Just a little something to tide you over

I know i'm pretty behind, but I have finals this week so I have been pretty busy studying and whatnot. But I promise next week I will write about my time in Barcelona with my parents.

To tide you over here is my favorite type of fruit in the world. It is called Chirimoya (in spanish, I have no clue what the english name is) and it is heaven. Literally the greatest fruit in the world. I made my parents try it when they were here and they loved it!!!

Morocco

So I know I am very behind in my posts so I’m going to try to catch you all up with the short version! It is pretty late so I apologize for any grammatical errors and whatnot. 

The weekend before my parents came I visited the lovely Morocco, which is probably the most unique place I have been. A few friends and I went with a travel group since we heard that morocco isn’t the safest place to travel. I am glad that we did, as I never felt unsafe or uncomfortable (Probably because we were rolling 100 americans deep).  We left Sevilla Friday around 5 on a bus to Gibraltar where we took a 45 minute ferry from there to Africa. We arrived pretty late on Friday night, so we just ate dinner at the hotel (which was amazing) and relaxed before we went to bed since we had to wake up early the next day (and you can’t really go out in morocco). Saturday morning we took a tour of Chefchaouen, a beautiful town where every single building is painted this amazing blue color 4 times a year.  We had lunch an authentic Moroccan restaurant, and then had a little free time to bargain in some of the little shops. Although communication was difficult as the people there speak Arabic, we were usually able to find someone who knew either English or Spanish when we needed to converse.  That night we had another great dinner at out hotel, and were surprised with a performance of African musicians and fire dancers. The leaders also rented out a conference room where we all got together and hung out.

On Sunday we headed to Assilah, a really laid back, non-touristy beach town where we got to ride Camels!! The ride was pretty short, which ended up being a good thing since I learned that camels are not the most comfortable form of transportation.  We then saw the Caves of Hercules, and walked around the city Assilah for a while before we headed back.

Culturally, this was the most different place I have ever been. We all dressed very conservatively (in 90 degree weather) to be respectful of the culture and beliefs as it is a Muslim city where most of the women wear full headdresses.  The difference in lifestyle and large amount of poverty was evident in all of the cities we went to. I have seen many different types of places but this definitely was the most eye-opening to how distinct each culture really is and the many beliefs there are in this world.  

These are some shots of the lovely blue city Chefchaouen

Yep almost every single wall and staircase is painted in this beautiful color. It was amazing. (Aparently it keeps the houses cooler and "wards off the bad spirits")

Everything was written in arabic, so if we didn't have tour guides I wouldn't have been able to get anywhere!

This is the cities baker. They make the dough for the bread in their homes and then bring it to the baker to be cooked. They then pay him in loaves of bread and other goods.

The baker and I! He REALLY wanted to take a picture with me.

Dye that they use to color their fabrics that could be bought in the market.

People washing their clothes and rugs in the towns river.

View from above the river

We got henna!! Funny story: the woman who did my henna asked what my name is so she could write on my hand in arabic but instead of hearing "Megan" she heard "Miguel". So now I have had Miguel (my host fathers name) written on my hand in arabic for more than a week. 

This was the view from the window in the shower one morning. (Yep a lot of the showers in Europe have windows in them)

Camels!! Mine was really feisty (hence why he had to wear a muzzle)

The Caves of Hercules

(It was mostly just a market in a cave)

I guess we were trying to pose like Hercules...

In Assilah, they have a graffiti contest every year, and the best graffiti gets to stay on the wall for a year, and the other ones get painted over. This one was one of my favorites. It is covered in Arabic passages from the Qur'an. 

The beautiful beach town Assilah

Laura y Miguel en Sevilla! A note from my Mom about their time in Sevilla

Laura y Miguel en Sevilla

Megan asked us to add to her blog when we were out for our visit.  This has been a busy week trying to pack as much into our four days in Sevilla as possible.  My first impression when we arrived in Sevilla was, “Boy, I’m glad I didn’t rent a car”.  Considering there’s really no distinction between the sidewalks and the streets and many of the streets are really narrower than a typical alley in the US, I would have been a nervous wreck – and NEVER would have found our hotel.  Megan said that most of the buildings were built first and then the streets added later.  There is definitely no concept of a ‘block’.  However, the very things that make Sevilla a challenge to navigate are the things that give the city its charm.  The only minor issue (other than either of us not sleeping at all on the flight over) was a problem initially locating Megan as apparently she was at the wrong hotel.   I didn’t realize how dependent I’ve gotten on technology until I didn’t have the ability to easily text or call her.   Crisis #2: Despite borrowing a converter from my sister, my straightening iron blew up the first time I used it.  I guess that’s better than Megan’s friend who lost a chunk of her hair to an overly hot flat iron. 

My best purchase before I left the US were a couple pair of comfortable shoes which I really needed as we have been doing A LOT of walking.  We were able to meet Megan’s host Señora and express our gratitude for the care she’s given Megan while she’s here, and also enjoyed walking around Triana – her neighborhood – an area of Seville famous for its distinctive ceramics.   We also met several of Megan’s friends and took them out for Tapas.  We’re very happy she has made such good friends—both here and in Madison.  I do have to say I’m a big fan of the Tapas style of eating (my mom would love it) as it’s just a few bites of numerous different dishes.  It’s a great way to try many different and new things.   Some have been big winners, others (for example, bulls tails risotto) not so much.  Megan took us to a Convent similar to the one she described in Granada where you order bakery delivered via a lazy susan type window.  She’s right – it’s a little creepy, but the baked goods are outstanding.

