Happy November!
This past week, we had our week-long Toussaint vacation. My friends and I were lucky to have the opportunity to travel to Spain! We visited Madrid and Granada, and it was such a wonderful trip! Since there were so many things that happened on the trip, I'll just talk about some highlights!
Tapas and Paella
I have never had paella before, but I have now developed a slight obsession with it. We had some really delicious paella when we were in Spain! Paella is basically a kind of boiled rice, with meat and vegetables. It is traditionally cooked in a large dish, also called a paella.
Tapas is also another Spanish tradition. Instead of eating a full-on 3 course meal, the Spanish like to eat several small dishes. We had delicious tapas like tortillas espagnola (Spanish omelette), croquettes, and paella. (Also - dinner in Spain is around 10pm....) |
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| Before |
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After
As you can tell, I really like tapas.... |
Madrid
We spent a total of 4 days in Madrid - 2 in the beginning, and then 2 at the end. Unfortunately, the day we arrived in Madrid, it was pouring! So that was no good. But luckily, we were able to find some hot chocolate and churros, and enjoy those instead. We also took a 3-tour walking tour of Madrid, so we got to see all the main sites: Puerta del Sol, Palacio Real, Theatro Real. We also went to the two most famous museums in Spain: Museo Prada and the Reina Sofia. The Prado had more classical and Renaissance art, including works by Velasquez, El Greco, and Goya. The Reina Sofia is where the Guernica is! We got to see that as well, which was incredible. The museum didn't allow photographs in the gallery where the Guernica was, but we were allowed to take photos elsewhere, so I got some good shots of works of Salvador Dali and Miro. Another spot we hit up with the Mercado de San Miguel. It was an indoor market/eatery, sort of like Quincy Market for any Boston readers! We got delicious froyo, and it was just such a pleasant atmosphere.
My favorite sight in Madrid has to be the Retiro Park. This beautiful park was super large, and had the most amazing leaves and forests. We are right in the transition here from Summer to Fall, so the view was breathtaking. Here are some pictures!
Here is also a picture of the town hall across from Puerta del Sol. The night lights were so beautiful!
Granada
After two days in Madrid, my friend and I took a 5-hour long bus down to Granada, the Andalusian area of the south of Spain. It was a much smaller city, with white-washed buildings and walls. The city is located at the foot of the Alhambra - a Moorish palace and fortress complex from the 14th century. The architecture is full of Arabic influences! Apparently, tickets for the Alhambra are supposed to be reserved well in advance, so when we showed up at our hostel and told them we hoped to see the Alhambra but hadn't reserved tickets, we were judged. So instead, we woke up bright and early on Sunday morning, and walked our way up the giant hill. When we arrived at 7:30am, there was already a long line waiting at the ticket office! As we waited in line, there was a speaker who kept announcing the number of remaining tickets for the day! But thankfully, we were able to get tickets! And it was so well worth it. The Alhambra was spectacular - the garden complex, the Generalife, and the palace complex were so beautifully kept, and the architecture was incredible. From the watch tower, we also got an amazing view of all of Granada. Here are some of my favorite photos.
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| Palacio de Generalife |
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| View over Granada! |
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| The main Palace - Court of the Myrtles |
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| Court of the Myrtles again - we took this photo with many different settings.... |
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| View over Granada |
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| Arabic architecture |
We spent a total of SEVEN HOURS at the Alhambra! It was pretty crazy. We hit every single "Do not miss" attraction, and basically all the other attractions. I think it's safe to say we really enjoyed the Alhambra :)
We got back to Aix last night, and was greeted with a horrible rainstorm. But still - it feels nice to be back in our comfy homes, and to be able to read and understand all the French!
Coming up this weekend: Olive harvest and Orange (the color) Brunch!
I hear it already snowed back in Boston! Be safe everybody!
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