Sevilla & Granada

Buenos noches!

I have just arrived back from a wonderful five days with about 25 exchange students in Sevilla and Granada (Southern Spain). Neither of these towns are on the coast but they both have stunning architecture and gardens, as well as amazing food.

Sevilla was a gorgeous town, mostly because everything there was built with tourism in mind. There are massive parks and impressive gardens everywhere; more orange trees than you could imagine; horse-drawn carriages; cobblestone streets; a beautiful river and extremely impressive architecture. It was a little bizarre that the town's history revolves around Spain being poor, deciding that tourism was the best way to fuel the economy and consequently constructing these stunning structures or gardens. I am used to going to a European city and hearing about what a building was used for or who lived in such a place, etc. – but this was really just for show! Haha it was so beautiful though that I didn’t mind.

In Granada, the main attraction is an Arabic Palace called Alhambra that is perched on a mountain overlooking the city and surrounded by more beautiful gardens. Words or pictures really can’t do this justice … but I just posted pictures on Facebook that try to. We spent three hours walking around there and still probably didn’t see everything. It is supposedly even more beautiful in the Spring when the flowers have bloomed and the gardens are more impressive, but I was pretty much speechless the entire time – I loved it that much! I may see if Tor wants to go back when she comes in May. There is an AWESOME little hippie hostel in Granada that is probably one of the more unique places that I have been yet. The rooms are essentially in tree houses and there are actual treehouses and hammocks everywhere. People are always playing guitar and everybody is so friendly. Because of the Arabic influence on Granada, there are tea shops everywhere (a rarity in Spain) so the hostel also had loose leaf tea! I was in heaven. People were joking about how happy I was there. Haha. Unfortunately, I did not stay in this hostel – my friends did. The hostel I stayed in (with a few others) had nothing to offer but a bed. Literally. Not even soap in the washrooms. Lesson learned: choose hostels only by recommendation!

Tapas – smaller plates of food that are meant to be shared – are what most people think of when they think of Spanish food. However, Tapas originated in the south of Spain and thus are in a whole other league of deliciousness than they are in Barcelona. The best part is that in Granada and most other places in the south (other than Sevilla), you get one free tapas with every drink you order! A lot of travelers don’t get dinner and just go straight to a bar and drink and eat simultaneously. Unfortunately, we didn’t really conclude that this was an easy way to save some money on dinner until the very end. Oops!

While I had a great trip and it was good to get out of the city before I officially start school, it is great to be back in Barcelona. It was so nice when we landed this morning and we were happy to be ‘home’ … definitely made me realize that I am slowly but surely settling in here and recognizing this city as my (temporary) home! I will miss the tapas and the carefree attitude of traveling and literally having nothing but wonderful things to do, but it will be good to finally get in a routine with school starting tomorrow – hoping to cook more and walk around the city a bunch!

Mum and Dad are coming to visit me this weekend and Mum is staying for the week – I AM SO EXCITED. Kiddies and all other potential visitors: book your tickets! This city is just getting better and better as it warms up. And I am making a valiant effort to discover the best tapas and bakeries in Barcelona, so I promise everything will be great when you come! Also, the sooner you book, the more likely we will be able to get good FC Barcelona tickets (ahem, Jonathan).

Lots of love and please email me updates!

xo Hilary

PS I am hoping that I will not always have such long blog entries, but I haven’t had reliable access to internet for about a week so lots to catch up on (and I really only skimmed the surface).