have paid for it…
Later that day, we visited the central market of Tarragona. In Spain, nearly every city has a central market with local food and vendors. The markets also tend to be of significant historical value, so they can be really good places to learn about the city. In the central market of Tarragona, there were lots of meat products and fresh produce, but I ended up buying a bag of candies. Apparently the candies weren’t from the region but they were delicious anyways.
I bought some delicious candy at the central market of Tarragona.
-Granada, a city in the south of Spain that possesses a unique blend of Moorish and Andalusian features. Last weekend, I visited Granada as part of my study abroad program’s itinerary. So, with 18 other Americans and our program director, I squeezed into a travel bus at 8am for a four hour ride–just the beginning of a non-stop trip that was fascinating but energy depleting.
A street in Granada famous for its Arabic stores.
Fatigued and looking for rest, we arrived at our hotel. However, most of our rooms weren’t ready! So we had to scramble to store our belongings in the rooms that were open before heading to the Royal Chapel of Granada.
The Royal Chapel from the outside. No photos are allowed inside, but you can see the tombs of Spain’s most famous monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand.
Things went more smoothly on our tour of the chapel. We were able to see lots of artwork (including original works of Botticelli) and even the tombs where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were buried hundreds of years ago. And outside the chapel, a woman was singing what appeared to be an Arabic hymn. The experience was surreal.
After visiting the chapel, we had a little down time, so I wandered around the Arabic shopping district. In the stores, I saw lots of lamps, earrings, necklaces and other shiny items from different parts of the Arabic world. I also stopped for some tea and a dessert at an Arabic tea shop. ¡Qué rico!
That night, most of the group went to see a flamenco show. I bought my ticket late, so I had to go solo to another show. While I was a bit bummed to not have any company, I soon discovered the joys of solo traveling. On my way to the flamenco show, I heard some music coming from the main plaza. And to my delight, lots of people were dancing there! So, I joined them for a bit before resuming my journey to the flamenco show. Considering all the spectacular things I experienced in Granada, my favorite was dancing with the community that night in the plaza.
If you ever find yourself in Andalusia, go see a flamenco show!
And then the flamenco show! The one I attended was in a restaurant and man, was it intense! There was loud singing, powerful string strumming, fiery dancing and toe tapping, and by the end, one of the dancers was spraying the audience with his sweat. Thank goodness I wasn’t near the stage!
The Lookout Point of Saint Nicholas. La Alhambra and the city of Granada were beautiful from above.
After the show, I met up with one of my classmates at the Lookout Point of Saint Nicholas. From there, we were able to see La Alhambra illuminated and city lights. It was so beautiful, but by the time we got back to the hotel it was already Sunday and we were completely exhausted.
We woke up at 8am to eat breakfast and clear out our rooms. Then the highlight of our trip: La Alhambra.
The views from La Alhambra are breathtaking.
Words cannot describe how perfectly beautiful La Alhambra is, but I’ll do my best: flowers, green shrubs, water fountains, views of Granada, Moorish palaces that were built hundreds of years ago. Our guide said that the water was an important symbol of life for the Moorish royals–a point made by the presence of water all around us. Gorgeous. And the garden, the butterflies, the architectural designs, the views…Argh!!! Sometimes words are just insufficient so I’ll leave you with photos and sign off with that.
Although most of the gardens were installed in the 20th century, they are spectacular.The Sultan’s roof features impressive symmetry and lighting techniques.Water, a symbol of life for the Moors, is everywhere at La Alhambra.3 hours of La Alhambra was not enough. If you visit, don’t blink because you will miss lots of details!
