El Fin de Semana Perfecto - Iza Zant

El Fin de Semana Perfecto

I can easily say that this past weekend was one of the most phenomenal of my life. Although I feel pretty worn out today, I had such an amazing time these past few days. I made memories I will never forget with people that I've grown to love so much since coming to Spain. Who could ask for more?

La Noche de Friday, May 30th 

On Friday my friends and I attended the Sara Baras flamenco show titled, "Voces." It was the most incredible dance performance I have seen in my life. I danced for fifteen years, although my dancing career is long over, I still hold a high respect for people who make dancing their life. I have such an appreciation for all forms of art and dance because of my past experiences, and it was amazing to see another type of performance come to life on stage.

Niyati, Emily, and I just outside the auditorium.

From the beginning of the show Sara captivated the audience. She started by simply walking, only walking across the stage as voices played in the background. She then began moving slowly but each of her movements had a purpose. When I was a dancer my teachers always told me that if a person in the audience were to take your picture at any point, it should be crystal clear as to which movement you were doing - that every position on your body had a specific place as to where it was supposed to be. I noticed this in her dancing. Each movement was so specific and sharp that I honestly couldn't take my eyes off of her. There were moments when she would only move her hands, her fingertips even, and the entire audience still seemed to be completely entranced. It takes a certain type of magic to draw such my attention from such a large group of people.

Another photo of mis amigos y yo

Each dance flowed seamlessly into the next. What I like most about flamenco is that although the technique remains the same, it's possible to dance to several different tempos of songs. Sara danced to all sorts of different types of flamenco music, and with each change in music type, her dancing style changed as well. Her musicality was phenomenal.

Dancing with her were many other very well trained dancers as well, and what surprised me most about them was how in harmony they were with each other. Each sound that came from their feet was completely together, like one big shoe was making the sounds for them.

Overall, the intense passion and emotion that Sara and her dancers had was moving. I left feeling so many different emotions. Elated because of the amount of entertainment and amazement I had. Bittersweet sadness because the emotion of the dance is so strong, it's almost heart wrenching, like watching a heartbreaking movie. Sad because it was over and I could watch her dance for hours.
It's interesting to me how there is nothing that truly compares to this dance show in the united states. Yes, we have TV shows like "So You Think You Can Dance," or elite touring companies, but there aren't many truly famous and adored dancers. The people at this show seemed to truly love Sara Baras and were proud of her accomplishments and contributions to the art form.

You could say Flamenco dancing has stolen my heart.

After we left the show, we decided it was time to get some food (y bebidas, claro). We ended up at at restaurant named Tinta Fina. It's in the nicer part of Granada, and according to my host family many people who attend these bars are "snooty." However, i thought they were very nice, and I really liked the atmosphere. I ended up having the best mojito of my life as tried calamari for the second time. I've decided I love calamari, but then again, any food is good when it's fried. I'd highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who needs a little night to treat themselves.

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Although Friday was just the beginning of my weekend, it was one of those night's I went home feeling content. I always say that "you know you're happy when you don't have to ask yourself if you are." That night was the epitome of blissful contentment.

La Tarde de Saturday, May 31st

After arriving home at 2:45 am the night before, I was not excited to wake up at 7:00am to be on my way to Cordoba. However, I made it happen. After a three hour or so bus ride, we all arrived in Cordoba, or "the old city." 

My first impression of Cordoba was that it truly was very different from Granada. It seemed that there was less of a social life, and that it was more of a tourist town. However, the places we went were only for tourists so that could be why as well. 

Our first stop was the Cathedral of Cordoba. This cathedral originally began as a mosque. During the time of harmony between the three cultures, it was continuously expanded, and it's possible to see the influences of all three. In the garden just outside of the Cathedral exist different types of trees. The cypress represents catholicism. The orange trees represent islam. The olive tree represents judaism. The cathedral/ mosque went through many expansions, and although I don't remember the exact dates or details, it was possible to distinguish the differences because of the varying architecture. 

The mosque was made supposedly to face Mecca, however there was an error and instead of facing south east, it only faces south. Each row of arches and and columns points in the "supposed" direction of Mecca. Later, these columns were extended to make the mosque larger. Mosques do not use decorative figures or animals, instead it uses symbols of nature and geometric images. 

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At the end of this second expansion area exists the original Miharab. To me this was one of the most interesting rooms of this cathedral-mosque because of it's elaborate design.

