(Continuing from Wednesday`s blog, as I just barely had enough time to post that one before we all got chased out for the night!)
So at about 3:45 me, Scott, Stephanie, and our new student Devan all met at Correos to get up and going for the Cathedral tour. I was pretty excited- I`d been itching to get inside and explore the huge church since I first saw it. Evelinne wasn`t able to join us due to her late class, but Devan`s class didn`t start until 5 PM, so he opted to show up late and come for the tour.
Inma had called earlier to check in with us, and asked us if we knew where to go. I replied yes, and to that it was just simply us four heading over to the Cathedral. I can almost say I could walk to the Cathedral blindfolded, because I`ve visited it on a day to to day basis so often!
We walked the short distance from Correos to the Arab Quarter, and I lead our small troupe through the minature bazaar before the Cathedral. Stephanie surprisingly hadn`t been there before, as she had been sick when we had toured this part of the Cathedral-so of course we had to walk through it, so everyone could know where it was.
Our group finally made it to the Cathedral, where Inma had told to me to meet at the largest door, which I associated with the front. We came up to it, but there wasn`t a tour group in sight. Wasn`t there a tour today? Glances cast around and locking on to me, inquiring had I led them to the wrong area? I said no- it was the biggest door. But where was everyone?
The consensus was to check the other side of the Cathedral, where most of regular tour groups go through. We hastily walked around the long church, not much of a bad detour since I usually only looked at the very front of the church. An outside tea vendor and other associated touristy stuff lined the way along the church, and it was only a brief look at them all before we got to the main door.
But of course, no one was there. Glances were cast around again, and I shook my head in confusion. The big door had been empty of a group, and now this- I whipped out my phone to ask Inma again, our group watching me for indication of where we were supposed to go.
A 5 second conversation later, and my suspicions were confirmed- it was the largest door, from which I had heard earlier. But why hadn`t anyone been there? I shrugged...perhaps the group was running late? It seemed we were as well as the clock chimed 4 PM, and I half ran back to the steps to make sure the tour group wasn`t just walking inside. But there still wasn`t anyone at the door...but a look over to my left hand side, a bit aways from the steps, and a medium sized group was standing in the cool shade. Apparently they`d been there the whole time, but we had took the `next to the large door` too literally!
I jogged up to the group, our professor from the Alhambra heading the group. She simply gave a quick scold at me as I hastily explained in Spainsh my companions were still coming- I had been the only one to sprint over there. She gave me the name list to check off all the names, and barked at the slow walking others to come over MAS RAPIDO! Needless to say, the other Abroadco students came up jogging up as well!
So finally, our Cathedral tour was starting, after a bit of running amuck! Our professor went to explain different parts of the Cathedral`s main entrance, and the many statues and biblical imagery carved into the front part for all to see:
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The center piece of the Cathedral was explained to be visit of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary Magdalene, and the large words above the circular enclosure read AVE MARIA. Also of interest was the huge star like window above the Mary statue, which was to represent the morning star. Different saints and archangels also are present all over the very front of the Cathedral, representing different time periods as well as biblical stories. You could say the Cathedral isthe bible in 3-d form!
After that our professor lead us to the side of the Cathedral, all the time barking MAS RAPIDO and VENGA! I could only hide my smile at her antics, because it was more for show than anything- the group was of the same mind, and would break out into laughs as she turned on to the slower moving students. With her, it`s always good to stay towards the middle!
We then looked over to some grafitti that was slowly fading on the side of the Cathedral wall. I`d seen it before, but I had naturally assumed it was similar to all the graffiti that seems to cover every building in Granada:
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Our profesora commanded our attention to the building straight across from the Church:
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And explained to us that this grafitti was history as well! Apparently, this reddish building used to be part of the University of Granada way back in the day, and as a part of graduating, the graduate students would go get the blood of a bull, mixed with a special die, and paint their initials on the side of the Church wall. The indication that this was the work of students instead of your everyday Joe is shown by all of the initials being preceeded by a `D´- representing a P.h.d I suppose that`s one way to celebrate success in school!
From there we walked over to the side of the building, and then over to the Gothic Church that was alongside the Cathedral:
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Our professor then explained to us that this small Church, a fine example of Gothic architecture and Queen Isabella`s favorite form of sculpture, was the final resting place of Queen Isabella, King Ferdinand, and their family. We then walked into the building, noticing along the way the carved initials of F and D- Ferdinand, and the old way of initialing Isabella!
The main lobby was full of historic pictures and items on display, and as our teacher went to get our tickets, I went ahead and took a bunch of pictures:
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(more on photobucket!)
