Spain

At the Alcazaba in Malaga

The Irrigation system at the Alcazaba

The cathedral and minaret in Sevilla

The main Plaza in Sevilla

Tapas and Cruzcampo, the local beer.

The bridge and view of the Mezquita in Cordoba at night

The mihrab in the Mezquita

Complex arches in the Mezquita

The garden in the Alcazar do los Reyes Cristianos

Freezing at the Alhambra

View at the Alhambra

Courtyard in the Alhambra

View and the Plaza de Toros back in Malaga

At the top of the hill in Malaga

The beach on the day of our departure

So I know that I haven't posted a blog in ages but we have been extremely busy. My first term ended on December 12th but my papers were do in January so I spent most of the break at the library doing research and writing. On January 2nd we took a little trip to Andalucia, Spain. If you think southern Spain is always nice and sunny think again. It was usually warmer than London, but that doesn't mean much considering it was about 10-15 fahrenheit last week. We even got a little snow in Granada. It is the off season right now so we were able to get amazing prices on airfare and hotels. We flew into Malaga and in the morning and stayed at a really nice 1 star hotel. Seriously the hotel was so nice and clean, we were really surprised. It was dirt cheap and right in the center of town. We went out to the main center and visited the beautiful cathedral which was started in 1528 but not finished until the 18th century, and even then they ran out of funds and never built the second tower so the locals call it 'La Maniquita' (The one-armed one). We also went to the Alcazaba which is a moorish palace. It is really neat and is mostly from the 700's. Right next to it is the Roman theater. We stayed one night in Malaga and in the morning made our way to the train station  for the 2 hour ride to Seville.

Our hotel in Seville was really nice and very close to the main center of town. Navigating the streets of Seville is sort of like blindly navigating the Amazon. Narrow streets, poorly marked, and all of the streets change names 2 or 3 times, if your lucky. The night we got there it was Kristin's birthday so we went out for a nice dinner. We saw some flamenco at La Carboneria (a recommendation by Peter). We also ran into a small little bar right next to our hotel called Quitapesares which is owned by 'El Peregil' who is a legend in Seville. He would occasionally break into song, it was really fun, and since it was the off season, a very authentic experience, not many tourists around. We went to the beautiful cathedral where they have a massive amount of gold, complements of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Connected to the cathedral is La Giralda which looks like a bell tower but is actually an old minaret left over from the Muslim Caliphate. The walk to the top is easy because it is a ramp all the way up instead of stairs because when they did their call to prayer they rode a horse to the top. Easier when you have to do it 5 times a day. We also went to the 'Archive of the Indias' which there is the Spanish keep all of the important maps and documents from explorations of the the 'New World' including Columbus' original log. We stayed 3 days and then headed to Cordoba.

Cordoba is a really beautiful small city with great sights. It is also the culinary capital of Andalucia. We definitely had the best food during our whole trip here. We also visited my favorite site of the trip, the Mezquita. It is a renaissance cathedral-built in the middle of a mosque built by the Moors in 786 c.e.- built on the site of a Visigoth cathedral - that was built on top of a Roman temple dedicated to Janus. Talk about religious continuity. The red and white double arches are beautiful and the mihrab is one of the most beautiful in the world. We also went to the oldest synagogue in Andalucia, one of only 3 synagogues in all of Spain. I guess the Spanish Inquisition really had an effect on the Jews. Maybe that would explain all of the pig legs they still cure in the windows, sort of a 'you're only welcome if you eat pork' sign. A tradition they still carry on in all of Spain. After 2 days we took the train to Granada.

Granada is a really neat city with the most popular tourist destination in all of Spain. The Alhambra is one of the most well preserved and unique sites I have ever visited. Perched on a hill overlooking the city with great views. The Alhambra has a really mystical feel, and while we were there it was enhanced with a dusting of light snow. The hill that the Alhambra is perched on is filled with caves that the local gypsy population still live in. We also went to the beautiful cathedral and then headed back to Malaga after 2 nights. 

Back in Malaga we were lucky to get some excellent weather and just took a hike to the top of the hill and enjoyed the sun and views before heading back to London. 

Sorry this post is so long winded, but we haven't spoken to anyone in a while and just wanted to keep you posted. 

Here is a link to all the pictures from Spain. There are a lot!

Spain Pictures