Saturday, March 14, 2009
We met the group at the bus stop near our house around 8:30 for Sevilla! It was a long bus ride – 3+ hours and we hardly got any time in the city at all. I was pretty bummed that we didn’t see much because it’s such a beautiful place with a lot to see and do and we were only there for just over 4 hours. We started at the Plaza de España which was a big, beautiful building in front of this really cool park. It’s where some Star Wars movie was shot and the World’s Fair of 1929 was held. It didn’t actually happen though, because of the stock market crash so it turned into some sort of Iberian Peninsula fair then they tried again in 1992. In front of the building are a bunch of ornately designed benches with each province of Spain so we gathered in front of the Granada one for a group picture then were on our way. We wandered through the Jewish quarter, where the streets were so narrow you could barely walk side-by-side. Then, we came out in front of the Giralda, the bell tower on the 3rd biggest cathedral in the world. It was so pretty and there were lots and lots of people out! It was starting to get HOT (almost 30°C – around 86°F) and I understand why people say there are 4 months of spring and 8 months of summer! After some free time to munch on our bocadillos in the shade, we wandered around the cathedral and found two weddings going on! One bride and groom were in an antique car riding past the cathedral and the other wedding was just finishing with all the guests waiting outside throwing rice in the air. It was so cool to see! Someone said it looked like a theme wedding because of the way everyone was dressed but it wasn’t! Everyone was really fancy, all the guys in full suits and all the women with huge things on the heads – flowers, hats, all kinds of material. We met up with the group and walked to the Alcazar which was modeled after the Alhambra and built a century later. It was really cool! We saw yet another couple getting married and they were taking pictures in the gardens (like the Generalife). So romantic.. We went inside led by none other than our beloved Aurelio. As soon as we were done, we headed back to the bus then to Granada. We didn’t have time to change so Veronica gave us 10€ so we grabbed some kebabs/schwarmas, tapas, and ice cream. Delicious and only spent about half our money! We met up with the group again and walked up the Albaicin to a flamenco show. It was awesome!! We had really good seats and the backdrop was a huge picture window with an amazing view of the Alhambra and the Generalife, could you ask for anything better? Actually, you could – the storyline was Aladdin!! (my favorite movie) It was so much fun and my favorite part was the end after they had taken their bow, the performers did a little freestyle. The clapping, stomping, and intensity of it were amazing. And the pretty dresses didn’t hurt either.. The only bad part was the male performers – Aladdin wasn’t nearly as handsome as he is in the movie and Jafar was a ballet dancer in a flamenco performance. How disappointing. It was so funny to hear the songs in Spanish and see how they change the words around so they rhyme. They did play all the great songs though and I was singing along in my head J After the show, we came back to our place, got ready, and headed out to meet up with some other girls to go to Granada 10, a discoteca. . Nobody even goes until at least 2:00 and we didn’t get home until around 6:00! It was pretty fun, but I was so tired after a long day. They played a lot of techno and the guys were, umm, popos. I’m glad we went because it’s something you just have to do but I probably won’t pay to go again anytime soon..
