Week in Review, Cont.

The daily activities have been the highlight of my days, besides Gustavo’s class. Here is what I’ve been up to in Granada and beyond:
Monday was our city orientation and tour. Ready with our confusing maps, we set out with Teresa, the young and fun program assistant who leads the activities every day. We got a good feel for some of the historic places around the city, including a giant statue of Christopher Columbus presenting his plan to Isabel. While I enjoy questioning Mr. Columbus’ motives, I wouldn’t do so too loudly in the company of proud Spaniards. Our first tour taught me one very important thing about wandering through the city: never get lost. The place is a maze of ups and downs (the city was built on neighboring mountains) and my thighs hurt just thinking about being lost in certain areas. The worst time to be lost in Granada would be between the hours of 2 and 5 when everyone is inside. I would much rather be lost at 2 in the AM because the shopkeepers and the families taking the kids for ice cream would be happy to help me.
Tuesday was our big afternoon out to the Alhambra. MarieCarmen was our knowledgeable, but crazed tour guide who was more than a little bit stressed by the crowds and the thought of our group being separated. Our visit defined the “hurry up and wait” lifestyle, as we would rush through an atrium to get to the garden where we would wait for other groups to pass, then rush off again. It was kind of fun being herded like that. The last time I was in fieldtrip mode was my senior year in high school when the last thing I wanted to do was have someone tell me where to go when. So glad those days and that ‘tude are gone.
The Alhambra is reason enough to brave the mobs that frequent its lovely grounds. Room after room of intricate tile, carved wood, complex hot water systems, baths, and domed ceilings prove that modern architects could learn a lot from our ancestors. The gorgeous gardens filling the courtyards and spilling down the mountainside are breathtaking. It was a wonderful excursion, even if we had only 1.5 minutes in selected locations to take pictures, we had to run part of the time, and I didn’t understand much of the lecture. Spectacular centuries-old fortresses don’t get much better than this.
Wednesday- Thursdays are usually our futbol days, but because we will have all of Thursday in Seville, we got a chance to scope out the fields today. We didn’t play because we didn’t have a reservation. The few soccer fields are in high demand. Instead, our group simply enjoyed the pleasant walk across the city and through a park to La Universidad de Granada’s sports area. Teresa warned us that soccer is still considered a men’s sport here (sorry, Mia Hamm), so we shouldn’t be surprised if guys make comments about us playing. The only girls on the fields when we stopped by were giggling groups of spectators. *sigh* Middle school returns.
Thursday- Met at the bus stop in the city center at 7:30 AM. I feel much less secure at this hour than at 2 or 3 in the morning, as the only other people on the street were a few city workers. I braved the five minute walk, and 3 hours and one breakfast stop later, we arrived in Sevilla (Say-vee-yuh). Our one stop was at a place with an unforgettable motto, “con la sabor de la trucha.” As shown by the aquatic decorations throughout the interior, the literal translation is “with the flavor of the trout.” Now I don’t think this motto is an idiom and actually has another meaning because there were plastic trout on the walls, trout pictures on the napkins, and a big trout on the sign out front. Oddly enough, the truck stop was in the middle of olive tree farms, not on a river. Anywho, I now think truck stops in the middle of nowhere can provide a fascinating look into a culture that more modern or touristy places cannot. Just imagine that gas station you stopped at on a long car ride. It probably had little to no seating, no freshly-cooked food (microwaved pre-packaged cheeseburgers don’t count), no olive oil selection, no “artisan handicraft” section, and no life-sized paper mache bull and bull fighter in a makeshift ring. Sad, isn’t it? Thankfully Trout made up for all of this and provided us with an interesting look into the typical road trip in Spain. Are we there yet?
Sevilla, the capitol of Andalusia, is larger than Granada with a recently modernized downtown. The system of public transportation is an almost silent above ground trolley. The roads the trolley travels on are solely for pedestrians and bikers, who must pay attention at all times because the system is so quiet it can cause accidents with those who don’t hear it. We passed the day sightseeing at the gorgeous Cathedral with a courtyard of orange trees in the middle. Interestingly enough, the oranges on the trees which also line the streets in Sevilla and Granada, are too bitter to eat. They are shipped to England to make marmalade once ripe.
Next came a two-hour lunch break for our 5-course meal at a touristy, yet fun place near the Cathedral. We started with Manchego cheese, local olives, crusty bread, and tinto del verano- a half red wine, half sparkling water drink which some of the girls at another table enjoyed so much, they decided to tell us from across the dining room (because we couldn’t tell from their loud laughter). The second course was two different types of yummy fried calamari. My favorite parts are the long strips, sliced from the body of the larger creatures, rather than the tentacle bunches. Next came a big salad, followed by vegetarian paella (to accommodate everyone’s eating restrictions). Dessert was una natilla, a soft cinnamon-vanilla custard with a cookie on top. After all of that, we toured the Real Alcazar, an ancient Moorish fort, and its beautiful gardens. Amalia gave us a brief overview of Spanish history and architecture in the city, including the evolution through Moorish, Andalusian, and Christian influence. We had a bit of free time before we joined up at the highly recognizable meeting spot: Starbucks. Teresa was excited for her caramel frap, which cost a mere $6 USD. The prices were the same numeric amounts as in the States, but in Euros. $4 for a small coffee, anyone? Even with the caffeine kick from the pricey coffee, the bus on the way home was as silent as the public transport.