Banos Arabes

I had visited some Arabic Baths while we were in Ronda and found out that we had running, functioning baths in Granada. So this past weekend I went with a few of my girlfriends to one of the Arabic Baths in the Albyzin. It was an extremely relaxing and neat experience. From the moment we stepped in to the building it felt as though we had taken a step back in time :)

The baths are located on a site where actual baths were located, but have been renovated in recent years. The baths go in to the side of the mountain and you definitely feel like you're in a cave while you're in there. We changed in to our bathing suits and were escorted in to the baths themselves. There were three baths (jacuzzis) one hot, one warm and one cold. We had an hour and a half to alternate between baths and sit in the sauna. I was originally a little nervous about the sauna, but it turned out to be my favorite part of the experience, it was very relaxing. My allergies have been going haywire, and the steam turned me in to a new person!

Throughout the baths they had cinnamon burning and it smelled amazing! The baths were decorated in complete arabic style, with arabic tiling similar to the Alhambra, skylights that resembled those in the authentic baths and candle-light. After we were finished in the baths we each received a very nice massage.

As we left the baths it was hard for us to fathom a life where this would have been a weekly, and sometimes daily, experience. During the winter months, the baths were one of the only places someone could go to get warm and get out of the cold. If I had visited the baths during the winter, I don't think I would have ever left. It was a very relaxing experience and I fully believe we should all experience arabic baths once a week :)

Flamenco

I have been looking for a good Flamenco bar to go to the past couple of weeks and last night we found it! We went to a place called the Andalusian Dog and watched a fantastic two hour Flamenco show. It was the most unique dance experience I have ever had. The show itself is only part of the experience. The bar is built in to the side of the mountain in the old Moorish portion of the city and actually takes place a cave-like setting. When you arrive you are given a beverage of your choice and a tapa with your admission, which is only $8. So you are expected to come and have a glass of wine and socialize before the show begins. I love this about the Spaniards, no matter what it is you are doing, you are expected to mingle and socialize with people there.

After mingling for a half hour or so, the guitarist and singer began. The singer was an older man of about 80 with the most powerful voice. They sang and played the guitar for about twenty minutes and then invited the dancer to come out and join them. She was remarkable! She was dressed in a traditional dress and matched the other two in their red and black. The other girls I was with, were surprised by the strength and sadness behind their dancing and singing. I had known that this is how it would be, but nothing compares to seeing it in person. The unique thing about the experience was that it was in a small cave, so there was probably only thirty or forty people in there and everyone was very close. It was a very intimate setting and allowed you to really feel the emotion behind the performers. I am so glad we finally found a place to watch authentic Flamenco, I'm sure it is only one of many times that we will go there. I still plan on hunting down some more shows ;)

Ronda and Malaga

This past weekend our program went on an excursion to two cities in Southern Spain, Ronda and Malaga. We went to Ronda for the afternoon and toured the city. It was one of the most charming cities I've been to thus far in Spain. It is much smaller, and in my opinion, much prettier. Ronda itself wasn't on the map to English speakers until recently. Ernest Hemingway wrote a novel called For Whom the Bell Tolls which takes place in Ronda, bringing the small town to the attention of travelers all over the world. The bridge that Hemingway writes about is in the center of town and there is now an entire portion of the city dedicated to him. The English major in me was excited yet again by the literary influences on the cities we visit... although I think I was the only one in our group to get much excitement out of it.

While in Ronda we visited Los Banos Arabes, the Arab baths, and they were very cool. They are one of the few baths that mimic the Roman baths in their entirety. They have three separate rooms, the hot room, the warm room and cool room. The baths are located outside of the city walls, so that people would cleanse themselves before entering the city. The arabic inhabitants washed themselves five times a day and frequented the baths often, men in the morning and women and children in the afternoon. But when the Christians conquered southern spain the history of the baths changed completely. The Christians did not look favorably upon bathing like the Arabs did and the baths were no longer used by the community, but instead denounced as a center for prostitutes... so impressive how something can change so drastically depending upon the way you look at it.

We also visited a mansion in Ronda that had spectacular views of the valleys below and a beautiful garden. People were much smarter in the way they engineered houses in those days, creating inside patios and gardens as natural air conditioners. The houses we have visited are a good ten degrees cooler inside without using any air conditioning. We've been told their streets are so narrow, so as to block the sun from coming in through the windows and keeping the house itself cooler throughout the day. Here I was thinking they just didn't like wide streets...