After the reconquista more catholic parts were added, including domed ceilings, stained glass windows, and an extremely elaborate chapel in the middle of the mosque. During this time new rows of arches were also added but not in the same pattern as before. Instead of being made with colored bricks they were painted, and the marble was no longer alternating between pink and grey, all of the columns were grey. Apparently this was done to save money, but the expansion itself was done to show that the most recent ruler had power. This seems to be a common factor among cathedrals I've noticed. Usually they aren't ever made solely to show passion to a god or gods. They appear to have been created almost solely to show how much money, power, or status a king or ruler has over his people.

I thought that this particular building was the most fascinating I had been too since I've arrived in Spain. It's difficult to capture the magnitude and history of these cathedrals because of their size but also the incredible amount of detail! I'd never seen such a strange yet beautiful mix of cultures in one building before. I think both the architecture influenced by islam and christianity is beautiful, and combined it created an incredible atmosphere.

After the cathedral we got to take a tour around the Mezquita, or the jewish neighborhood. I absolutely loved this area because of the narrow streets, small stores, random plazas, and cobblestone calles. The famous "Street of Flowers" was beautiful, and I really enjoyed the different patios with pots of plants. As I'm exploring all these different traditions in Spain, I'm hoping to remember them when I build my own house in the future, so far my list is as follows: patio garden inspired by Cordoba, tile work in my kitchen inspired by the Alhambra, and plaster wall and ceilings in my dining room as inspired by the Alhambra and the Reales Alcázares de Seville (to be explained soon).

View of the Cathedral from Calle de los flores

Patio de Cordoba 

Another one of my favorite things to do in other cities (or just in general) is COMER (to eat). In class we had learned about different foods that we needed to try, so naturally my friends and I went to a restaurant and tried them all!

We ordered Salmorejo which is similar to gazpacho. It's a cold, creamy tomato soup with spices, egg, and olive oil. I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes, and I usually don't like any cold foods. I ultimately decided it wasn't for me, but it didn't taste half bad if you put it on bread. Then again, bread makes everything 105% better. 

Next we tried "Robo de Torro," which translates to tail of the bull. The kind we had was a little bit fancier than the typical dish, I believe. They were like little self shell tacos, with this creamy sauce and sweet salsa. I thought it tasted just like other beef, but a bit more tender. It was really good! 

Later after we left the restaurant we ended up talking with some men at a bar, and we told them that we had tried robo de torro. They asked if we had liked it, and obviously I said yes. They all started laughing because apparently robo de torro is slang for something else.... if you can catch my drift. 

I laughed pretty hard because it's so funny to me that boys will be boys no matter where you are in the world. They're all just silly. Gotta love it. 

Lastly we tried flamennquin, and I'm not sure exactly what this is, I think it's pork? Either way this was my favorite of the three. It had a lot of flavor, and I would definitely order it again. 

We then ordered a cheese plate to accompany our wine. We were using the english menus, and we later found out that cheese  plate was actually mean to say "cheese cake" in english. Either way getting a cheesecake was a pleasant surprise that we didn't pass up. 

La Noche de Saturday, May 31st 

Upon arriving in Seville we had some time to relax in our hotel and shower before dinner. This was great because after taking about 5 hours of bus rides we were all feeling a little grimy. For dinner we ate at the hotel buffet which was surprisingly good. I was excited to be able to choose my own foods because in my home-stay every meal is a surprise (unless it's Pizza - then It's expected). 

Dinner in Seville 

Barrett's host brother (Emily's host cousin) was also in Seville for the weekend, so a large group of us met up with him at a local bar on Calle Fabiola. It was a small bar, but definitely a local treasure. We spent most of the night here. I'm a fan of "hole in the wall" restaurants so coming to this casual place was really fun for me. I had the opportunity to try a bunch of new types of drinks, as well as sip on some favorites, and we were surprised by a spontaneous live guitarist later in the evening. It was so fun to sit and talk with Carlos and his friends while enjoying the ambiance of the local bar and the music in the background (and we all had the opportunity to practice our Spanish). I've found that my Spanish is much better after a few glasses of wine, but maybe it's a confidence issue.

