Submitted by Andrew Shermeyer on the 2013 winter session program in Granada, Spain sponsored by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures…
The day after touring Granada’s Cathedral, our Spanish 208 class took a tour of the royal museum in the Alhambra. It was amazing! There are rooms in the museum filled with paintings that correspond with different centuries and periods. It is amazing to consider the depth of religious imagery found in the works of art.
The following day, we took a bus to Sevilla right after class. It was a beautiful bus ride, but took 3 hours (that seemed like a long time!). Once at Sevilla, we had nothing to do, but check into our hotel and plan the day ahead.
The Saturday in Sevilla was one of the best days ever! First, we woke up very early and visited a local Starbucks for some breakfast (it was a little bit of a taste from home!). It looked a little rainy outside, so we hoped for the best weatherwise. We went to see Sevilla’s amazing Cathedral after that. It is the fourth largest church in the entire world! It made Granada’s Cathedral look tiny! We saw a great number of beautiful paintings and chapels inside the church and even got to see Christopher Columbus’ final resting place. I will always remember the large tower of the Cathedral. It has 34 flights of stairs (or ramps) to get to the top and overlooks the entire city. There are amazing views from here. We spent hours at the Cathedral and then stopped for lunch.
After lunch, we went to a fair in a park for a bit and then to the Plaza de España. The plaza may have been one of the favorite things I have seen so far on the trip. It is beautiful and ornate and filled with life! We took a boat ride in the moat around the buildings – my prior rowing experience from summer camp came in handy – and interacted with the locals. I asked one of the street performers if I could play his guitar and, fortunately, he said yes! I got to play guitar while being filmed by other tourists in the Plaza de España and actually earned money for doing so! At least now I know what I can do if college doesn’t work out!
The following Sunday, we went to Cordoba. As a history major, I was beyond delighted with the trip. We toured the Cathedral of Cordoba. This is so significant for me because the church was originally a mosque. It is an amazing piece of historical significance. I love how different cultures mold together and how religious differences have interacted over the past, so this was one spot I had wanted to see. Our stay at Cordoba, like our one in Sevilla, seemed much too short. At least on the way back to Granada it felt like returning home. I am looking forward to this week!