After visiting Ronda we drove to Malaga that afternoon. We went with a small group of friends to the beach to watch the sunset that night. The water is incredibly warm on the Mediterranean coast. At eight oclock at night we could have easily gone in the water and been more comfortable than in San Diego beaches during the heat of the day.

The next day in Malaga we went on a long tour of the city. We visited the mother of the Alhambra in Granada, Alcazaba. The Alcazaba had more Roman influence than the Alhambra in Granada which was a neat difference between the two. Alcazaba has an old Roman theatre which was very cool and incorporated Roman columns in to the building, setting it apart from the Alhambra. Generally speaking however it looked like an extension of the Alhambra. Beautiful.

Malaga was a beautiful beach city. There were parks everywhere stretching along the Port. The city itself is older than Rome! So you can imagine the amount of history within the city. Unfortunately as the city grew they tore down a lot of the old Arabic neighborhoods to build outward, so a lot of the original city has been lost. Malaga itself is situated on a hill that runs in to the ocean, so instead of continuing to build over the mountain thousands of years ago, they filled in sand to extend the land mass out in to the water. Our hotel would have been under water had they not expanded the city so long ago. It is so nice to learn so much history about the surrounding cities while we are here. It continues to enrich our stay here :)

The pictures are of the bridge Hemingway wrote about, the view from Ronda and the roman theater.

Vamos a la playa!

This past Sunday a few friends and I went to the beach for the day. For Ellen and I it was quite a journey to go to the beach, having been used to a short drive in San Diego, but for our other friends it wasn't a journey at all (they're from Nebraska and Colorado). We had to take the bus to get there and it was 2 hours there and 2 hours back. We left Granada at 9am and came back at 9pm. It was a great day!

The beach is called Nerja and is part of the region known as the Costa del Sol. Costa del Sol is located on the Mediterranean Ocean. Nerja is known in Spain as one of the most beautiful beaches to frequent. And it didn't disappoint! :) The water was a clear, teal and absolutely beautiful. The water was brisk, but comfortable enough to swim in. It was quite a warm day at the beach and it felt good to get in the water. I am definitely not accustomed to the topless norms on the beach in Europe and it took me by surprise. Once we were in the water, I made sure to ask ellen if there were sharks in the Mediterranean ;) But not to worry I could see right through the clear blue water, so I would see him about to eat me if he was there!

Paris

Boarding the plane for Paris, we encountered our first use of French... another language we can now check off our list. We flew in to Paris, Beauvais and took a bus to Manu's place. My mom's student Emilie found us a friend, Manu, to stay with. We loved him! He and his roommate Sylvain were amazing, very hospitable, and made us feel at home.

Our first day here we went to the Palace of Versailles. It was enormous! ALthough many kings have lived there, King Louis XIV is the most infamous of those that lived there, he reined for some 70+ years! This was neat for me, having learned all about him during dance history as the SunKing in ballet. We were able to see the ballrooms in which he would perform with his courtiers... it was exactly as I had imagined. The palaces were beautiful and were actually quite similar to those palaces we've visited in Spain. It is impossible to fathom living in a place like this. What a life!

That night we went on a Seine River cruise. It was beautiful, my favorite part of the Paris trip. It was so different seeing the city at night from this perspective. The Eiffel Tower lit up at night was jaw-dropping. The following day we went to the Louvre and again were blown away by its size. You could never truly appreciate all of the artwork in the museum, there's simply too much artwork to enjoy. We decided to see the Mona Lisa and the Egyptian section. I was surprised how small the Mona Lisa was, but it is true there is definitely something tragically, mysterious about the woman in the painting.

After the Louvre we went to the Notre Dame. Again, it was huge and beautiful... this seems to be the theme in Paris. I hadn't expected a gothic cathedral, I'm not sure why, but it was beautiful. The circular, stained glass windows were a beautiful shade of deep blue and purple. There were people participating in confession and mass. It has been interesting to see cathedrals in each country we visit, for the most part they are similar, but still manage to give off a completely different vibe.

Many met up with us after the Notre Dame to show us around some of the city. He took us first to an art museum that overlooks the city. There was a breakdancing group out front performing and were very entertaining to watch. After the museum we walked around a shopping district, but didn't dare to walk in to any shops ;) and then went to a park to walk around. We met up with Sylvain after he got off of work and went to a traditional Japanese food restaurant, so that Ellen and I could take them out to dinner to thank them for their hospitality.