 

I never intended to stay out Saturday night because the night before I had gotten almost no sleep, and Sunday was also going to be a long day, but alas many of us were convinced to 

go to a local discoteca in Seville, and although I was almost dead in the morning, I wouldn't have changed a thing. It was at this discoteca I realized the reality of the stereotypes of Seville. The men were dressed to the nines. They were all wearing nice shirts and jackets, their hair was impeccable. And the cheekbones on some of these guys put Angelina Jolie to shame! I was very impressed - 3 points for Seville. 

The club also had a super cool atmosphere. The entire club was outside and so we danced underneath the night sky, and it wasn't too hot. When I say we danced, I mean just the americans, because for some reason, the Spanish people were not in the mood to get down with us, maybe we were just being a little too crazy for them. Either way it was a good time. 

Sunday, June 1st 

On Sunday we started our day of at Plaza de Espana. Although this plaza is very famous, and relatively new, it wasn't one of my favorite destinations. The architecture was, of course, beautiful, and the scene in itself was majestic, however I've grown to love buildings that tell more of a story. I still think this plaza was tremendous, and more beautiful than most (or all) buildings in the United States, but after seeing so many amazing cathedrals and other places, it wasn't surprising. 

After this we traveled through the city and it was nice to walk through different parts of Seville. I've decided that I might like Seville more than Granada (even though I love Granada). I like the size of Seville, and the larger city feel. It's full of tourist places, but also has history, and his modern buildings. It's a great mix of a lot of different things, and I really wish I would have had the whole weekend to explore Seville rather than just a few hours. If I get the chance, I'd love to go back again, however I highly doubt I'll have time. 

We then visited the Reales Alcazares. This castle/ fortress was very similar architecturally to the alhambra. It was so well preserved that even some of the colored painting on the plaster was still in tact. Fun Fact: Game of Thrones season 3 was filmed here. (I'm on on season 2 so I'm very excited to see this building in the upcoming episodes). I really loved this palace. It's impossible to walk through it without feeling a little bit royal. The gardens were also incredible. I didn't take many pictures of either the building or the gardens because I just don't think the pictures truly do the building justice, and many of the rooms were very similar to the Alhambra, as far as decoration. I truly love the moorish influence and the plaster work. 

This tile depicts the harmony of the time of the buildings creation between the different religions. The stars represent the star of David for judaism as well as the star of islam. The cross shape seen in blue (hard to see) represents christianity. Together these different symbols align perfectly together in this mosaic. The different
colors of the tiles represent the different values of islam. 

After the royal fortress, we had some free time for lunch. Everyone went to this awesome Mexican restaurant, and although I do like Spanish food, it was good to taste something slightly familiar. 

The Cathedral of Seville was next. I really enjoyed this Cathedral. It was very impressive. According to our CEA advisor, the people of Seville built it so other cities around Spain would think they were crazy, and that they had power. It took around 70 years to build. This to me seems like such a short amount of time for such an elaborate building. I wish that today we took time to create amazing architecture. I feel as though most things built today are made to be temporary - everything is a quick fix. It will be interesting to see how our current buildings and monuments last throughout time. 

At a time the saint pictured at the bottom of this photo was cut out during a night. It was missing for some time, but was then randomly found in New York! When I looked closely it was possible to see where the lines had been cut and placed back together. 

A beautiful stained glass window and cross

The AMAZING alter that was painted in gold... literally

 Also in the Cathedral was the sit of Christopher Columbus' tomb. Although I'm fairly sure he was a relatively evil person in truth, I realize his importance in the history of Spain and their economic an political welfare. People here talk about him as if he es la leche, and it's interesting to hear the contrast between how we learned about him in the states versus in Spain. Either way being in the presence of simply his body was a very odd feeling. I've known about who he was since I was about 6 years old. Everyone knows his story and the names of his ships. It's almost common knowledge for most americans. However, knowing the history and realizing that it actually happened are two different things. I understand that his might sound a bit naive, but it really brought the idea to life for me. 

The Tomb of Christopher Columbus

Then we climbed the giralda, which is the muslim tower created before the cathedral. It only took 35 flights to reach the top, but the view of seville was worth it. 

Seville 

Panoramic view of Seville 

Visiting all of these amazing sites makes me wish I could have seen these towns in a different time. I would have loved to see how people truly lived. Being at these different places makes me want to learn even more about the history and culture of other places in Spain because I know I've only scratched the surface. 

It was an incredible 2 and a half days, and now I only have 2 days until I leave for Barcelona! The adventure continues.... 

Muchos Besos,

Iza