El último día en Madrid, echo de menos la ciudad.

The morning started off great with a delicious breakfast at the hotel. Fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee, cereal (that I have not had the whole time I have been in Spain), and toast covered with orange marmalade. After we were filled to our hearts´ desire, we headed out to find the famous flea market, or mercadillo, that was supposedly not to far from where we stayed. We uncovered one of the less tourist and more local environment of Madrid, and I was glad that we headed that way.

For all you hat enthusiasts out there, this stand is for you!

Two euro scarves, the mercadillo proved to be dangerous for everybody! I have not seen prices this low anywhere in Spain.

Police, shopping? Otra vez, cuando está en España.

Without spending too much money, we were satisfied with our purchases and continued to our next tourist site, Plaza Mayor. This plaza has been functioning since the 1600s, but the current version of it was finished in 1790. It was here that many events happened throughout history. Bullfights, football matches, public executions, and "autos de fe", which was trials against people who did not have faith who were condemned to death in a public ceremony. I have learned about this in my Historia de España (Edad Moderna) class, and this is the picture my professor displayed to get a better image in our mind:

If you click on the image, you can get more detailed view of this painting.

Of course, that occurred hundreds of years ago, and it has a new feel now. The principle use of the plaza is for certain festivals throughout the year, and this environment is supported by having many restaurants all around the perimeter. 

Giant entrance to the grandeur of Plaza Mayor

Holiday decorations, although not ready since there is no "official" mark to start the season, except the first day of December.

King Phillip III, a very important figure in Spanish monarchical history. 

Paintings? Yes, there was a facade that was covered with paintings. They were very beautiful. 

Today in class, I watched a movie that had a scene based in Plaza Mayor, and I got was very happy that I had been to such a recognizable and historical spot of Spain.

While one of our group members was obtaining a better map of Madrid, I spotted Spongebob Squarepants, and I thought that a photo opportunity had arisen. As most of you know, I love the simplest, yet quirkiest little things such as this.

In my History of Spain during the Modern Age class, I have learned about King Philip II, and recently discovered that I took a picture of a statue that has some relation to what I am learning in class! Don Álvaro de Bazán, was a navy admiral during that time, and he was born in Granada. Who knew that I would live in such a interconnected history and culture!

The great thing about Madrid was that all the main tourist sites were sometimes not too far from another, and we only walked a bit from Plaza Mayor to get to the Almudena Cathedral and the Palacio Real. The construction of the cathedral started in the late 1800s, but was not finished nor consecrated until 1993 by Pope John Paul II. In recent years, the Prince of Asturias, Felipe, got married to the current Princess of Asturias, Letizia. The other side is Palacio Real, the royal palace that is massive, but more used for social gatherings than the actual residence of the Royal Family. Still, quite a spectacle for the eyes, as it was the first time that I have ever seen a "palace".

Being fans of Spanish literature, we set out to find the Cervantes monument in the Plaza de España. The plaza itself was nothing as great as the other plazas I have been to, but the statues, in my opinion, make up for it. The main characters of Don Quijote de La Mancha, himself and his buddy Sancho, are featured. 

Cervantes, in the background, with Don Quijote riding Rocinante to the left and Sancho on top of his mule on the right.

We are so clever

Another place of interest not too far away was the Temple of Debod, which is actually an ancient Egyptian temple. Wait a minute, how does that make any sense? After all, I am in Spain, very far away from Egypt. Well, when Egypt was constructing the Great Aswan Dam, there were several historical monuments that were  in this zone that the government wanted to preserve, so they gave Spain this monument as a gift of gratitude for helping them.

Just some hieroglyphics, I accidentally took it with flash and feared repercussions since the security guards were very particular with enforcing rules. Luckily, I did not get in trouble. 

Walking to all these sites made us very hungry, and we remembered passing a food market, called Mercado de San Miguel. This seemed like the best plan, and we discovered that it was filled with all kinds of delicious food stands and picked what we wanted to eat. Right after we ate, it started to rain and we decided it would be best to start heading to the bus station to take the bus back to Granada.

Very crowded, but this is normal of Spain. Personal space does not bother people here as much as in the United States. 

I got a mini-pizza and an empanada de carne for only three euro.