We had planned to visit the Eiffel Tower on Monday morning, hoping we would miss some of the weekend crowd, but when we woke up it was pouring rain. We took the metro to the tower and were drenched by the time we arrived. We went up to the second level of the tower to look out over the city, but it was so rainy and foggy we couldn't see anything :( so we enjoyed a coffee in the cafe and headed back. Manu and Sylvain took us out to a traditional French dinner our last night there. For appetizers we had the traditional Christmas meal, Fois Gras, Goose liver. I actually didn't mind it all that much, surprisingly. It was served with seasonings and bread, so I think maybe I couldn't taste it as well ;) I had grilled fish and fresh vegetables... something I had been dyeing to have. After dinner we walked around the Louvre all lit up at night and walked around admiring the night life.

Overall, I truly enjoyed our time in Ireland and France because I truled loved the people that we encountered. People in Ireland always made you feel welcome and wanted. We could not speak a word of French, but the people were more welcoming and warm than the majority of Spaniards I have encountered. This trip made me realize that I can go anywhere in the world and no matter the place, if I don't feel that I am in good company or liked and respected by the people around me, it means so much less. Life is all about the people we meet and the connections we make.

Ireland... the new love of my life :0)

We had a week off from school in between our intensive month session and our regular semester, so Ellen and I decided to go to Dublin, Ireland and Paris, France. I absolutely fell in love with Ireland the moment we got there. The moment we stepped off of the airplane the overall vibe/feeling changed dramatically. To put it plainly, people were happy. Everyone seemed eager to welcome you and help you and give a warm hello wherever you went. We arrived in Dublin late at night and had to wait until the following morning to start our adventure.

THe following morning we took a bus down to the center of Dublin. We got a bit lost trying to find our hostel, but it didn't take long until three different people stopped to help us, a 180 from Spanish culture. Ironically enough Ellen's travel journal had the perfect quote to describe the Dublin people that day. "Little acts of kindness which we render to each other in everyday life, are like flower by the wayside to the traveler, they serve to gladden the heart and relieve the tedium of life's journey." Dublin warmed our hearts from the moment we arrived.

We bought another ticket for the city sight seeing tour bus, like the one in Florence, and went everywhere that day. We started off at the Guinness Factory and had a free pint of beer very early in the day... it was good at first, but proved to be difficult for me to finish. I don't think my taste buds are meant to drink a pint of Guinness ;) The factory was huge! It was 7 stories and told you everything from how the make beer, to how the package it, transport it, and market it. It was very interesting. At one point Arthur Guinness employed over 5,000 people in Dublin, providing them with a place to stay, doctors, schools for their children, libraries and more. The factory is the most visited site in Dublin and I can see why. At the end of the tour you were given the free pint of Guinness at the top of the building that had a 360 degree view of the city; it was very impressive.

After the factory we went to Trinity College, Dublin Castle, Stephen's Green (a huge park), Phoenix Park (an even bigger park), and saw the homes of James Joyce, William Butler Yeats and Oscar Wilde. The nerdy English major in me came alive in Dublin, there is so much literary history in the city, I loved it!

That night we took a long taxi ride to Rathhamden to the Merry Ploughboy Pub to watch an Irish dance and music show. We were so glad we did! :) The Merry Ploughboys are a band of 4 men that play traditional Irish music. They made the show very interactive and entertaining. One of the men played a traditional Irish drum that played the most beautiful music. Of course it's made from the hide of a fawn, but the sound was unlike anything I had ever heard. The Irish dancers were interesting, I wasn't sure what to expect. It seemed as though they had tried to make it more like concert-style dance for the purpose of the show, but that could be the norm and I just know the AmericaniZed version. Two of the girls seemed to be so-so, but one was quite good and enjoyable to watch. The male dancer had very impressive footwork. Ellen was determined to get me to dance that night, but she didn't have to try too hard. The dancers chose random people in the audience to get on a stage and dance with them and of course I was picked. It was a lot of fun to dance Irish for a moment again.

The next day we took a bus out to the town of Dun Laogahaire, a smaller seaside, port town and loved it! It was more like the charming hillsides of Ireland I'd always dreamt about. We walked from Dun Laogahaire to Sandy Cove along the water, this is where James Joyce lived and wrote the famous "Ulysses," it was beautiful. From there we walked to Dalkey, a small village and saw Dalkey Castle and had an amazing lunch from the market (we ate all the fresh food in site!)

I was very sad to leave Ireland. I had really felt at home there more than anywhere we have been. I suppose I'll just have to go back some day ;)