Viaje a Madrid con ojos nuevos

With a change in weather and without jet lag, I gave Madrid another go with my friend, Nathan. Our goal: Rediscover Madrid and go to an Atletico Madrid soccer game (or football match as many prefer). Along the way we got lost in a barrio, found the world's oldest restaurant, made a return trip to the Prado and Reina Sofia museums, and reached nirvana in the Parque del Buen Retiro.





Partido del Atleti contra El Elche (de Alicante)

In their home stadium (Estadio Vicente Calderón), we saw Atleti play against El Elche from the Valencia province. We sat around avid fans including families and some rabid 20-year-olds shouting the whole game through. Atleti scored off a penalty kick and a header off a corner kick to win 2-0. At halftime, the sound of crinkling tinfoil filled the air as everyone ate their sandwiches they brought from home. At the end of the game, people lingered in celebration, and one family left so happy from the game that it made me realize how invested these fans are in the team.

Los museos: lo clásico y lo moderno

I revisited the Prado to take a look at works from before. While in the museum I saw a few books from El Greco's private library, on display in one of the exhibition halls.

And in the modern art museum Reina Sofia I saw Picasso's gargantuan Guernica.

Parque del Buen Retiro

Botín

Peñafiel: Wine Tour

A view from the old castle at Peñafiel.

A couple weeks ago, our program took a trip to Peñafiel, a small town outside of Valladolid—an hour and a half from Salamanca. Here we took a wine tour of Protos, the first Ribera del Duero winery (bodega in Spanish). While in the town we went to the Peñafiel Castle. The castle was built in the shape of a boat and thus is very long with one end tapering to a point.

While at the Protos winery, we tried a white and a red wine. I now know to drink plenty of water to balance it out!

Protos wine barrel (barrica).

View of the cellar—going about 2km total underground.

We saw the plaza de toros in Peñafiel. This plaza is built into the town, with houses surrounding the square.

Here is a view of Peñafiel from the castle. 

Granada: De interior y exterior

My next stop, Granada, located well east of Córdoba, offers mountainous landscape and great ocean access about an hour away. In the background of the city towers the Sierra Nevada, and perched above the city is the Alhambra, the most complete representation of Moorish architecture in Spain with a violent and sordid past. Granada is Spanish for pomegranate. Like the fruit, the city is sweeeeet!

La Alhambra

Me on top of the Alcázar.

There is so much information about the Alhambra that I will refer you to that information instead of offering my own! The Alhambra stands above the city, with steep drop-offs surrounding most of it. You can see perfect symmetry in some of the buildings reflected off pools of water and look at geometrical, natural, and religious (Arabic script) designs that fill every crevice. My favorite feature was the Patio de los Leones, named for its fountain surrounded by 12 lions, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. I also found complete relaxation in the smells, views, and sounds in the garden of Generalife, which we jokingly pronounce as "general life" like a health insurance provider.

Patio—Palacio de los Nazaríes (Arab reign)

Symmetrical and proportional patio.

Script praising Allah—surrounded by
geometrical and natural engravings.

This design is called mocaáabes,
 it is like the tope of a cave.

Patio de los Leones.

Hedges in Generalife.

Palacio de Carlos V—added on later and
very out of place in the Alhambra.

Capilla Real y Catedral 

This chapel is home to the tombs of Fernando and Isabella, referred to as the Reyes Católicos, or Catholic Kings, the founders of Spain. Their reign sought an end to moorish influence in Spain. A brilliant altarpiece presides over the chapel including panels including religious and historical significance—as shown in one panel where the final Muslim ruler Boabdil turned over the keys to the city and left his land behind.
The rest of the cathedral was just brilliant. As I am accustomed to darker cathedrals, the bright interior of the Granada cathedral was a nice change of pace.

Cuevas de Sacramonte

With a tour guide, we made our way into this commune where people eek out a living in small cave dwellings. Some spend years cutting out brush, carving out more space in their caves, and making a permanent residence for themselves. People of all backgrounds use the caves, including the poor and the rich. One hovel had a solar panel, windows, and insulation. Our tour guide really made a case for the caves as a major characteristic of the city. Recently, the city came without notice and bulldozed the cave of a senegalese family. The day we went, we saw a group of volunteers digging out the cave and building it back up, brick by brick.

La Albaicín

This traditional Arab neighborhood is a carefully-plotted network of narrow streets leading
up into the hills. The area is sought after by home owners and is a very hip area of the city. There is an awesome mirador (lookout) with a view of the entire city and of the Alhambra shimmering vermillion at night.




La Alcaicería 




This is an old "zoco" or Arab market which now offers souvenirs and products like tapestries and glassware. I really enjoyed the contrast between this site and the Cathedral immediately adjacent.








Tapas
Granada brings home what Spain's all about. In nearly every bar, you will receive a hearty tapa with your drink. I sat in the street with friends and filled up on a nice variety of tapas from albóndigas (meatballs) to risotto. The atmosphere was very welcoming and when all was said and done there were some great deals.

