Alpujarras, Almuñecar, y Nerja

Hi blog followers!! (aka Mom and a few other friends/family who may have stumbled upon this).  It's been a while since I have updated, but only because I have been so busy galavanting around Europe (and studying, por supuesto) that I have not had a spare second to dedicate to publishing my life abroad.  

A few weekends ago, we went on a school trip to explore the southernmost regions of Spain.  Our first stop was las Alpujarras, a series of small pueblos built into the gorgeous Sierra Nevada Mountains.  We traveled about an hour south of the city, and then spent another half an hour or so winding our way up the mountain.  (I was only semi-conscious during this experience as the Spanish version of Dramamine I took to avoid bus sickness was most certainly not non-drowsy).  Además, it was probably the worst day for traveling, as it was freezing and pouring rain, so there was little to no view to be seen from the bus.  When we finally stopped though, I was amazed how beautiful and quant the town was.

Apparently much of the population of las Alpujarras is elderly, which makes sense, as I could not think of a more scenic and secluded place to retire to.

Our first stop was, to my delight, to a chocolate factory.  The scent of the factory made me very nostalgic, as I spent the first 7 or so years of my life in Hershey, PA aka Chocolateland.  

We became small children and immediately flocked to the plate of free samples, and of course we had to sample EVERY flavor.

We walked around exploring for a bit, however the wind and rain made it kind of miserable.  I have heard from various Spaniards about how beautiful the view was, however due to the rain and fog, we literally could not see a thing.

Our "view" of the Sierra Nevadas

Regardless of the weather we still passed our time very well here and piled back into the bus for another ride further south to Almuñecar a small beach town bonita y preciosa.  We toured the ruins of an old castle and saw a glimpse of the beach before heading to our hotel for the evening.

The next morning we rose early and headed to Nerja, another slightly larger yet still adorable beach town.  We toured the Caves of Nerja, which were both astonishingly beautiful and surprisingly enormous.  I was also surprised to discover that due to the moisture underground, they are still forming and evolving today.  To think of it in this way made me feel almost as if there was life in this seemingly lifeless underground world.

After being underground for quite a while, we emerged into the light once again, and had some time to explore the surrounding area.  During this time, I managed to fall in love with this random dog I found in the street, and even cried a little because it made me miss my dogs so much :'( 

Being abroad has strangely shown be how obsessed I am with dogs/how much I need them in my life.

After an amazing buffet lunch we headed to the beach for the rest of the afternoon.  I am not even going to try to explain the beaches, I will just let you witness them for yourselves:

That's all for now! Updates soon to come regarding my trips to Paris and London!

Madrid!

We had a jam packed weekend in none other than the capital, MADRID!  We loaded the bus at 7 AM Friday morning and took the 6 hour trip northbound.  

Our first stop was an hour north of the city: El Monasterio de El Escorial.  

This giant palace was once the residency of the royal family of Spain.  It was built in the 16th century under the orders of Felipe II, by the famous architect Juan Bautista de Toledo.  It was built so far outside of the city because the king very much liked the countryside.

The day was rainy and gloomy, however I was able to capture these fantastic photos of the fog hanging over the Sierra de Guadarramas upon leaving.

Also, here the leaves on the trees were changing colors!  This reminded me of home.

After our tour of El Escorial, we headed to Madrid and settled into our hotel, Hotel Regina.  For dinner, we went to a German-themed restaurant and had a blast.

The next day was filled to the brim with history and art.  Our first stop was to El Palacio Real (Royal Palace) of Madrid.  Unfortunately, it was raining yet again, and I did not pack the proper footwear for a comfortable day.

I learned a lot of history about the Royal Palace from our director, who is incredibly knowledgable about EVERYTHING Spanish.  The Royal Family does not live in the Royal Palace; today it is only used for state ceremonies.  The original palace was built in the 16th century, however it burned down in 1734.  Felipe V had a new castle built in the same location, which was finished in 1755.  The last king to reside in the palace was Alfonso XIII.  The palace has 3418 rooms and is the largest palace in Europe by floor area.

All of the original furnishings of the palace remain today.  This palace is the definition of luxury and excess.  From every ceiling hung a grandiose crystal chandelier.  Their tables for dining sat hundreds, and was like nothing I had ever seen before.  Much of the decor had Eastern influences.

We then took a break for lunch, and experienced how much more expensive life is in Madrid than in Granada! 

We also accidentally crashed a wedding at this church:

We then toured the Prado, one of the most famous museums in the world.  

This was my second visit here, and I have to say, I learned very much more this time around.  I discovered a lot about my personal taste in art.  I have really come to enjoy Flemish art, as I feel I can learn a great deal of history from these works.  Living in Spain this past month and having the opportunity to learn so much about its history, I have come to appreciate its depiction through art much more than I ever have before.

Our next stop was to the museum Reina Sofia.  This is Madrid's modern art museum.

We immediately headed to the Picasso exhibit here, particularly to see his most famous work, La Guernica.  We weren't allowed to take pictures in this room, however I did snap photos of some of the works in other parts of the museum that I really enjoyed.

We then looked around the "post-modernism" exhibit, where I felt completely and utterly lost.  As much as I wanted to, I couldn't find meaning in any of these pieces.

There was, however, a room dedicated to the feminist movement in this exhibit, which I greatly enjoyed!

Woot, woot, gender equality!

After all of these tours, we were EXHAUSTED, so we headed back to our hotel for a rest.  On the way, we ran into this giant crowd of people in Plaza del Sol, getting ready to protest.

I have to say, though, my FAVORITE part about Madrid was reuniting with camp friends after years!  I am so grateful that through Tockwogh I have had the opportunity to meet so many amazing people from all over the world.

The next day, we headed about an hour south of Madrid to Toledo, an ancient city filled with history and a wide variety of cultures.  The weather finally cleared up that morning, and allowed us to have a beautiful, panoramic view of the city.

Toledo

Friends!

What beautiful scenery for painting

Cathedral of Toledo

We then piled back on the bus and continued southbound until we reached the windmills!  These windmills are said to be the same windmills that appear in the novel Don Quijote.

From here there was a beautiful view of the patchwork landscape of rural Spain.

Our final stop was the inn that is said the be the one at which Don Quijote stays in the story.

By the time we arrived home, everyone was exhausted, as the long days and little sleep had worn on everyone.  Happily, we had Monday off, and got the day to sleep (which I took full advantage of!) before starting classes on Tuesday.  This was very much needed to recuperate and reenergize, since Tuesday we hit the ground running with two, two hour classes twice a week!