There was a lot to see in the main lobby, but my eyes were definately drawn to the large scale painting of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand kicking the Moors out of Granada for good. Our teacher explained to us that this wasn`t the original painting- as pretty much everything original seems to make its way to Madrid- but I wouldn`t be able to tell the difference if you had told me otherwise! However, a nearby sign read that no photos or video recording was allowed beyond the large door, so I sadly put my camera away. I`d just have to save it for later, it would seem!ª
Finally we were ushered through the door to the tomb, and the sight that greeted us were large scale paintings of Christian figures, as well as gold altars adorning the sides, of course with even more Biblical imagery. You definately didn`t have any question in your mind this was a Catholic Church! Up further ahead though, was the huge tombs themselves. (You can do a quick google search to see what they look like!) Large engravings of Ferdinand and Isabella, as well as their daughter Juanita la Loca and Felipe el Guapo. They were extremely nice looking tombs, full of carvings of their exploits and conquests all through the huge grave.
Behind them was another golden altar, depicting several different scenes of religious history. The top showed the Passion of Christ, the below different saints and scenes from history- (a couple of them a bit gory showing the beheading of one saint, and the water boiling of another.) Another one showed the persecution of the Granada Muslims, and how the Catholic Church impressed upon them Christianity. A sad part in the long history of Catholic dominated Spain!
We then headed back to the large tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella, and then were told that we were going below them to visit the extended Royal Family`s tombs. It was a bit eerie to think we were going under the crypts, but a quick walk below showed five wooden caskets lying all next to each other. I guess the rest of the family didn`t get the marble slab deal!
After viewing the crypts one final time, we walked into the adjoning room, where dozens of different relics were on display- such as Queen Isabella Crown or King Ferdinand`s scepter. We were all drawn, however, to a large treasure chest on display- our professor realizing that most of us were from the United States, began to explain that this chest had a big significance in the history of the New World. Apparently, as legend goes, when Columbus propositioned Queen Isabella (Ferdinand told him no) to help fund his voyage, she didn`t really have any money to buy him three ships to go off and prove the world wasn`t flat. Instead, (and this part is 100% true!) she took off her earrings and necklace and gave them to him to sell for money- which he did, and got all the money he needed to make his infamous trip.
The legend goes that this displayed box was actually where Queen Isabella put her jewelry in for Christopher Columbus to go out and sell them for some quick cash. A highly interesting story, for his voyage made most of our group members who they are today!
We then had 5 minutes of free time to explore more of the display items, and lots of tapestries, Christian paintings, and relics from that long ago time were everywhere to be seen. Two statues of the King and Queen also lied on the far wall, marble etchings carved as they were bowing down in prayer. Most of the paintings were of Mary, as the Catholic religion centers a lot on her!
Soon we were being led outside again, and around to the front where the four of us Abroadco students had been earlier. Devan`s class time was quickly approaching, but he was too interested to leave- I assured him that the first day of class was always the easiest, and the teachers super nice, so they wouldn`t mind him being a little late. (Which I went ahead and verified with him later on, in which his teacher hadn`t minded at all!)
We walked through the large door into a small waiting area, as our profesora went ahead and got our admission:
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(Stephanie taking a water bottle on the right hand side!)
Then were back on track as our teacher went to fetch us, chiming once again: VENGA VENGA or MAS RAPIDO- NO PHOTOS! -to the delight of the onlooking students.
We made a right hand turn into a large room, our profesora ushering us in a close group:
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She then explained this room was where priests would go and prepare themselves for Mass, robing themselves up to go ahead and perform religious ceremonies for the large groups of Catholic churchgoers.. Religious icons were everywhere in this room, as well as huge paintings a bit higher up:
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But our stop there was relatively short, as the next part was what I had been waiting for all last month to finally see.. the inside of the Cathedral!!!
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(a LOT more pictures on my photobucket.. make sure to stop by and check them out!)
We toured for about 30 minutes in the Cathedral with our profesora, learning about different parts of the beautiful interior. One large scale outcropping was of a famous Spanish conqueror who helped drive out the Moors from Spain. His tale was a bit grisly as how he actually ridded Spain of the Muslims... the large encarving of him on his horse trampling a poor Moor to death definately showed a grimmer depiction of the Reconquest of Granada.
There were lots of paintings and dedications to Mary throughout the Cathedral- paintings of her life before the birth of Christ, and even one that depicted her own birth! It was extremely evident who was one of this Church`s favorite religious figures!
After our brief tour, we were turned loose to take some of our own pictures, and the majority of the pictures I took were from this period of time. I definately enjoy looking up at the many windows in the ceiling, (no artificial lights powered this church- all a system of windows and white painted walls to reflect light!) and the many different religious iconography. Wandering down the long hallways and looking at the masterpieces of sculpture and painting, it was hard not to wonder how humankind could even capture such beautiful masterpieces!