Vamos al sur! Parada Nº 3: Nerja

My solo adventure came to a close as I met up with my friends Megan and Abby in Granada for a few days to end the break. Before getting ahead of myself, I am going to include a few pictures from our side-trip to the Costa del Sol town of Nerja. I saw bright buildings, a plaza jetting out over the Mediterranean, and enjoyed a lazy day on the beach with my pals:

Balcón de Europa (lookout or 'mirador' over the sea in Nerja).

View from the bus.

Paraíso.

Water in motion.

Deep blue sky.

Paella mixta...buffet libre!

I think these guys are happy with themselves.

Too nice!

I guess this place is alright.

Cat house by the beach.

Awesome tree.

Vamos al sur! Parada Nº 2: Córdoba

This alter for the Virgin outside the mosque at night.
 I ran into this shrine before reaching the hostel,
and no one was on the streets. Very surreal.

Still caught up in what I saw in Mérida, I prepared the same day to go further south to Córdoba. I used Blablacar, a carpooling service where people post their trips and you can hitch a ride with them for a smaller fee than a bus. I first went from Mérida to Sevilla with a guy from Andalucia named Fernando and another passenger from Mérida. This was my first time trying to engage in a conversation with people from the south. One thing I noticed very quickly was that their words blended together. People will also say things like "vamo,"instead of vamos and "adio" instead of adios, for example. Also, the guy from Mérida told us he also spoke Extremaduran, similar to spanish, but not quite. For example instead of "fuego" they'll say "hueu" or instead of "alto" they'll say "artu." We talked about music and apparently they hate flamenco. But they like American country music, something I thought was really bizarre.

My bed in the hostel.

Once I made it to Sevilla's train station, Santa Justa, I found my second Blablacar with José, an architect from Córdoba who works in Sevilla. He recommended some places to me in Córdoba and, as I dozed off in the car, he talked with another passenger—a woman from the city of Alicante, in the south of Valencia. When we arrived, I made it into my first hostel and had a blast talking with some of the people there before heading to bed—eager to visit the Mezquita the following morning.

Puente Romano

Another great Roman bridge, part of the Via Augusta connecting Rome to Cádiz. This bridge doesn't even feel like an ancient structure when you walk on it because of the obvious 21st century renovations. Look over the edge and you see the Guadalquivir River...a familiar friend from my Sevilla excursion.

***Mezquita***

Me in the addition of Al-Mansur.

From the outside, this original Mosque—the third largest Islamic structure in the world now serving as a Cathedral—looks like a slab of concrete. The inside, however, shows a completely different and rich quality. Entering through the bright Patio de los Naranjos and seeing the Alminar (minaret), I felt reminded of my time in the Catedral in Sevilla. Then, I entered. The smell of faint incense hit me first. Then I saw the bosque (or forest) of arches ahead. Extending into the dark wooden ceiling (techo de madera), the alternating brick and stone work of the arches—as referenced in Mérida—extends as far as the eye can see. 

Main chapel in the Mezquita's center.

I spent a good two hours just walking around inside. The mosque seemed layered like a fabergé egg: The outer walls are from the Mosque, then inside those walls are a series of chapels from the Christian reconquest, inside the chapels are the Mosque arches supporting the structure, and then inside the arched area lies the main chapel, transept, and choir from the Catholic reconquest. Most of the Mosque, extended over two centuries, showed off a range of arches. You can learn a lot about the leaders in power by the interior. For example, in the addition (ampliación) by Al-Mansur, you can see that he cared more about the size of his addition than the quality—as you see many repetitive arches in that side covering a large area, in my opinion less impressive than the original area by Abderraman I and addition by Abderraman II.

My favorite features of the Mezquita were the poly-lobed arches (arcos polilobulados), the doorways ornately decorated on the exterior walls, and the mihrab. Here are some photos to explain:

Minaret of the Mezquita. In the Mosque's operating days,
an Almuecín would direct prayers from the tower.

Water feature in the middle of the orange tree patio.

Older entrance to the mezquita, lined with crossed arches.
That central arch is a horseshoe arch (arco de herradura)
 typical of the mosque's interior as well. The jagged top part of the
wall gives more depth to the design and disrupts the skyline.

The ornate mihrab added by Al-Hakam II. Look at the way everything
is filled in (including Arabic script hailing Allah). This
characteristic is called horror vacui (fear of leaving open space).

My favorite arch in the Mezquita.

Alcázar

This palace was built by Alfonso XI de Castilla in the 14th century where an Arab alcazar once stood and where the Reyes Católicos Isabella y Fernando (catholic kings) lead their effort against Granada. Later, the Alcázar became a prison—lasting from the 19th to the 20th century. In one of the towers, the king would make proclamations to the people. Other features I liked included the baths located below, the moorish courtyard, and the edenic garden outside. Here are a few photos:

Calleja de las flores

This is one of the most famed spots in Córdoba, a small, bright street filled with plants. Typical of the city, the street is narrow and stays pleasant during the day. Most of all, you can see the alminar peak out as you look down the alleyway. 

Tortilla!!!

José recommended Bar Santos as a great place to grab a tapa and a caña (tap beer), and I couldn't resist a slice of their orb-shaped tortilla de patata. Sitting on the curb outside the mezquita, I felt like my quick day in Córdoba turned out perfectly.