España
Fresh seafood, sweltering heat, ladies with bright colorful fans, and the sound of waves crashing against the shore - oh how I miss Spain as I sit and reminisce on this freezing Michigan day shivering. I will never forget the opportunity I had to go to Spain to experience different cultures and see the more of the world than just the United States. I have always loved traveling and having new experiences but this is one that topped them all.
We flew into Spain landing in southern Spain in the city of Malaga. From there we eventually worked our way up the country stopping at different cities along the way. Our first stop we made was in Granada, which I learned actually means Pomegranate, where we went to an olive oil farm which is very popular in Spain. We learned how they are harvested, how they are processed, and the different types of olive oils as well as their recommended uses. I found out they have an orange flavored olive oil (oranges being another huge export from Spain) which we tasted on chocolate ice cream! I am a huge fan of ice cream and never thought to put olive oil on it but after tasting that it was an eye opening experience for sure!
Moving on to our next city after splurging a bit on olive oil, we arrived in Seville. Seville is known for their traditional bull fighting and flamenco dances. We took a tour of the bull fighting ring, which they do not practice much anymore, and we
learned the long history behind this spanish tradition. After the tour of the bull fighting ring we got to explore a bit before our evening activities so a few friends and I took a boat tour along a river where I got to see the beautiful architecture along the shoreline of Seville. The breeze as we went along the river of Sevilla was amazing as Sevilla would be the hottest city we would go to with temperatures over 100°! Later that night when it came to our planned activity we received our own flamenco dance lessons! I am not graceful nor am I the most coordinated person to say the least; however, despite the occasional missed step here and there it was tons of fun. After learning the flamenco ourselves we got to watch a professional show which was stunning with the beautiful flowing dresses and dramatic with the quick movements of the dancers. I loved seeing this cultural dance in Spain, in fact I watched many flamenco dance videos on my way home from our trip.
Córdoba was out next stop along our journey where we toured an old mosque turned church. Here we learned of Spain's muslim beginnings before it was destroyed by the christians. During this time they tore down mosques and converted them into churches; however, at this mosque in Córdoba we could still see the old architecture of the mosque before the christians came to convert it into a church. We could see the detailed patterns in the tiles, the bending archways, and intricate decor put into every little detail of the building. After the tour I tried croquettes at a small café around the block of the mosque as I heard they were a delicious meal eaten in Spain often. They were a small breaded ball filled with pork on the inside. They are typically filled with some kind of meat whether it be chicken, beef, pork, or seafood. I thought they were very good and some thing I would definitely try again.
Working our way up the country still we reached our first major city, Madrid. I
would consider Madrid to be the New York City of Spain. It was a huge hustling, bustling city with different sights and sounds all around. In Madrid we went on a tour of the city and tried some of the best ice cream! We also went on a tour of a huge cathedral which was filled with religious statues and stations about the cathedral. We also got a chance to climb the cathedrals bell tower ( which was super tall and killed the back of my calves ) but once we reached the top the view was worth it and I could see what felt like miles across the city. One of the last things we did while in Madrid was take a tour of the royal palace. The palace was beautiful with its different decorative cloths and marble all around the building. It was also very neat to see the portraits of the different kings and queens and how the position has changed through out the years. Next up after our time in Madrid was Barcelona!
While I loved everywhere I went in Spain, Barcelona had to be my favorite, maybe partially that we were finally by the ocean so we would be able to swim since our trip was filled with 100° days, but as I described Madrid as the New York of Spain, Barcelona would probably be the L.A. of Spain. While in Barcelona, besides spending all my time on the beach, we took a bike tour of the cit
y and again ate some delicious ice cream. Probably my favorite thing about Barcelona was a look out point that we visited where I got to look out across the city towards the ocean. It was a breathtaking sight I will never forget.
While I am sure I am missing a few things from my trip to Spain that I did, I got to experience so much and am extremely blessed to have had that opportunity. So, while I sit in the freezing Michigan whether praying for some heat I love looking back at times like this to remind me there are good things to come.
We flew into Spain landing in southern Spain in the city of Malaga. From there we eventually worked our way up the country stopping at different cities along the way. Our first stop we made was in Granada, which I learned actually means Pomegranate, where we went to an olive oil farm which is very popular in Spain. We learned how they are harvested, how they are processed, and the different types of olive oils as well as their recommended uses. I found out they have an orange flavored olive oil (oranges being another huge export from Spain) which we tasted on chocolate ice cream! I am a huge fan of ice cream and never thought to put olive oil on it but after tasting that it was an eye opening experience for sure!
Moving on to our next city after splurging a bit on olive oil, we arrived in Seville. Seville is known for their traditional bull fighting and flamenco dances. We took a tour of the bull fighting ring, which they do not practice much anymore, and we 
learned the long history behind this spanish tradition. After the tour of the bull fighting ring we got to explore a bit before our evening activities so a few friends and I took a boat tour along a river where I got to see the beautiful architecture along the shoreline of Seville. The breeze as we went along the river of Sevilla was amazing as Sevilla would be the hottest city we would go to with temperatures over 100°! Later that night when it came to our planned activity we received our own flamenco dance lessons! I am not graceful nor am I the most coordinated person to say the least; however, despite the occasional missed step here and there it was tons of fun. After learning the flamenco ourselves we got to watch a professional show which was stunning with the beautiful flowing dresses and dramatic with the quick movements of the dancers. I loved seeing this cultural dance in Spain, in fact I watched many flamenco dance videos on my way home from our trip.
Córdoba was out next stop along our journey where we toured an old mosque turned church. Here we learned of Spain's muslim beginnings before it was destroyed by the christians. During this time they tore down mosques and converted them into churches; however, at this mosque in Córdoba we could still see the old architecture of the mosque before the christians came to convert it into a church. We could see the detailed patterns in the tiles, the bending archways, and intricate decor put into every little detail of the building. After the tour I tried croquettes at a small café around the block of the mosque as I heard they were a delicious meal eaten in Spain often. They were a small breaded ball filled with pork on the inside. They are typically filled with some kind of meat whether it be chicken, beef, pork, or seafood. I thought they were very good and some thing I would definitely try again.
would consider Madrid to be the New York City of Spain. It was a huge hustling, bustling city with different sights and sounds all around. In Madrid we went on a tour of the city and tried some of the best ice cream! We also went on a tour of a huge cathedral which was filled with religious statues and stations about the cathedral. We also got a chance to climb the cathedrals bell tower ( which was super tall and killed the back of my calves ) but once we reached the top the view was worth it and I could see what felt like miles across the city. One of the last things we did while in Madrid was take a tour of the royal palace. The palace was beautiful with its different decorative cloths and marble all around the building. It was also very neat to see the portraits of the different kings and queens and how the position has changed through out the years. Next up after our time in Madrid was Barcelona!
While I loved everywhere I went in Spain, Barcelona had to be my favorite, maybe partially that we were finally by the ocean so we would be able to swim since our trip was filled with 100° days, but as I described Madrid as the New York of Spain, Barcelona would probably be the L.A. of Spain. While in Barcelona, besides spending all my time on the beach, we took a bike tour of the city and again ate some delicious ice cream. Probably my favorite thing about Barcelona was a look out point that we visited where I got to look out across the city towards the ocean. It was a breathtaking sight I will never forget.
While I am sure I am missing a few things from my trip to Spain that I did, I got to experience so much and am extremely blessed to have had that opportunity. So, while I sit in the freezing Michigan whether praying for some heat I love looking back at times like this to remind me there are good things to come.
Comments
Post a Comment