That morning, I had to wake up at 6:15 AM to prepare myself for the trip. Breakfast had been already set out complete with sandwiches for lunch, which was tasty French bread with some spiced meat. I left the house about 6:45 AM, as I was going to meet Scott at the mail office at 7 AM to walk together to the bus station. (Stephanie has gotten better, but didn’t want to push herself, so she opted out of the trip.)
At 7 AM, us Abroadco students met up, and off we went down the street. Much like New York, the city was still active even in the morning- taxis lumbering down the road for a new day, trash services cleaning off the streets, and several groups of young people ambling down the streets from a full night of hanging out at the local discotecas. We had to walk a large portion of two streets to make it to the bus area, which Jaime and Inma had led us to the day before. We knew we were in the right spot when several large groups of Americans showed up at the same spot. 7:27 AM the bus arrived, and all of us hopped on in a mass mob, and at exactly 7:45 AM we left the city of Granada… for the city of Sevilla.
The trip itself was about 3 hours from Granada, including stopping at a small roadside restaurant. The sights along the road to Sevilla were also spectacular- several smaller cities spread out against long rows of agriculture, always in the background of the magnificent Sierra Nevada. I dozed for about a quarter of the trip, as the professor from the University began to explain the day’s events, then conceded to grouse at the continually talking Americans in the back of the bus. Finally, three hours later, we arrived at the Archaeological Complex, Italica.. site of an ancient Roman city.
When we first entered the ruins, all around were different replicas of sculptures that had been found on location. Later on we learned the original sculptures were being held in a museum for preservation, but these replicas were just as interesting had they been originals on display. Two were placed in the front garden, and they looked liked they’d always been there:
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Next, a large pile of rubble and ruins lay straight in front of our mass of people, and the professor began to speak (solely in Spanish!) about the history of the ruins. It was a bit difficult to understand the large words he used, but what I did get was that this place had been a Roman amphitheatre and center of culture in the town:
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We then walked into the center of the amphitheatre.....
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then the labyrinth of dark tunnels inside...
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Our group then entered a small room structure, where we all gathered around and listened again to the professor speak:
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I couldn’t help but notice the words ‘Sala de Gladiatorias,’ and understand the significance. This room had been where gladiators, before performing, would wait for their turn in the ring. Along side the room held a plaque in Roman for the gladiators:
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I also took a picture of the translation next of it, in Spanish:
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We then left through the entrance, and my mind wandered to how it must have been like for gladiators to pass through this same doorway to their own battles.
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Next, we walked back through the gardens, several students snapping hasty photographs of more of the ruins, and out towards the larger, spread out ruins of mosaics and homes long gone. On the way there was a spectacular array of trees alongside the road, ruins hiding beneath their shade:
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The temperature was increasing all the while, cloudless skies illuminating the surrounding countryside-http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll32/natalia_en_espana/SevillaPictures105.jpg
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We then went inside the expansion of ruins, then we toured inside, and viewed original mosaics still intact, left over from when they gave the interior of the home’s floor a colorful flair:
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We viewed several different ones, the professor all the while explaining the different pictures and mosaics typical of the Romans:
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We clambered through the area, enjoying the different mosaics that honored different things: birds, animals, gods, war- different situations for different tastes.
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The homes themselves, according this sign, would have looked like this back in the day:
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We then walked down the road, heat ever increasing, to hop on the bus and ride to our next stop… Sevilla itself!
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Our group, ever led by the professor, sped over to the Alcazar, a famous Moorish palace in the heart of Sevilla. Entering inside, you would see large expansions of gardens all around, complete with castle architecture:
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Touring through the gardens, we then visited the main buildings, which hosted an impressive display of curving doorways and hand-carved decorations, complete with open airways, large doors, decorated ceilings, and simplistic centered fountains:
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We then walked to the later modified part of the building, in which when the Christians had taken over the Moorish palace, they added in their own pieces of architecture to the sprawling palace:
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After touring the Alcazar, we left through a huge archway, which led us straight to the next part of the tour... the Cathedral!
Unfortunately, the day we picked to go wasn’t the best one- a religious ceremony was taking place that very day, and no one was allowed to go inside the massive church. However, we were given 2 hours of free exploration to walk around and view the gothic styled building ourselves:
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Finally, we were given a half an hour to walk around the large Plaza de Espana, which was a large building centered in the city, and our professor explained several different films have been shot in this historic area:
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We walked past different mosaics of different cities in Spain, and both me and Scott posed by our favorite cities:
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And then, as fast as we had came, we all walked back onto the bus and slept 3 hours all the way back to Granada.
For Sunday, I enjoyed sleeping in the first time this week. Our host family went for the day to visit family, and me and Stephanie took the opportunity to go out for churros for breakfast. It took us a while to find a churro-operating café, but eventually our efforts were rewarded! We found one very close to the house, and dined well for only 5.20 euros split between us! Churros are fried dough sticks served with a hot chocolate dipping sauce, and were very tasty!
We then ventured into a Chinese-owned dollar store, where I successfully bought a convertor for my computer, so that I may type my blog entries before I upload them online. Hurrah! (And the convertor was only 1,20 Euros, so I got one for a good price!) Afterwards, my roommate and I stopped home, where she took a nap and I went walking for a bit.
I had hoped to go see a corrida de toros, or a bullfight; however a stop to the tourist office and a quick inquiry told me there wasn’t one being held this week: only during special events! I’m going to make a point of talking with Jaime and Inma to figure out when an upcoming bullfight will be, because I really, really want to see one! (Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, most of the students I’ve talked to don’t want to see one, but my host mom says it’s fine to go alone, so if I don’t find anyone to go with by the time one comes up, then off I shall go! :D)
After visiting the tourist office, I browsed through some tourist shops, as most of the regular stores were closed for Sunday. I then walked through my favorite part of town, the Cathedral square, and to my delight, the Cathedral was open! Traditional mass was taking place when I ventured inside, and only a few feet was allowed before the main part was gated off- as for tourists to watch, but not interrupt. We weren’t allowed to take pictures, but it was a gorgeous interior! Huge sculptures and paintings all around the entire church, and it was definitely eye candy. I will definitely go back when it’s open for touring to see all the front of the church, but what I saw on Sunday was definitely worth the stop!
Afterwards, I walked more around the city, mostly near the neighborhood where my home stay is. About 2:30 PM I came home for lunch and a nice, long siesta after a very busy week. I then got to try out my new convertor, and enjoy typing a blog leisurely, not as the typical rush at the school! After writing, I went wandering around Granada for a bit, as I had nothing else planned for the day, and enjoyed seeing some familiar sights and roads I had been on the week before. All in all, Sunday was pretty relaxing!
Today was back to school as usual, and I had to update my blog late as usual, as uploading pictures online takes a very long time! For the afternoon, I haven’t got a plan yet what to do, but maybe converse with my roommate to go out for tapas or something, or go exploring in Granada... there´s so much to see here!
As a final note, make sure to stop over and check out my photobucket, as I took so many pictures of Sevilla, I did not post all of them here!http://s284.photobucket.com/albums/ll32/natalia_en_espana/
note-they are not in order! My camera decided to mix them up....
Until next time!
1 comment:
Next time you're going to take me along!
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