Spain - Part 2: Granada

On Monday the 24th, Mom and I took a five hour train ride down to the south of Spain for a few days in Granada. Granada is a famously old city that holds the Alhambra, which is a Moorish castle dating back to the 14th century. It is apparently one of the most visited sights in the world for its lavish castles and the intricate details that it holds. There are many stories and myths that have come out of the Alhambra, and the whole city of Granada emanates its importance. Granada was very different from Madrid, partially because of its history, but also because it is a city made up of small, alley-like streets that are busy and bustling, but also very strange and eerie. Much like Madrid, though, the city was covered in monuments and plazas, as well as happy Spaniards enjoying tapas and cocktails out of doors.

Our hotel in Granada was a lovely place called El Ladron del Agua, or 'the thief of water'. This is because there is a theme of water found in the Alhambra and Moorish traditions. It is ever present in fountains and pools in the palaces, and this hotel is located just below the Alhambra in the Albaycin neighborhood of Granada, known for it's magnificent views of the Alhambra. I LOVED this hotel! It's amazing how less nice facilities can make a nice shower and comfortable bed seem so luxurious. I even donned the fancy bath robe the hotel provided just because I wanted to soak it all up, haha. Lame, I know. Other than these things, the hotel was also interesting because it had wooden paneled ceilings and a very Spanish feel about it. It was an ideal place to spend our time in Granada. Here are a few pictures:


We had a lot of Spanish cheese and wine to get through once we arrived, as there was not a fridge in the room to keep all that we had bought in Madrid.

That first night, we spent our time just walking the tiny (and confusing!) streets of Granada in search of dinner. We ended up on the patio of a restaurant that was on a nice little plaza. We ordered lasagna and tortellini carbonara, but though these dishes are normally Italian, we received the Spanish versions. We were a little surprised but happy nonetheless! The lasagna was more like some sort of enchilada-like casserole and the tortellini came with some Spanish ham. All was delicious, and we followed up with the obligatory churros and chocolate sauce. Everyone told me that when visiting Granada, one MUST have churros and chocolate, and they sure were right. It's essentially dipping fried sticks of dough into a chocolate pudding type liquid. SO GOOD!

The next morning, we set out to do more exploring before our scheduled visit to the Alhambra. Here are some photos of us around the city:


This is Mom on the road outside our hotel which leads through the Albaycin neighborhood.



After some exploring and a light lunch, we began our trek up the hill to the Alhambra. We had read in our guidebooks that sometimes gypsies are found on the trail, and they will try to give you stems of rosemary and then try to read your fortune to you from the palm of your hand. Then they will ask you to pay them for it. Well, oddly enough this happened to my mom! We had just came up a treacherous part of the uphill walk and were sitting down for a breather when we were approached by a tiny gypsy woman who handed my mom rosemary and then reached for her hand. I was pretty proud of myself for doing a quick yell, grabbing my mom's hand back and then getting out of there. And, as ever, I was thankful for our Rick Steves guidebook because that little man knows everything about everywhere. It's truly impressive and almost a little strange.

Anyway, once we got to the palaces, they were amazing. We first checked our the Alacabaza, the fort on the outside. Here we are standing in it and overlooking the city:


Here are a few photos from inside the palace. There is so much to have seen and so much detail, but pictures really tell it better. I will put some here and will have more on my photos page.





The next morning was probably the highlight of the Granada trip, as we went on our much anticipated olive oil tour through the Andalucian countryside. Andalucia is the region of Spain that Granada is in, and it is famous for some of it's food and products, such as olives. We were picked up at our hotel and driven way out of the city into the mountains. These were so beautiful! The day was sunny and warm, but we could see snow covering the mountain tops of the Sierra Nevadas. We were driven to a tiny village just beneath the mountains. It was a sleepy place on that Wednesday morning, and it had streets that were just as narrow and difficult to navigate as in Granada. It was a wonder that our driver only had one accident that day... he hit a BMW in a parking lot earlier in the morning.

This is the British couple we were with and me learning from our guide about the trees in the olive field.

Here is a lovely photo of Mom in the fields with the snow-capped mountains behind her.

After touring the olive fields, we were taken to the olive oil press that dates back at least 500 years. This giant press is intact because it was left shut up for many years and was no disassembled as most of the other olive oil presses from the time were. It is a wonder that all of it is still in great shape, and it was also so amazing to think of the Spaniards producing their delicious olive oil for so much of history.

This is a part of the olive press. Impressive!