I also have returned from visiting Córdoba and Sevilla, but I´m backlogged with homework and other things at the moment. For now, be patient, and the blogs will be put up in the near future.

Dale limosna mujer, que no hay en la vida nada como la pena de ser ciego en Granada

Over the past week, I have gone on my own excursions to the places of Granada that are considered tourist locations that I have not been to yet. I was glad I did this because I feel so much more connected to this beautiful  Spanish city.

Last Sunday, I climbed the steep street up to the Alhambra with my friend, Breanna. Since it was a Sunday and later in the day, nothing was really open, but I managed to take a few very nice pictures. The Alhambra itself is a very interesting place, with a history that goes back over a thousand years. First, the Moors had control of the land and built up their fortress upon the mountainside (If you would call it that - You can see what I am describing when I talk about the Mirador de San Nicolas). From what I have learned, the Moors first built the fortress and then built their own palace. When the Catholic Monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand expelled the Moors from the land, they claimed this land. A few centuries later, the King Charles I of Spain (also the King of the Holy Roman empire... very long story on how this happens and continued to happen throughout the history of different European kingdoms) decided to build his own palace on this land. Although he ordered for the construction of the palace, he never actually lived there. Experts guess that the use of this building was merely for diplomatic reasons. I have been told many interesting architecture aspects about this palace, but I decided it would be best not to discuss them since it would take forever.

Part of the Nasrid Palace. I absolutely adore the windows. Even better, when my study abroad group toured the palace, the ceiling was intricately carved with what I believe is marble. If anyone out there is ever in Granada, arrive to the Alhambra early to get a ticket and drool over the delicate architecture and decoration inside all of the palaces. It will be well worth a visit.

The formal entrance to the Alhambra fortress, called "Puerta de la Justicia", built in 1348 by Yusuf I.

There is a church inside the fortress, but I do not know the name. The sun was hitting this side of the church in such a beautiful manner, and this picture turned out so well.

Palacio de Carlos V, or Palace of Charles V.

It is so interesting on how there are so many details on something as simple as an outside wall or a window.

A common meeting place or a reference point for travelers in Granada is the Plaza de Isabel la Católica. Here, there is a statue of Reina Isabel I de Castilla with Christopher Columbus surrounded by a fountain with various shrubbery. Isabella is her "English name", and she agreed to help fund Columbus' voyage. At the time, he had wanted to find an alternate route to the Indies by going West, but we all know today that he landed on a new land that had not been discovered. The rest is history, but I was very surprised to find out how our world history is very interconnected. 

Something that I fell in love with here is how all the buildings are adjacent to more buildings and create a certain "European" look. Anytime I see a set of buildings that are clearly of this style, I smile and think how crazy it is that I am in Spain.

I also enjoy the different colors

Last Friday is when I had a chance to see the Royal Chapel, or La Capilla Real, located on the other side of the Cathedral. This is the location where both of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain are buried, along with their their children, Miguel (he died at age two) and Queen Joanna the Mad with her husband, Philip the Handsome and Fair. The Chapel itself was so nicely built with a careful, yet precious design and it is filled with many works of art. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take any pictures of the inside, but it was definitely worth the 3,50 euro to visit. 

Some of the exterior

Also, after avoiding the women around the Cathedral trying to give you a sprig of rosemary as a "gift" (Tourist trap-  by accepting the sprig, they then read your palm and for this, you "owe" them money, at least five euro),  I walked around the former silk market called the Alcaicería, which is now consists of tourism stores and handicrafts. When you walk along these narrow streets, you feel that you have transported to a place such as the markets of Morocco. I absolutely love the feeling when I am on the souvenir hunt for family and friends. 

All the buildings on the stretch of streets have this kind of design.

A few streets across from the Alcaicer ía is a place called the Corral del Carbón, which is a Moorish structure from the fourteenth century. This is a typical style of the Nasrid dynasty, and served as an inn for travelling merchants and as a wholesale market of goods.

Entrance of the Corral del Carbón, with the convenient tourist shop located next to it. I adore the arch of the door, and I have been told that this is a very typical Andalusian trademark for historical Moorish structures.

Inside the courtyard.

A more detailed view of the arch and the ceiling of the entrance.

