"Another palace? I could live here"

Now to the rest of our weekend in southern Spain!

Day 12
On Sunday, we left Sevilla in the morning and drove over to Granada, another town heavily influenced by the Moors. We arrived in Granada and checked into one of the most amazing hotels in have ever stayed in. The whole hotel was decked out in the Moorish style which is quickly growing on me because of how intricate and beautiful it is. Seeing all these examples of Moorish design may be one of my favorite parts of Spain so far; I can't wait to decorate my apartment with all of these beautiful pictures I've taken of all these gorgeous patterns! Our hotel was located on a hill that overlooks the city of Granada and we had the most amazing view. I'm sad we could only stay one night. I would sit out on our balcony for hours with all of Spain spread out at my feet if I could! After gawking at the hotel's beauty for a little bit, we walked over to the Alhambra, another royal palace built around the 17th century. Now I think about it, I can't remember a great deal of details from our tour. I guess I was too mesmerized by the beauty of it all! The Alhambra also had a great view of Granada since it is located on the same hill as our hotel. After touring the palace, we went over to the gardens. Oh. My. Goodness. I have never seen such vibrant, perfectly flourishing flowers in my entire life. And the fragrance! I wish I were a queen just to get to live in the Alhambra and sit in the gardens everyday! That would be the life.

After the Alhambra, we went into Granada to see the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella. It was eery but amazing: we were in the same room as some of the most powerful monarchs in history. The tombs were beautiful but they didn't actually house their remains. Their bodies are kept right below the tombs in simple lead caskets that don't seem to match the greatness of the two monarchs that unified Spain. But I guess when you're that powerful, you don't really need to remind people! Somebody should tell some other rulers that! After the tombs, we were released into Granada to find dinner on our own which inevitably lead to getting some delicious gelato. Mmmmm it was a good night.

Day 13
Monday was mostly a traveling day for us. We had a six hour bus ride from Granada to Madrid but luckily halfway through, we stopped in Consuegra to visit the famous windmills from Cervantes' Don Quijote. In Don Quijote, Don Quijote, a semi-insane caballero, sees the windmills, mistakes them for giants and attempts to fight with them. The windmills are located at the top of hill with a great panoramic view of Consuegra. If I were Don Quijote, I wouldn't have fought the windmills, I would have claimed one for my own and lived in this beautiful area! But to each their own.

The next few days are class days for me but on Thursday, I leave for San Sebastián, a beautiful beach town in northern Spain. My señora told me that San Sebastián is one of her two favorite towns in all of Spain (there other is Sevilla) so that will be awesome. I'm getting pumped!

Carrie