We then were taken to the the place where we would get to test the olive oils. It was quite an interesting process! We tested five different olive oils. First, we would sip a bit of the olive oil and experience it's taste in that way. Then, we would dip bread in the oil and taste it again. After this, we would then discuss the differences in the oils, eat a slice of apple, and try another. We are now certifiable olive oil experts! After the olive oil testing, we moved on to test four different wines from the region which were deeeelicious! It was such a wonderful experience in this small town in Spain. Here are some pictures from the tasting:




Next, we were taken through more beautiful countryside to another tiny town for an amazing lunch. This was easily the best meal I have had in all of Europe. I had gazpacho, a traditional cold soup, and then roast pork and potatoes. And wine. All followed by the delicious Spanish coffee. It was such an incredible day, and we saw so many beautiful parts of Spain that we otherwise would have missed! Here are some pictures of the views:




The following day, we said goodbye to our lovely hotel in Granada and made the journey back up to Madrid. The train ride through the country was so beautiful, and it was a pleasant journey to have made twice. We found our final hotel that night, despite some complications and a few tears of frustration from me that got the taxi driver to turn off his meter for a few minutes... and then we enjoyed tapas and wine on our final night together in Spain. The goodbye in the morning was tearful, but the memories of a week in Spain, one of my favorite places, with my mom, one of my favorite people, will always be some of my happiest and most cherished memories.

Spain - Part 1: Madrid

The 2nd week of my travels was spent in the magical country of Spain, the land of tapas, sangria, and warm sunshine. The minute I stepped out of the Madrid airport into the hot sun, I knew it would be an amazing stay. I've missed the Georgia weather quite a bit while abroad, so it was a nice week spent in a climate that is a little nearer to what I am used to. My good mood in Spain was also a result of the knowledge that my Mom would be arriving early the next morning for a week with me! Before that, however, we had an afternoon and evening to get acquainted with our neighborhood in the center of Madrid. I checked into the room my mom had reserved while the girls went across the street to theirs, and then we met up with our friend Phoebe from England at the Plaza Mayor. The Plaza Mayor was actually a pretty awful place during the violent years in Spain's history, but today it is a lovely square with a lot of outdoor seating for the numerous restaurants that are located there.

From there, Phoebe took us for a REAL Spanish lunch. The restaurant was hidden at the top of a building with a great view of the city. We ordered tapas, or 5 different plates to be shared. I was brave and let Phoebe choose our food, which was calamari, baked peppers, roasted potatoes, chorizo, and white asparagus with shrimp. This was a very typical meal, she assured me. All of it was so delicious too! Oddly enough, the calamari was so good and very different than in the States. After this awesome lunch, we went downstairs to a streetside restaurant and sat in the sun to share the first of many pitchers of sangria. What a great way to be welcomed into Spain!

The following morning I awoke to my mother's arrival in our lovely Spanish hotel room. It was funny how normal it seemed to be with my mom in Spain. I feel so lucky that she was able to make the trip to visit me and I will always cherish the memories we made together. That first day, we spent some time napping (she had had a long journey) before getting out to explore the city. It was a lovely day and we really set out to just enjoy it, without anything big on our agenda. Here are a few pictures:

This is us at the pond and monument in the Retiro. The Retiro is the giant and beautiful park in the center of Madrid, sort of like Central Park in NYC.


This is us with one of the many cows in Spain. These cows are all over the city and each is done up by a different artist. Sometimes they communicate political ideas, sometimes they are just funny or cute.


This is one of the amazing buildings along the main road in Madrid.

We then had our first dinner on the Plaza Santa Ana, experimenting with 6 different kinds of tapas, all so delicious! My Spanish language skills almost failed us when we nearly ordered the octopus dish, but thankfully our little waiter told us what I had just ordered in time for us to change that. We shared some sangria and had a lot of fun on that first night.

The second morning, Saturday, we slept in a little and then grabbed some delicious coffee on our way to the Prado. Coffee in Spain is not like in America. If you order just coffee, you will just get a tiny cup of espresso, and cafe con leche, or coffee with milk, is espresso and milk (a latte). Drip coffee like we drink in America is not easily found, which was fine because we loved the lattes every morning! So, with our coffee cups in hand we made the pleasant stroll up to the The Prado, the famous art museum in Madrid. It houses many famous works be El Greco, Titian, etc. It was quite a nice learning experience and we even bought some snotty El Prado tote bags to prove we actually went :)

We also frequented a mall off of the Plaza Del Sol near our hotel called El Corte Ingles. This was a 7 story mall that housed an awesome grocery store beneath it. We went here to buy cheese, flan, yogurt, wine... the necessities. We also found some more cute cows outside of it!



That night we met up with my friends and had a lovely dinner at a small restaurant in the center of Madrid. I had amazing asparagus and chicken, followed by tiramisu. I could get used to eating the food in Spain all the time! The ingredients were always so fresh and it was always so delicious.

Our last full day in Spain was Sunday, which we began with a walk to the train station to buy our tickets for Granada the next day. The train station is actually really cool here, and has a giant botanical garden inside of it. The Spanish are very good with their landscaping and botany. We then enjoyed more walking around in the Retiro and the rest of the city, then had a light lunch in a cafe. Madrid was a wonderful place to just get to know the city and spend time soaking in all the culture. It was so nice to just spend time with my mom and enjoy the city. It was also wonderful to have spent a few days in Madrid so that when we left we actually were sad to say goodbye to the neighborhood that had been our own while we were there. However, it was such a treat to take the train down to the amazing city of Granada, which I will blog about next.

