Traveling Whilst Traveling

I've had very nice opportunities to travel to different parts of southern Spain, and I'm going to have many more (Melilla for Christmas and Sevilla in the spring are positives!). I'm really very lucky:)

Granada

 To be honest, I don't really know very much of the story behind this cathedral. It's in the center of the town, and it's gorgeous. I went to Granada with a group of maybe 9ish other Rotary students, and for a couple hours in between meetings we explored the city. Luckily two were living with families there so they made sure we didn't get lost! It was really nice being surrounded by people who not only could I talk with in a language that I fully understand, but who are also going through many of the same things I'm going through. I love my exchange student friends because we help each other get through a lot. While I know it's important for me to have Spanish friends so as to learn the culture better, I've found that they don't always offer the friendship I need when I'm having homesick days or problems with some part of Spain. That's what the other exchangees are for:)

This is also something I don't know very much about, other than the fact that it's really pretty. My counselor lives in Granada and I'm hoping to visit her one weekend, and maybe she'll be able to explain things to me! That's one of the weirdest things I've gotten used to here, to be honest- not understanding anything. I've had to give up much of my stubbornness to just go along for the ride, because I just don't have enough knowledge of the language or of the place we are or of what people actually do here to try to take control. This is a bit different for me, but it's definitely good.

 Cordoba

 This is the courtyard of the cathedral. Cordoba is very well known for its mosque-turned-cathedral, which is both huge and gorgeous. Back when it was built it was traditional for cathedrals to have courtyards, and in Andalucia orange trees were always in the courtyards. There are dozens and dozens and dozens of orange trees in Cordoba, lining the streets and in this courtyard. Everything smells like oranges and it made me so happy!

 Another view of the courtyard, this time with the fountain that's in the center! It was really pretty, though I don't think there had been any coins thrown in. I really loved the courtyard, and didn't want to leave it to go inside the mosque!

 This was the mosque portion of the building. The mosque part was much darker, with less windows and red/black paint and marble pillars. I really liked it, and greatly admired the detail that had been put into the paintings around the doorways like this one. Also, I got told not to dance by a security guard in this very spot. He thought it was funny that I was doing pirouettes casually in the middle of a mosque.

 I stood in the middle of the cathedral part looking up at the ceiling, breathless, for a good 20 minutes. It was without a doubt one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I've been to cathedrals in many parts of the world before, but I think the light in this one just made it so incredible. I don't even know how to describe it!

On our way home from Cordoba we visited several museums dedicated to sculptures of famous Spanish things out of candy. This is Malaga constructed from chocolate, sugar, and frosting. I had a lot of fun seeing what parts of it I recognized, and also admiring the sheer detail of it.