Knowing that this would be one of our last trips together here in Spain, Patrick and I wanted to see as much as we could. It was all last minute planning, but it turned out perfectly and was one of my favorite trips so far.
Cordoba was first on our list, and we absolutely loved it. It's a very beautiful city and we lucked out with great weather. Our favorite sites were the Mezquita and the Alcazar de los Reyes Catolicos. They were such beautiful and inspiring places that we spent hours just wandering around. I think we spent close to two hours just inside the Alcazar admiring the gorgeous gardens.
 |
| Colombus asking the King and Queen to fund his trip to the "Indies" |
 |
| In the gardens of the Alcazar |
After Cordoba, we traveled to Granada, which was another fantastic city! When I think of Granada now, I think of the Alhambra, of course, and free tapas. Granada is one of the last remaining cities in Spain that still gives you free tapas with your drink, so Patrick and I gladly took advantage of that, filling up on tapas and cervezas for only about 8 euros!
Although we ate A LOT of food during this trip, I think we walked most of it off during our few days there. Our hostel was waaaay up on a hill about 10 minutes from the city center, but we didn't mind; our hostel had an absolutely breathtaking view of the Alhambra. It was definitely worth the walk (as was the straight uphill mad dash we took to the very top of the hill to see all of Granada and the Sierra Nevada as the sun was setting)! Another thing worth the walk was the Alhambra itself. We weren't able to book tickets in advance, which meant we had to get up at 6:30am and make the hilly trek to the Alhambra (did I mention it was freezing outside?!). We stood in line for about an hour and half to get our tickets, and once we were inside, spent about 4 hours just exploring -- it's huge!
If you ever make it to Spain, the Alhambra is definitely worth seeing. The towers, fortresses, gardens, Generalife and intricately designed Nasrid Palaces are so beautiful and historical that it's easy to find yourself imagining what life was like hundreds of years ago.
 |
| Patrick loved the use of water in the architecture! |
 |
| Inside the Generalife |
Our last stop in Southern Spain was Sevilla, another wonderful city. Sevilla was just stunning; we couldn't get enough of the architecture, the monuments, the plazas & the general feeling that everything was just so alive. Everything about this city was great (minus some rude Portuguese guys in our hostel...another story for another day though).
 |
| Overlooking the Plaza de Espana |
By day, we took a free walking tour and learned many fascinating things about the city, toured one of the world's oldest Gothic cathedrals which houses the tomb of Christopher Colombus & took in the beauty of the Plaza de Espana, which is the most charming plaza in all of Spain, in my opinion of course. By night, which just happened to be New Year's Eve, we went out with a group of Americans who we met at our hostel and also a Danish guy who just happened to be biking his way through Europe and also made it his goal to hug 20 people at midnight on New Year's Eve...how adorable! I swear you meet the most interesting people at hostels.
Anyways, we rang in the New Year in Plaza Nueva with a huge crowd of people, all waiting for the clock to strike midnight. In Spain, it's tradition to eat 12 grapes at midnight, 1 for each chime of the clock, so I bought a bunch of grapes and we each took a handful. None of us knew that you're supposed to peel the grapes and take the seeds out so they're easier to eat....so I think we all failed, but had a great time trying and it was hilarious! After the grapes came the champagne, which was sprayed ALL over the crowd and resulted in everything being sticky. Again, completely worth it!
Patrick and I still followed our traditions from home, and rang in the New Year with a hug and kiss, completely soaked in champagne. It was magnificent. :)