Belgique! The first week of a five week holiday.

Well, first I should explain why I have not blogged in more than a month... it's because I have been on vacation for five weeks! It's hard work keeping a blog up amidst all the miles that I have traveled over this amount of time, and I will admit that even in my downtime, blogging just hasn't been my priority. I will, however, be going back and blogging my adventures starting from week 1, so though it is a little late, you won't miss a minute of my travels around the world. :)

So, it was more than a month ago that on March 15, our little group of Mercer/Oxford girls set off for the country of Belgium, or Belgique, as the French speakers say. Some people think that it's a little strange for us to have chosen to visit Belgium, but there was a larger reason for this choice. On of my dearest professors, Dr. Chris Grant, was leading a Mercer group of students across Europe for their spring break, and we were going to be able to catch them on their final few days of travel. The plan was to meet up with them in Brussels and join them on their tours of the European Union Consilium and the United States Mission to the E.U., and then we would part ways, leaving for Bruges when they left for the States.

What a wonderful week this was! With little previous knowledge of Belgium, I don't think it could have worked out any better. The flight was just about an hour to get to Belgium and once in Brussels, I was charmed by the culture and surroundings. Of course there were Belgium waffle stands on nearly every corner, but beyond that, the city was a lovely mix of lovely European flavor and modern European governmental hub. Here are a few pictures from Brussels:

The streets and squares were so quaint and SO very Euro.


Belgian waffles are not overrated.

One thing about the trip to Brussels that was wonderful aside from seeing some wonderful Mercerians was the trip to the European Union Consilium. My first term at Oxford was devoted to learning about the structure and workings of the European Union, so it was a nice test of my learning to tour the facilities. It was so interesting to see what could sort of be described as the "Washington DC" of the E.U. We actually were there just a few days before the meeting of all the heads of states of the member nations, which was also pretty exciting.


After we said farewell to the Mercer group on Tuesday of that week, we caught the train to Bruges (pronounced Brooj) which is just an hour or so north of Brussels. It is a canal city that I really knew nothing about, other than having heard that it is beautiful and the best place to visit in Belgium. Well, that couldn't be more accurate! Bruges is one of my favorite cities of all time now, because it is unlike any other that I have visited. We were fortunate to have two beautiful, sunny days while in Bruges, and the streets are lined with lovely shops and happy people. I will also tell you that there was an abundance of adorable dogs in this city, which you know boosted my level of happiness. Though we were only in Bruges for just about 24 hours, we had so many wonderful experiences while there. We started with a canal tour on a boat that took us around this absolutely adorable city that was filled with swans and tulips. Here are a few shots:




After a day of exploring, we retired to our lovely hostel that was just a block from the center of town. I loved this place! It was cozy and small, with a Bohemian, collegey vibe, as well as fancy chandeliers and other details that were leftover from when it used to be a nice hotel many years ago. We actually took part in a Belgian beer tasting here (drink it slow... the ABV is double what Americans are used to) and then went out for a drink with our guide. It was such a great environment with so many great people. And, the Belgian beer is really, reallllly good! Here is a picture of the main room of the hostel:


From Bruges, we then took the train to the city of Charleroi, in French speaking Belgium. This was where our airport was located, thanks for Ryanair. Ryanair is the inexpensive airline that makes flying around Europe so cheap, but they also tend to make it a little difficult. They do this by operating out of completely random airports in strange places... like Charleroi. So, we arrive in Charleroi, an unattractive, industrial city, feeling a little sad to have left such a lovely city behind us for a night in this one. Then we start asking directions to our hostel, which was difficult when most everyone spoke only French and none of us know anything other than 'hello' and 'thank you'. What we did soon glean from our difficult conversations was that our hotel was not actually a hostel and that it was no actually in Charleroi. It was so far that buses wouldn't actually even take us there! Whhhhat? We were distressed and stressed and growing rapidly impatient, so we finally found a trustworthy cabbie that had zero English skills, and he took us on the long, strange journey into the middle of nowhere. I am not exaggerating. It took us half an hour to get out of the city, at which point I started to worry that this man was taking us somewhere to keep us captive and sell us on the black market. I know, not really funny, but I am always jumping to the worst case scenario. The four of us girls nervously smiled at one another, but after another twenty minutes, we arrived in a tiny village at a bar that bore the name of the 'hostel' I had booked online. After venturing inside, I met the one English speaker in town, Bubu, a man from Kosovo that assured me the upstairs of the bar was a hotel. All worked out and we ended up in this strange, 1960s-esque hotel that night, across from beautiful ruins of a historic abbey in this strange town in French speaking Belgium. Bubu even bought us each a glass of wine later that night, and then we rested up for our morning flight to... MADRID!! I will blog on my week in Spain with Mom later today or tomorrow, so look out for that, as well as picture updates. I am actually in a cafe in Edinborough, Scotland now, and have to go and catch my train in an hour for Oxford. Cheers!