Blogs from Andalusia, Spain, Europe - page 295

We looked down at the ,meandering river valley, and walked to an outcropped cliff where we found a variety of carbonate rocks. We also looked at a incised river bed because of eustatic/isostatic changes in sea level. Pretty cool to see undisturbed sedimentary structures….typical textbook style, although much of it we could only see if we looked very closely. So mad at Richard ‘gay’, stole my discovery of a mini fold under these major folds and proclaimed it was his find when it was in fact mine :( Also saw loads of gypsum beds, and marl beds, and deduced the basin’s history-was a marine environment but then became cut off from sea (same as the Med) and then became hypersaline and gypsum ppted. We then had to hike up this really cavy foresty looking area surrounded ... read more

Granada........Well, I got here on my 22nd birthday, and because 11 is my magic number, and 11 times 2 is 22, I knew it was a special day in my life. I arrived in town with Krista McClean, and Jorden Reid, and I ended up making a series of great companions. I ended up meeting up with and befriending this group of friends from Oz. Its quite a long story really, But people like Linda, Hellen, Jess, Dave, and that curley hair dude that had my sweater for a while, will always be in my memories. We all had some great times all over Spain and into London. They are all scattered all over the world now though... But Granada was good to me. I worked at Oasis, a youth Hostel. I did some cleaning there, ... read more

DAY 2 MONDAY 2ND MAY 2005 Today is a public holiday. (Labour Day). I leave Acacias Hotel at 8:30 am in time to catch the 9:am bus to the Malaga bus terminal, heading for SEVILLE. The #11 bus arrives on time, but the door is stuck. Driver spends five minutes fighting with the door lever. Finally he waves me to the back door. Only 3 other passengers. The streets are wet and steaming after an early rainfall. The air is humid and tropical. The sweet smell of oranges hangs heavily in the air. At Alameda Principal I disembark and try to find the #19 bus stop. Among all the other bus stops along this parade of bus stops, I couldn't find the #19. Finally after asking someone I sprint to the correct stop, just as ... read more

Today we tour the Alhambra Palace. We arranged 10:00 am reservations while back in the states, as all the guidebooks highly recommend. We were so glad we did, because several other tourists we ran into were turned away when they tried to get tickets. This was my favorite thing (and Angie’s) that we did on our trip. The Palacios Nazaries is the Moorish Royal Palace, built in over a span of three centuries beginning with the 14th century, and yet incredibly well preserved. The palace was visual feast: made up of archways, patios, terraces, honeycombed ceilings, fountains, pools, wells, geometric designs and intricately detailed art work. What were most interesting are 2 things - the use of water throughout, and the stark contrast of the Moorish palace’s Islamic artwork, with its intricate geometric patterns and Arabic ... read more

Today we tour the Seville Cathedral and the Barrio Santa Cruz (old Jewish Quarter). I’m finally feeling 100% again, yea! So after breakfast we make the short walk over to the cathedral, touted as being the 3rd largest in Europe. It is impossible to imagine how large it actually is unless you are there in person. The exterior is a fine example of Gothic architecture at it’s most impressive. The interior seems enormous! In the center of the cathedral is the impressive 65 ft. tall altar piece depicting scenes from the life of Jesus, intricately carved out walnut and chestnut and layered in gold leaf (and dust), and the choir which holds 7,000 organ pipes. There are numerous side chambers and altars adjacent to the main area, and a large collection of fine art throughout, a ... read more