Crazy Week of Travel/ 9-26-10

Wow another week has flown by maybe even faster than any of the others.  This week our school was super busy.  We had regular class on Monday and Thursday; the other days we were doing stuff outside of the classroom.  On Wednesday we went to the Sevilla Alcazar which is a palace for the king of Spain.  The king and queen still have their own rooms there for when they want to visit Sevilla.  The buildings there are very impressive and have a ton of decorated plaster throughout the whole complex.  Also, many of the ceilings there are made of many many pieces of wood that is cut into shapes that fit together like a puzzle.  The pieces are then steamed so that they expand and hold together.  We have seen this type of ceiling many places in Spain already.  It is a technique that was used heavily by the Muslims when they occupied Spain.  The Sevilla Alcazar is not a Muslim building but, it is decorated in the Muslim style.  Also the Alcazar has a huge garden with paths and fountains all over.  The gardens are kept up very well and are beautiful to walk around. 

The next day we went to another city called Mérida.  Mérida was one of the most important cities of the entire peninsula during the reign of the Romans.  Mérida has some of the best Roman buildings in the world.  We stood in an amphitheater that was used for gladiator fights, scripted naval battles, and other sporting events.  We walked around a Roman theater that was used for plays and is still in pretty good condition.  The world’s best preserved Roman chariot race track, circus, is also in Mérida which we saw.  We saw the longest bridge that the Roman’s ever built to our knowledge and an awesome aqueduct.  We also went to the archeological museum where we saw many relics from the Romans including some mosaics that covered entire walls of the museum.  Also when they were building the museum they found more Roman ruins and a Roman road that connected Mérida to other important cities.  We were able to see these things in a basement section of the Museum.  All in all, Mérida was incredible.  We did all of this in one day so we were very busy.  And I’m sure there was more to see that we just didn’t have time to see.  So as you can tell Mérida has a very impressive Roman past that I thoroughly enjoyed seeing first hand.  I have pictures that will be put up onto the internet soon. 

Then we had regular class on Thursday, and then early Friday morning we left for Granada on our first overnight trip.  Elliott and another girl, Taylor, from his program came along with us.  It was a great trip.  Granada has a ton of impressive things to see.  The most impressive is the Alhambra.  The Alhambra is a royal palace and fortress but really a city in itself that was constructed in the 1300s.  It is a large complex that was in the running of being one of the 7 wonders of the modern world.  Here is a link with more information about it if you care to read it:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra    It is a beautiful place with huge gardens.  The gardens are called the Generalife and are extremely impressive with views over the whole city.  Granada also receives enough snow to be a place to ski in the winter with a 45 minute drive to the Mediterranean Sea.  Also in Granada, we saw the Royal Chapel where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella are actually buried.  These two got married and united Spain, so they are very important in Spanish history.  They also have some relics from their lives along with their own personal art collection.  We were actually able to see the crown, scepter, and sword of the king and queen.  After the Royal Chapel, we headed to the Cathedral of Granada which by the way is still not actually 100% completed.  It will never be finished actually.  It took 180 years to “complete.”  It was amazing just as most of the cathedrals are.  This cathedral had several side chapels that had extremely impressive alters.  There were two alters that were ultra-baroque in style, churrigueresco in Spanish.  They pretty much didn’t have even one inch that wasn’t decorated.  The city was great and is often a favorite place to visit for Spaniards and tourists alike.  I, however, wasn’t able to take pictures in some places so you won’t be able to get the full effect. 

In addition to all these things that went on this week, we are still not done.  Tonight we are going to a bull fight!  Supposedly we are very lucky to be getting to see the bull fighters that are fighting tonight.  Usually, the groups of students can only get tickets to see the younger less known fighters and tonight’s are supposed to be incredible.  I’m pretty excited about the experience, but I hope it isn’t too gruesome. 

That’s all for now, I should be working on homework anyway.  So until next time people.

José