The architecture throughout the city is so beautiful, I’m sure pictures will not adequately capture it.  We were able to tour the Catedral y Giralda (3^rd largest cathedral in the world), with Megan on her break between classes and it was incredibly impressive.  We walked up a 34 story ramp to the Giralda Tower to see a beautiful view of the city.   We also visited Alcazar which was as impressive as Megan described, the Plaza de España (made for a World’s Fair that was never held in 1929) where Megan goes running and takes a fitness class, Torre del Oro, Metropol Parasol (known as Las Setas by the locals since it looks like giant mushrooms).  We also visited the University of Sevilla where Megan takes classes.  I think she’s getting a little spoiled with fresh Croissants and fresh squeezed Orange Juice in the University cafeteria.  And, of course, Mike has been very patient as we did some shopping and he found places to sit and read his Kindle.

**notes from megan:

-The Giralda (which was part of a Mosque that was built when the Muslims ruled Spain) has a steep ramp to walk up instead of stairs because the higher class people (such as their royalty) would ride their horses up to the top instead of walking.

-The reason the streets are not in a grid format like many large cities is because in the Muslim cities (Muslims ruled Spain from 711 to around 1492), they would build the houses first, and then they just added the streets to connect the houses later. It is also a form of protection during times of attack, and provides a lot of shade.

It’s been a wonderful – but short – visit.  We are taking Megan to Barcelona for the weekend.

Granada!!!

This weekend I went to Carmona on Friday, a city 30 minutes outside of Sevilla where we saw a Nacropolis (city of the dead). The main attraction is a crypt of Servilia, a girl who died at the age of 17 in the 1st century. Her father, devastated, built her an extraordinarily large and over the top tomb that has remained fairly well intact. We also saw an amphitheater and Palace and a few other things that I won't bore you with.

On Saturday and Sunday I went to Granada with my program (so it was all free!! Holla). Since we were supposed to board the bus by 8:30 (which is an extremely early Saturday morning for college kids) I treated myself to a large cup of hot coffee. I did not know, however, that we were not allowed to eat or drink on the bus so I decided to chug this coffee and burn off all of my taste buds. Great idea I know. Anyway we arrived in Granada and had a free buffet style lunch at a nearby hotel. It was great, I don't think I have ever stuffed myself with so much food before (even though I couldn't really taste it). It has been a while since I have had any sort of say in what I eat since my Señora always cooks for me, and I definitely took advantage. 

After lunch we went to La Alhambra! I am sure many of you have heard of this old muslim palace since it is probably the most beautiful piece of architecture I have ever seen. I can't really explain how cool the building was so I will just attempt to show you with a few pictures. 

This is the view from one of the many roofs of La Alhambra overlooking Granada

Just a small part of the extremely detailed work found in Muslim architecture of that time. The writing is in arabic and it recites part of the Koran. This type of writing can be seen in all of the patterns througout the building. 

The classic picture of La Alhambra

Just a random giant skillet of paella in the streets of Granada 

They then gave us each 10 euros for dinner and we all parted ways for the night. I was very surprised to find that many of the shops sold moroccan items. I'm not really sure if this is more for the tourists or if Granada does in fact have a large Moroccan influence. Either way it was interesting to see a little preview of what I will be surrounded by when I am in Morocco next weekend!

One thing that I love about Granada is their tapas and drink deal. Apparently at pretty much every restaurant you can get a drink and two tapas for 2 euros, or a bottle of wine and 5 tapas, which is extremely cheap for those of you who don't know the euro. So for dinner a few girls and I split 3 bottles of wine and 15 tapas for only 6 euros each. It was awesome.

On Sunday we went to "Real Capilla de Granada" which is a beautiful old cathedral where the famous Isabelle and Ferdinand are burried. Their crypts were outstanding, but unfortunately I was not allowed to take pictures there.

Although I had no idea, I guess it is widely known that monks and nuns bake a ton. This is a little wooden door outside a monastery where you can purchase some of their world famous bakery items. They do not show their faces so you ring a little bell, and when you hear a knock you open the door. Then a lazy suzan thing spins around with the different options and you tell the nun/monk which one you would like. The lazy susan thing spins around with your pastries and then you leave your money on it and shut the door. It was pretty strange and a little creepy but the pastries definitely were delicious. 

Olga, one of the leaders, looking at the options and ordering what she wants. 

I'm a real Spaniard!

The best thing ever happened today!!!! Two different people stopped me on my way home from class to ask me for directions because they thought I was a Spaniard. Yep thats right I no longer give off those American vibes woohoooo!! I then gave them directions successfully in Spanish. Which I know will be a huge shocker to you all since many of you know that I couldn't find my way out of a closet because I am so terrible with directions.

I just had to share this with you all because it is a big achievement for me :)