Finally it was time to go, and after a brief tour of the Church`s gift shop, I was back outside in the hot afternoon air. From there I headed to go to the computer lab to work a bit on my blog entry to hopefully post, but since my blogs usually take me 2 plus hours to write, I definately didn`t have enough time! Dinner was at 9 PM as usual from the ever cheerful Eloisa, and soon the clock struck 10:00 PM. For as I mentioned in my last blog, me and the newbies were going on a brief tour to the Sacromonte!
We all met at Correos at exactly 10:15, Scott showing up with the two buddies from the futbol game as well. They wanted to go to the tapas restaurant we had been to the night before, so we all decided to join them for a tapas, as it was along the way! We walked back down the long road up past the calle de los tristes, and made a stop in la Bella y la Bestia for some delicious sandwhiches and chips. Yummy! We spent a long time chatting away, the majority of the group having only a few days in Granada, and me and Scott discussing our own adventures!
But we had to get going soon to get a quick look at the Sacromonte, so we bid our buddies farewell, and the Abroadco students were on the move again. We walked the inclined path up to the Sacromonte, the newbies snapping awesome shots of the Alhambra at night, while the oldbies had fun relating the information we had learned the month before! We showed them the cave houses and how they were built into the cliffs, and even on the way back down to the city we heard the echoing sounds of a Flamenco performance. It was a definate fun night for all!
The next day was back to school in the morning, followed by an afternoon lunch of delicious pasta. I was exhausted from the two nights of staying out late, so I finally took a 2 and half hour siesta just to re-energize myself. I was extremely thankful I did, because I don`t think I would have made the rest of the day!
6:30 PM hit, and soon I was back at the computer lab, trying to get this entry up and running. But we had to visit the tea house at 8, so I quickly saved my work, and jogged over to meet up at Correos. Inma, Stephanie, and Devan were all there waiting, but also an older couple as well! I assumed that they were friends of Inma`s, so as I approached to say Hola to them as well, I got a hello back in English! Well, I supposed they weren`t Spanish after all!
It turned out that these friendly Americans were Devan`s parents, who were on a vacation in Spain for their wedding anniversary, and were spending 3 days in Granada. They were extremely nice and asked all about my experiences so far, and they even knew about Boca Raton! It was fun chatting with everyone as we waited for Jaime and Evelinne to join up. Soon they were with us, and we were off to get some delicious tea at our favorite tea house!
We walked the main road and detoured into the Albacin, everyone snapping photos of the transition from modern day to yesterday. We then reached the tea house once again, and a friendly welcome later, we were all sitting down and ordering our teas:
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We all had a great time relaxing, trying out tea, (me for the 4th time, since I like tea so much!) and all around getting along. I of course stuck with the house special as usual, as it is definately my favorite flavor of tea.
Afterwards, Jaime and Inma had to take off for the night, and the topic came up that Devan, Evelinne, and Devan`s parents had to go see the Mirador de San Nicolas. Well, as Jaime and Inma had to go for the night, the tour guiding got turned over to me! How exciting! I had been up to San Nicolas twice, (overlooking the Alhambra) and with my memory of my own tour up there, I conducted my own tour. I definately enjoyed repeating all the information and history I had learned, and taking all of them to see the sun set on the Alhambra was a big thrill. Tour guiding was super fun for me... maybe someday I can do it as a job? Who knows!?
After taking them up to the Mirador de San Nicolas, Devan and his parents (after leading them to the Alhambra buses) went up to explore the Sacromonte and find a Flamenco show. Me and Evelinne walked back to Correos, her to go home and relax a bit after a long day, me to venture off and bid farewell to my English friends, as they leave today, July 4th. But I had to go home for a quick before going off, as I had forgotten my cell phone!
A call later, and a meeting point set up, we all went to go for a couple of tapases. It was good times as always, but always the thought that this was our last night together all hanging out! It was a fun time had by all, but definately a bit sad to see my buddies for the last time!
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Finally I headed home, after exchanging Facebook addresses and hugs with my English buddies. I was bit exhausted after a couple of days of touring, talking, and all around exploring more of Granada- but it was definately worth it!
This morning was class as usual, and a delicious lunch of pork and french fries. This afternoon me and Stephanie are planning to go look around one street our host mom recommended, that had original Arab baths and a museum as well! Tommorrow is a day trip to the city of Cordoba, which should prove to be really exciting! Thought waking up at 7:00 AM and leaving my house by 7:30 will definately be tough..guess that means Im going to bed early tonight!
Oh, and as a final note, a very Happy 4th of July to the United States! It`s weird not being home for this holiday, but I`m sure all my family and friends are all having awesome celebrations!
As always, until next time!
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