And virtue shall triumph at last...

Spring Break

Sarah's family and I piled into a rented car and headed south for Andalucia.

La Mancha:

Despite a few setbacks, like running into a curb and getting a flat tire before the car even got to our apartment and getting lost every few miles, we had an awesome trip.

First, we stopped by a little town in La Mancha, humming, "I am I, Don Quijote..." to see a bunch 16th century windmills alongside a castle whose age

I can't remember. The scenery was beautiful and we walked through the castle, currently undergoing restoration.

I got pretty terrified towards the top, because I'm afraid of heights, but Sarah was brave enough to climb all over the battlements.

Granada and the Alhambra:

Katie, me, Sarah, and her mom in the Alhambra.

Overlooking a fountain in one of the gardens.

The Alhambra is probably one of my favorite things in Spain so far, though it's hard to compare night clubs and cities. It's a complex of buildings - a city, a palace, a mosque, bath houses, and lush gardens - that were the stronghold for the Muslims in Spain until I believe Carlos I took over and built his own palace on part of the site (what a stupid idea - it looked tacky in comparison). The walk through the Alhambra and Generalife was beautiful and inspiring. It was cold and rainy, but it didn't matter to me. We also visited the cathedral in Granada where Queen Isabella, who unified Spain under one government and sent Christopher Colombus off to India, are buried.

Cartejma:

The second night of our road trip, we stayed in a tiny town near Ronda called Cartejima. It sits in the mountains and has about 140 people. A hippy British guy runs a hostal bed and breakfast (El Refugio, the Refuge, if you're curious), which turned out to be one of the coolest places I've ever stayed. We had a great night, even if we woke up to the blaring horn music from the church at 7am for Good Friday.

As we drove into the city, a flock of sheep crossed our path, and we saw this baby lamb stumble after its mother and struggle to keep up with her. It was so adorable. Spring's here, I guess!

Cueva de las Pilas

We tried to visit a cave where a farmer discovered paintings over 10,000 years old. Unfortunately, it was full both times we tried to go there. Worse yet - we had to climb halfway up a mountain on a narrow, winding path with deathly drops just over the edge AND NO HAND RAILING to get there. I survived, barely. In this picture, Sarah and Katie are smiling and I am terrified.

Sevilla (Seville) and Holy Week:

We got to Sevilla just as preparations for the Good Friday procession were underway. Holy Week is a big deal in Spain, and the biggest processions take place in Sevilla. We learned that all of the Catholic churches in Sevilla dress in different colors, and begin the procession at their respective churches. They meet up when they go through the cathetdral. The costumes look like the klan, so it was definitely a culture shock moment to see them marching through the streets.

At the cathedral in Sevilla, we saw what are supposed to be the remains of Christopher Colombus. I also think it was the first time I've seen flying buttresses (that I've noticed). Very cool city. We didn't stay too long because we had to get out before the procession began or we wouldn't be able to leave until very late, and we had many more miles to cover before the end of the night.

Arcos de la Frontera

Our last hotel was in Arcos, and although we didn't spend much time there, Sarah's dad snapped this beautiful picture of the town.

Castle of Lunch:

As we headed back to Madrid, we noticed a castle alongside the road. It was marked with only one sign. We drove up to it and found it open. A few men were working on it, and there was a sign that talked about its origins and history, but there were no markers besides that. We were able to walk around it freely. It's not only amazing that so much of it was still standing but that this kind of thing could just be sitting there without being a major tourist attraction. I guess that's what happens when you have a lot of fourteenth century castles lying around.

After climbing three (or four, depending on how crazy the individual) stories into it, the five of us ate lunch in the middle of the open courtyard. Beautiful day.