Recuerdos de Bilbao

My last day in Bilbao, Spain is today. I am sitting here in the room I have occupied since I arrived to Bilbao on September 1st, taking a break from packing up my bag. It seems that Bilbao is sad that my friends from ISA and I are leaving because today, of all days, it is raining and storming. According to our house moms Bilbao isn't usually as sunny and happy as it has been this entire fall. I am so blessed to have been able to come and study abroad, practice Spanish, learn a different culture and make new friends.

The first day you arrive in a different country or a new place you are always full of anticipation, wonder, curiosity and adventure. You don't know what this place has in store for you and you are so excited to begin a new time in life. What my friends and I discovered is that Bilbao is not the stereotypical Spanish city, where the people are open and friendly. Bilbao is Basque. If any of you has ever heard of ETA, they are a basque terrorist group fighting for the separation of all the basque areas from France and Spain in order to create their own country. While I have been here, ETA has said that they are no longer in action, but then again, they have said that in the past so who knows if they are done or not. Anyways, the majority of the people in Bilbao believe that they are not Spanish, they are basque and it shows. The basque people are very closed off and not friendly so my friends and I have pretty much failed at getting to know locals our own age because they like to keep to themselves and do not care for foreigners. Which, in turn, made my group of American friends grow closer together and form a tighter knit group. I am so thankful to have had such great friends while I have been over here, otherwise I might have gone crazy. We have all grown and changed and now it is time to go back home.

This trip has given me a greater appreciation for the culture in the United States and the ease at which we go about our daily lives. I have realized that I could never love another country as much as I love the US. I also have a greater interest in things that previously I thought were boring, but are important: such as economics, politics and current events. I have truthfully enjoyed the time I have spent in Bilbao and the rest of Spain and the things I have learned, but I am ready to be back home where I belong.

Now, enough with the heavy. I have found some pictures of Herman hiding that I haven't put up yet. All the pictures are from various places around Bilbao. He is in every picture so have fun looking!

Over and out.

La Alhambra

The Alhambra in Granada is located about two hours northeast of Málaga by bus and was quite a bit colder because of it's proximity to the mountains. This famous Moorish structure was completed at the end of the 14th century just before the Ferdinand and Isabel reconquered Spain. It is an amazing fortress of immense size. The thing that draws people to the Alhambra is the beauty, history and architecture.

One of the most famous areas of the Alhambra is "La Plaza de los Leones" which is located in the center of the Nasrid Palace within the Alhambra. Right now, they are refurbishing the lions and I was unable to see the fountain. There is a picture above.

The Generalife is also within the Alhambra, an absolutely beautiful garden which is kept up with quite well even in the fall months.

If you would like more information about the history of the Alhambra and everything that's in it, I must direct you to good ol' Wikipedia. All that I could tell you about the history is all there.

As for whether or not I think y'all should go: well, if you ever have the amazing opportunity to visit Spain, it would be an absolute shame/travesty if you didn't. It is by far the most interesting and beautiful place I have been to in Spain.

Málaga

"La Costa del Sol" - the coast of sun or the sun coast. Málaga has a lot of history - mostly of being conquered and reconquered many times. Coastal cities are not the best place to try and maintain an empire.


A few interesting facts:


Pablo Picasso, the famous painter that pretty much everyone knows about, was born in Málaga. However, during his lifetime, he swore off his birthplace and pretended to be French for most of his life. His most famous painting ever is the painting he made after the bombings in Guernica - the painting's name is Guernica. Take a look at my previous post for Guernica if you want to take a look.


Antonio Banderas was also born in Málaga and, unlike Picasso, he is actually proud of his heritage. The people of the city are so proud of him that they have a statue of him in a park.


Without tourism in the city of Málaga, the economic status of the city would drop to the status of a third world country. (According to my tour guide).


There's a lot of orange trees in the city. Are these oranges free to eat? Sure, but you'll pay the price. It is rumored that the city puts something in the soil to make these oranges really bitter and therefore not very pleasurable to eat so you'll buy your oranges at the store and stop eating their decorations.


There is a mini-Alhambra or little brother to the Alhambra located in Málaga which Ferdinand and Isabel, most important king and queen in Spanish history, visited while reconquering Spain from the Moors.

