Viaje a Andalucia

Playing some serious catchup... this is about my trip to Andalucia (southern Spain) from the end of October!

We had a long weekend because of a holiday here in Spain, so I decided to go on an "Erasmus" trip to Andalucia. Erasmus is a program for European students to study at other schools in Europe, so they typically refer to all international students as "Erasmus". We started off with an 8 hour bus ride (starting at 1am) to Jaen, which was absolutely beautiful. I had no clue that Andalucia would be so gorgeous and have so many mountains. We only stated a few hours in Jaen, but we saw the Castillo de Santa Catlina at the top of a hill that looks over the city, visited the Cathedral, and had tapas in town. 

While we were at the tapas restaurant, I ran into ANOTHER UT STUDENT who I knew! Sooo crazy... He is studying in Barcelona for the semester, and several "Erasmus" groups from different Spanish cities came on the trip. But neither of us had any idea the other would be on the trip. Sooo strange. 

That afternoon we drove to Granada which, so far, has been my favorite place I've visited in Europe. It was an Arabic town around the 5th century BC so the architecture still has a lot of Arabic influence... Which is one of my favorite kinds of architecture. Lots of colorful geometric tiles contrasted with white walls, ornate arabesque arches, and overall just an incredible amount of detail. We went to see the Alhambra, which  I've seen a thousand times in pictures in my "History of Architecture" courses, so seeing it in person was a really amazing experience. The complex and the gardens are stunning and have a breathtaking view of the surrounding landscape!

We also had a guided tour of the city and stopped at the Plaza de San Nicolas where there were a bunch of local artisans selling their work and some guys playing guitar. Combined with the view of the Alhambra across the valley, it was such a nice spot! I think I could've stayed there all afternoon. 

Friday we drove to Sevilla, the Capitol of Andalucia and the origin of Flamenco! We saw a flamenco show in town that night and it was SO COOL!

We also visited Plaza de España with another tour guide. The plaza was built in 1928 and was a spot for all of the regions of Spain to come together. Each of the 50 provinces is represented in the plaza. 

On Sunday morning, we headed to Cordoba for an extremely short visit. We had a tour of the city with a guide, but unfortunately it was pouring rain almost the entire time. Also, since it was Sunday, the Great Mosque of Cordoba was closed for mass (it was converted into a church in 1236) and so we didn't get to go inside :( Note to self - no more "organized" Erasmus trips for me... because they are in fact, not very organized at all! 

Overall, I met some really fun people from all over the world (France, Germany, Holland, Poland, Switzerland, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, etc...) and really, really loved Andalucia. I definitely hope to visit again someday!