The City Named "Pomegranate"

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April 18, 2008

We went to our usual meeting spot for trips, but no buses or teachers showed up until 9:10- 10 minutes late! When we finally started on the drive, I did a little homework, then went to bed for almost the rest of the drive which was about 2 ½ hours. We arrived in Granada which is not like Sevilla! It is in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and is very pretty. We had a couple hours to eat lunch and hang out during which Julie, Katie, and I watched CNN because it was finally in English and some Spanish game shows.

When it was time to go, we all met downstairs to walk to the Cathedral. When we got there, we split into three groups since there were so many of us. My group went with a local tour guide, Nacho. He took us through the Sacristy, and then we went through the Cathedral, which was interesting, but like in Rome, I’ve seen so many Cathedrals that I’m starting to be less amazed.

After the Cathedral, we went to the Capilla Real, which is a chapel. This is the home to the sepulcros of the Reyes Católicos (Fernando and Isabel) and their daughter, Juana La Loca (crazy) and her husband Felipe El Hermoso (beautiful). These were really interesting because I had studied them in my Art History class. The crypt beneath the sepulcros has their coffins. Then we saw the Retablo Mayor de la Capilla (the decoration behind an altar made of wood that depicts scenes of the lives of Jesus, Mary, and the saints) which I had also learned about in class.

After the visits, we went to Nacho’s favorite ice cream place “Los Italianos” where I had Stracciatela (chocolate chip). It was very good, but didn’t compare with the gelato in Italy. Julie, Katie, and I walked around for a little bit before heading back to the hotel for more game shows before dinner. We ate at the restaurant in the hotel, and our table was so much fun that we stayed talking long after the dinner was over. Then we went to some of the girls’ room to talk some more and hang out. We were getting tired so we went back to our room to go to bed.

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