Ok, so I got on a Europe high and couldn’t wait a whole week to go through and show you more photos. Our second class trip was to Cordoba, which during the 10th and 11th centuries, was considered the intellectual epicenter of Europe. At one point, this town was considered to be one of the most populous cities in the world. The architecture and the history in this city was so amazing, but be warned, if you go to Cordoba, be careful of the gypsies! Women- carry your purses in front of you, not behind you or under your arm. And men- do not carry your wallets in your back pockets. Also, DO NOT TOUCH THE BRANCH IF SOMEONE HANDS IT TO YOU. You have been warned. Ignore these suggestions at your own risk.
The top picture is of one of the eleven mills left in the city. It’s ginormous! Some of the other pictures are from Medina Azhara. These ruins used to be an Arab Muslim medieval palace, and it’s breathtaking. Literally. The details and the colors and the structures are beyond anything you would ever see in the U.S. The big group picture is from the newsletter we e-mailed to our parents and is our entire group with our professors. The bottom right picture is me with three of my travel buddies. I’m so glad I got to share my experiences with other people who appreciated everything as much as I did.
The next trip we took wasn’t a sanctioned class trip, and there were only six of us that went. We really, really, really wanted to go to Morocco, but were told that unless men went with us, the university wouldn’t let us go. Evidently the locals lock young girls like us in carpet shops until we agree to buy a rug that’s about $3,000. Chances were if we went we wouldn’t have made it back. So we opted for the next best thing, Gibraltar.
Gibraltar is actually a British territory located at the southern tip of Spain. And from there, there is a huge mountain, shown below left, that is called the Rock of Gibraltar. From the top of the rock, you can actually see Morocco and Africa.
In Gibraltar, there are tons of monkeys, called Gibraltar Monkeys. They are terrifying, cute and hilarious all at the same time. They’ll jump on your head or shoulders and look friendly, then they’ll start yanking your hair out. And when it’s happening to everyone else, it’s hilarious. Until they spot you and start the jump from someone else’s head to yours. We really enjoyed our time in the British territory and were so glad we went. It was a pretty foggy day, but in the second picture from the bottom right, you can see the coast of Africa. There were also some gorgeous beaches in Gibraltar.
Our first weekend trip was with our class and we went to Granada. It was an amazing weekend trip and the city has quite the night life, especially because the University of Granada brings in a lot of college-age students. We loved every bit of our trip, especially the amazing food!
The Alhambra is a major tourist attraction nestled in the hills of Granada. Most of the architectural shots above are from our tour of the Moorish palace and fortress. The top right picture is a great view of the entire city of Granada from the top of the Alhambra. One of the things you have to see while you are there is the Alhambra at night. The sun casts a glow on the palace that makes it glow pink until the sun completely sets. It’s a gorgeous site and very romantic is you happen to be there with your loved one. Guess I’ll just have the drag myself back over there to take the hubby so he can see it. I say drag, but we all know I would hop on a plane this instant to be back in Spain.
That’s it for today! Thanks for all the comments on the last Spain post, I’m so glad so many people have had the opportunity to also travel to Europe. I’m hoping I can make it back over there with Ryan in the next few years.
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