I decided after this that I was famished and needed some warm beverage to reboot my energy, so I went to a cafetería in the Plaza de Bib-Rambla. This plaza was filled with all sorts of outdoor seating for the various restaurants and cafeterías and people roaming the square. 

This fountain uses recycled water (I am assuming that this is from rainwater, but not too sure), and they make sure to let you know that this is NOT water you can drink.

Interesting fountain.

My delicious café con leche, better known as a latte in the United States. Although these drinks are delicious, they have a higher caffeine concentration because they import Arabica coffee instead of the South American blends that we commonly consume in the United States.

The cafetería where I bought my coffee. They also serve pizza and churros con chocolate, but this visit I was not hungry. Maybe I will return sometime in the next few weeks for the churros.

I found this quote on the back of my sugar packet to be somewhat interesting. It roughly translates to "The necessary word may be effective, but no word has ever been as effective as a precise silence" - Mark Twain. Food for thought.

Around the Cathedral of Granada, there are several small shops that I believe truly represents the cultural atmosphere of Granada and Andalucía. They have stands with various spices and loose tea, specialty stores of all sorts of arts and crafts. I know that my mom will like that I found a yarn store, so I took a picture of it.

A statue near the Cathedral. I am not to sure of whom this is depicting, but I appreciate its antiquity. 

The Plaza of Bib-Rambla with the Cathedral in the background.

I continued walking around for about another hour and got hungry, so I tried to figure out where was a food stand that I wanted to try. During my stay so far in Granada, I have noticed that there are these stands that are abundant in many parts of the city along with some Andalusian cities I have visited selling Kebab sandwiches. To describe what they sell, the sandwich itself is called shawarma, and it has a pita for the outside, served with grilled chicken meat from a spit, all sorts of vegetables as toppings, and two sauces (one of them is called Amba, and is a tangy mango pickle sauce). This staple has to be one of the best things I have tried while abroad, and I am glad that it is served in many places around the world.

Yummy! And it was only three euros, which is a little less than four and a half dollars in the United States.

The following day, I left the house for another day of excursion and headed to La Cartuja de Granada, which is an old Carthusian monastery dating back to the sixteenth century. Inside there were an extensive display of the paintings of Fray Juan Sánchez Cotán. The majority of his pieces were of course religious, but many depicted how the Protestant Reformation killed many Carthusian monks. The images were very graphic and at times very disturbing, but I would not have researched the history behind this religious order had I not seen these paintings. Also, I was not supposed to take pictures inside the monastery, but when I arrived to the Chapel, I could not resist taking a few pictures because it was the most exemplary style of Spanish Baroque architecture and decoration. I hope that I am not viewed as being a bad person for doing this, but it was so incredibly beautiful that it must be shared with other people.

Passageway to the chapel

The altar, made of beautiful colors of marble, decorated with ornaments of gold, and flawless statues.

The paintings of the ceiling, along with some of the altar.

Have I mentioned that I adore the mountains that surround Granada? They are called la Sierra Nevada, and they get covered with a gentle sheet of snow in the winter. Since it is still an average temperature of around sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit each day, there is no snow on the peaks, but I believe that I may see this by the time I leave in December. 

These mountains are viewed from the porch of La Cartuja.

That day I also wanted to go back to the Mirador de San Nicolas in the Albaicín neighborhood of Granada. I took some more pictures of the area here, since I feel I did not take enough pictures when I first visited this site.

Some buildings and a bridge along the Paseo de Los Tristes

I cannot remember the name of this church, but I like the angle up to showing a partial view of the Alhambra fortress.

The Alhambra from the foot of the mountainside.

There were two signs, one in English and the other in Spanish, but I thought it was comical. Also, it was strange because I could not find this supposed "physically impossible entry".

This is actually public drinking fountains that are quite often found around the older neighborhoods of Granada. The water is supposed to be consumed, and it is very delicious and refreshing.

A view of the Alhambra fortress, Nasrid palace, and the palace of Charles V with mountains in the background.

More mountains.

For now, this picture story has summed up about three days of sightseeing in Granada and I hope that you enjoy reading about my life here in Granada. Next week I will have midterm examinations, along with a weekend trip to the capital of Spain, Madrid with my friend Breanna. The weekend following that weekend my study abroad program will be touring the cities of Córdoba and Sevilla.