Anadulcia and La Alhambra

This past weekend was our group trip to Andalucia, which is the southern region of Spain. It's major cities include Sevilla, Málaga, Córdoba, and Granada (see map at bottom of blog, or just google Spain map).
 Our main destinations, however, were just Córdoba (first 4 pics) and Granada (the rest). 

We were only in Córdoba for a few hours on Friday to see La Mezquita (the mosque) and La Judería (the jewish quarter). You've probably seen pics of La Mezquita before with the red-striped arches like this picture. What I never quite realized was that the mosque was turned into a cathedral, much like all of the mosques, during the inquisition. So, in addition to having all of the original muslim architecture, the center of the mosque was now a sanctuary with two ridiculously old organs and lots of ornate decorations. The Jewish quarters themselves were honestly not that intriguing...we walked around the neighborhood a little bit and then saw a small room that had a menorah in it (in center of pic on top of wooden pedastool).  Also notice the Calle de las flores pic with the tower of the mezquita in the background.

After eating lunch in a hotel in Córdoba (where I'm pretty positive I ate rabbit--actually delicious), we headed to Granada, where we spent the next two nights. 

Granada is actually quite large, a city with about 450,000

citizens, with a large population of university students. Though I enjoyed all the rebajas going on (store sales, which are most common in the month of July here in Spain), I think I prefer the smaller Toledo area. There were a few times when I was scared for my life crossing the streets in Granada. 

The Alhambra (at night, above) was absolutely exquisite. The gardens were probably my favorite, and the waterways and fountains came in a close second. I won't try to describe the palace itself...it's too impressive and I'm sure I would use some incorrect architecture terminology. Just take a look at the pics here and on facebook to see for yourself. If you don't have facebook but want to see the pics, I'm working on creating a picasa account through google to share all my pictures. 

In 

addition to seeing the 

breathtaking Alhambra, we also saw a stunning flamenco performance while in Granada. Flamenco is a very intriguing, dramatic dance that originated in Andalucia. It features fast footwork, emotional singers, guitar accompaniment, and not to mention intense facial expressions. I couldn't help laughing every so often at their furrowed brows and stern looks. All in all, though, I'm definitely glad I experienced that.

Well, I must go write a couple of papers for tomorrow. I have to remind myself once in a while that I am taking classes...it's kinda tough finding the motivation.