Not considering Málaga, but an interesting fact nonetheless; there is a rumor that Queen Isabel was having an affair with Christopher Colombus and that King Ferdinand funded Colombus' voyage to the eventual discovery of America only because killing Colombus for his affairs would be too obvious.


That's it for "La Costa del Sol." Hopefully y'all enjoyed your small look.

San Sebastián y Biarritz

The date is November 18th - 19th, 2011 - The days of our last excursion with ISA to San Sebastian and Biarritz. To San Sebastian, Spain the first day and then to Biarritz, France the next. The picture above is the beautiful bay in San Sebastian. We took a little tram car, called a funicular, up to the top. Beaches are so photogenic, plus it was an absolutely gorgeous day outside. I don't have much history to tell you about this place... Although I do know that they used to smuggle people in and out of Spain through this port during the Spanish Civil War, where they would be taken to Biarritz or St. Jean de Luz for a safe place to stay or continue they're journey through Spain to get intelligence information.

Here's a little tour of San Sebastian:

Beautiful, right?

Now, off to Biarritz for a day!

Another gorgeous beach town just two and a half hours away from Bilbao. Everything was different there - the architecture, the people, the feel, etc. France definitely felt like a different place; however, I could just be making that up in my head. If I had decided to speak French instead of Spanish and I knew about this place I would've picked it for my studies. Absolutely beautiful and it smelled like crepes.

If life was a postcard this place would be it!

Next week: Random scenes from Bilbao! Be ready to search for that teddy bear because he's ready to be found!

Barcelona

Ah! Barcelona! So much to say... I would have to say, if you visit anywhere in Spain - and I mean anywhere - you would have to go to Barcelona. Just to visit though... I, myself, would never live there - too touristy. Touristy, for a good reason though. The famous architect, Gaudi, has decorated the city with his innovative and modern architecture. Including the Sagrada Familia, he was a number of other different buildings scattered around the city. This is the view from Park Guell where the architect lived the remainder of his life. Besides Gaudi, there's the Fountain, the Barcelona Cathedral, el Palau de la Musica Catalana, etc.

So, as far as Gaudi goes... I visited Park Guell, the Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera, Casa Amatiller and the Casa Batillo. In the following picture, there are various pictures of all of the places.

La Sagrada Familia:

And for the inside, I've made y'all a video:

Another really neat sight is the Barcelona Cathedral. Absolutely breathtaking. I honestly liked it more than the Sagrada Familia, but the indoor pictures definitely don't do it justice.

The next place is the Palau de la Musica Catalana. It's a magnificent concert hall, again with absolutely beautiful architecture and design.

The last place I'm going to show you is the fountain which is absolutely gorgeous. There are lights and music timed with the water so it's almost like a firework show, but with water.

In my opinion - not that y'all need it - if you ever traveled to Barcelona, go to the Barcelona Cathedral, Sagrada Familia and the Fountain. They were the top three and a close fourth would be the Palau.

Thanks for reading! Next Friday: San Sebastian, Spain and Biarritz, France! The one time I will be going outside of Spain during my trip to Spain, so tune in!

Burgos

I went to Burgos on November 5, 2011. Quite rainy the day of and not quite as warm as Spain usually is, but altogether a gorgeous city. The city is well known for the large cathedral located in the old part of the city. It is absolutely beautiful; however, besides the church there ain't much more to see in Burgos. The weather was brisk and the fall changing trees were lovely, but in my opinion I think the city was lacking unless you count the awesome "chocolate con churros".

Here are some photos of the city - Somebody's head somehow got in one of the photos - :

Anyways since the city was lacking - I'll tell you about the Cathedral. It is a gothic style roman catholic church and is dedicated to the virgin Mary (like a lot of the other churchs in Spain). The cathedral is famous for being ginormous and having at least ten different chapels inside - all with different decorations, priests, saints and donors. Construction began in the early 13th century and was continued until the 16th, although some very important modifications have been added to the building since then.

As if you can't see the cathedral in the first picture... Here's a close up!

Here are some pictures of the many different ceilings within the building:

And... Here are some pictures of the more important things inside the Cathedral (the stuff you see in postcards and travel books). The quality of some of the pictures aren't that great, but you get the idea.

On Friday: Barcelona!