Today we traveled to Seville! Our day began with a walking tour of Seville's Barrio Santa Cruz. Seville is known as one of the great cathedral and university cities in Europe, a center for bullfighting and flamenco, and also happens to be Kansas City's sister city! In fact, we even drove down Kansas City street. Of course I loved this. Our tour led us to Seville Cathedral, and I immediately recognized the bell tower, La Giralda, as the model for one of the towers on the Plaza in KC. We were able to climb the tower and had a beautiful view of the entire city. The choir also gave an impromptu performance in from of the church. After breaking for lunch, we then headed to learn Flamenco from local dancers. This was quite an interesting experience, and after our hour lesson we were able to watch an actual performance which was full of passion. It was another wonderful day in Spain!
Granada
Visiting Granada and exploring the Alhambra may have been my favorite day of this trip so far. While seeing the Mezquita yesterday gave me a taste of wonderful Moorish architecture, the Alhambra was truly spectacular. We were given a guided tour of not only the Alhambar, but also Generalife, the country estate of the Nasrid Kings. The gardens were beautiful. I could have spen hours just admiring the view and all of the architectural details. After this wonderful visit we headed to the Albaicin, the old Moorish quarter, and ate lunch and went shopping. The evening consisted of another choir concert, this time at the Conservatory of Music back in Cordoba.
Cordoba
This morning we boarded the bus and headed to Cordoba. Along the way we made a stop to see some beautiful windmills. It was a beautiful place to take pictures and get to see amazing views of the countryside. The choir took a group picture in front of an old castle as well! When we finally arrived in Cordoba, which was the northernmost city of the Moorish empire, and were given time to wander around. We wandered through the Juderia, Cordoba's ancient Jewish quarter, and also visited the Mezquita. This was definitely a highlight of the day. The Mezquita is a medieval Islamaic mosque that was converted into a Cathoic cathedral. It is regarded as one of the most accomplished monuments of Moorish architecture and from the moment you walk inside it is easy to see why. We then checked into our hotel in Cordoba and will take a day trip to Granada tomorrow.
Toledo
Today we were able to spend a full day touring Toledo! The morning began with the choir singing at the Church of Santa Fe. There was a celebration of the renowned Spanish Renaissance artist, El Greco, going on and their concert was a part of the festivities. After the concert we were given some free time to eat lunch and shop. The afternoon consisted of a walking tour of Toledo where we were able to learn morn information about the Toledo Cathedral we visited yesterday. Another stop of the tour was visiting the Iglesia de Santo Tome where El Greco's masterpiece The Burial of the Count of Orgaz is located. After the tour concluded we took a beautiful walk to our buses which led us over a bridge looking over the river which surrounds the city. Before heading back to the hotel for dinner we made on last stop to see where Damascene jewelry is made. Toledo is the world's largest center of production of this jewelry, the art of decorating non-precious metals with gold. This style of production originates from work done in Damascus, Syria and was a practice brought to Spain by the Arabs. I was lucky enough to be able to see an artisan creating these beautiful pieces and purchase a necklace for myself!
Hola, Spain!
Over my spring break I am traveling with my sister's choir and several families of choir members throughout Spain! I am extremely grateful that I have another opportunity to travel abroad. Today I arrived in Madrid, and immediately boarded a bus headed to Toledo. While we just arrived, touring began immediately. Once in Toledo we were able to stop and take some panoramic pictures of the city. The view is truly breathtaking and the city houses numerous churches, museums, mosques and synagogues and is a fusion of Christian, Arab, and Jewish traditions from the Middle Ages. Once we had finally arrived in the city we stopped for lunch and were able to enjoy the warm weather. After lunch we walked around and then toured the Toledo Cathedral. The church is beautiful, and even houses the El Greco painting The Disrobing of Christ. Tomorrow we will get a chance to further explore Toledo, many more pictures to come!
