El Sur

I got back on Monday.

GRANADA

-Leaving the house at 4:00AM.
-Sitting in the airport shuttle thirty minutes before our flight to Granada was going to leave. Worrying that we wouldn't make it.
-Watching Pink Panther on the plane while listening to Cocteau Twins on my iPod. An interesting soundtrack.
-Sleeping in the airport for two hours because it was too early and too cold. Cricket tells me I dress like a "sassy art teacher". This is where the joke takes its roots...that I am somehow sassy.
-Arriving in Granada and meeting our CouchSurfing host. Sleeping in his flat for another few hours and FREEZING.
-Going out for tapas with our host. Granada is one of the only places in Spain where you actually get free tapas with a drink. I was buzzed and full for less than 6 euros. :)
-Trying to register for spring classes from an internet cafe that night. Ugh.
-The impromptu 80s dance party in our host's flat. With only three people in attendance.
-Walking around aimlessly in our "costumes" because it was Halloween. The cold air pinched at our faces and we eventually gave up because we were so cold and tired.
-Sleeping across the crack that joins two beds. Being uncomfortable but not caring.
-Running up the hill towards the Alhambra at 7:30AM. Sipping coffee and eating chocolate pastries in line. And then GETTING TICKETS! I forgot all of the problems in the world at that moment.
-Being in a state of amazement/awe/wonder/shock the whole time I was at the Alhambra. Touching the plaster with my hands. Trying to imagine sultans strutting around. (All I could think of were scenes from Aladdin for some reason.) Wondering how I could replicate those types of decorations in my own house one day. Walking through the gardens. Looking at the city down below. A very happy time.
-Buying wine for our host and then finding a change purse in the plaza outside. Contained 29 euros, two stamps, a lottery ticket and a safety pin. Waiting to see if someone would come claim it. No one did so we kept it and bought lunch at the bus station.
-The landscape between Granada and Sevilla. Hills covered with perfectly spaced trees. The huge yellow Spanish sun setting ahead of us.

SEVILLA

-The nicest hostel I've ever stayed at. Everything in white, marble floors and a modern bathroom. Snooty receptionists. Stupid American boys trying to hang out with us.
-Encountering a Russian girl on the street who showed us the way to Calle Alfalfa.
-Sitting in a pizza place for hours ordering more and more food. The waiter brought me two desserts by accident. Okay!
-Seeing girls from my class at UB on the street.
-Following two Spanish guys all over the city and ending up at a semi-pijo club. Realizing people in Sevilla dress way too formally for every occasion and non-occasion.
-Having to sit down on a doorstep for a few minutes to collect my stomach on the way home.
-Next day, eating huge bocadillos in Plaza Nueva with Holly while discussing our philosophies about relationships and studying abroad.
-Touring the Alcázar. It bascially reminded me of a lesser version of the Alhambra.
-My friends talking to a ridiculously drunk man from the UK for thirty minutes. It was only 6:00PM. I sat under a statue by myself because I didn't want to be associated with the shenanigans.
-Eating tapas and drinking a gross wannabe-sangria drink. Going to an Italian restaurant in what used to be a building for the Arab baths. Italian food, Moorish decor, in the heart of southern Spain. A true mezcla.
-Going to a club with lights made of fishbowls with fish swimming in them.

CÓRDOBA

-Catching the bus to Córdoba. Noticing the scenery change right before arriving in Córdoba. Wake up to a landscape that looks like a desert, with dunes made of something that wasn't sand.
-Walking through the Jewish Quarter looking for a place to eat lunch. Walk too far and end up on a main street away from the tourists. Choose a Chinese restaurant. Pretty much the same all over the world.
-Enter La Mezquita. Didn't realize how many of the red and white arches there were inside. A very contrasting mix of Muslim and Christian architecture. Parts seem completely Christian, other parts seem completely Muslim. Technically it is Christian right now. I didn't have an audio guide so it was hard to understand exactly why everything was so important.
-Buying candy at the bus station. 1.10euro for 100 grams. I got 300 grams and ate most of it on the bus ride home. Felt sick.

MORE SEVILLA

-Back in Sevilla found La Carbonería for a Flamenco show. Known to be authentic with a good mix of tourists and locals. I was convinced. Flamenco is the sassiest dance I've seen.
-Holly and I walk around the city for a couple of hours with our friend from Barcelona and his friend who studies in Sevilla. The streets and clubs are mostly empty due to the holiday.
-Weather the next morning is perfect. I buy a chocolate palma that doesn't taste fresh. We walk to Plaza España where there is a huge car show going on. From what I can tell they are all Seat 600s. (Is that a type of car?) I immediately want one. They are divine.
-We watch a poor vendor trying to hawk his cheap scarves to tourists. His wife/friend is trying to sell fans. I buy one. Not out of sympathy or pressure. Only because I want one.
-We eat tapas for a couple of hours. Cricket gets a 6.00 euro gofre (waffle). Feels ripped off, haha.
-We tour the cathedral and go to the top of the Giralda. We are exhausted. Too many sites in one weekend. I could have appreciated cathedral/Giralda a lot more than I did. Though the view from the top was superb.
-Walk around for a few more hours. Stop at a little mercado where we buy bread, drinks, fruit, pastries and other things. We sit in the plaza outside where there are people, but not too many. The weather is still perfect, the sun is about to start setting, my bread tastes amazing. We talk about all of our inside jokes from the trip: being pijas, being sassy and poop. In the midst of one of our poop talks someone loudly closes a window. I assume it was a coincidence because most people don't speak much English.
-On our way back to the center we encountered some ancient ruins right in someone's backyard.
-Picked up our luggage and went to the train station.
-While I am using the bathroom a woman tries to open my stall and I hold it shut. Then she tries to open it again and I slam it in her face. What's with people? A slamming stall door means it's occupied!
-We took the Trenhotel. Slept for many hours. The next day we all laugh because there was a woman in each of our cars and got totally undressed and went under the sheets. These crazy Spanish ladies!

Southern Spain is so different from Barcelona. After visiting some of the other cities in the country, I can definitely see why Cataluña wants/wanted to be its own entity. There's a totally different feel to Barcelona. It's much more international, the style is much more artsy and modern and the people are a bit more closed off. As I've seen graffitied so many times around here, "Cataluña is not Spain." I think Cataluña is more like Spain's cousin. They are similar but not the same. What's really begun to irritate me is when people ask why I'm trying to learn Spanish in Barcelona. Spanish IS spoken here. Catalan is prevalent on signs in the city but it's easy to understand if you know Spanish. Everything is available in Spanish and people speak to you in Spanish. I don't feel like it's any kind of disadvantage to learn Spanish here. Barcelona is still my favorite city in Spain, without a doubt.