Córdoba, Granada, Valencia!

Sorry that it's been a while.  Like I said, my limited internet access has kept me from posting anything in the last few days.  I'm sitting in my hostel in Barcelona and figured I'd update this before I go out.  So here we go.

Wednesday Thursday and Friday was a very intense few days.  Wednesday in Córdoba, Thursday in Granada, and Friday in Valencia.  Further, I didn't have hostels for Thursday night or Friday night because I utilized buses with overnight trips to my next destination.  So my days were like 1. sightseeing and fun, followed immediately by 2. get on a bus between 11 and midnight and sleep on the way to the next place.  It was an experience.

First was Córdoba.  I wasn't going here originally but on all the forums and whatnot that I would do research on or ask questions, people would say "You're going to southern Spain and NOT going to Córdoba?!"  So I decided to go.  It was great, but I think I could have done without it.  Córdoba is known for it's famous cathedral that used to be a mosque (or as Dave so eloquently described it, the "Candy Cane Mosque," as you can see in the photos.  It's massive and absolutely beautiful, and for seeing that alone I guess I could say it was worth the trip.  Here's a pic from the inside:

Cathedral of Córdoba.  See the candy cane resemblance?

The really wasn't much else worth seeing, really.  The day I was there was some day called international museum day or something like that.  It means that all museums are free.  So I went into the Alcazar (because, you know, EVERY place in Spain has its own Alcazar) but definitely wouldn't have gone in if I had to pay.  It was really beautiful inside, especially the gardens, but def wouldn't have paid.  So I'm glad it was free!  The rest of the time I was there though I found myself sort of bored at the lack of things to do.  I would say it's definitely more of a day-trip type of place than a place to spend a night, but I didn't really have that option so oh wellz.  But the cathedral was beautiful!  If you ever have the opportunity, definitely go check out the cathedral.  And then maybe peace out.

Next was Granada.  I was so excited because here is where the Alhambra is, which is this big huge palace/fortress and what they say everyone in Spain needs to go see.  So I went.  Granada was not at all love at first sight.  When we pulled in, there was a ton of construction going on and streets were dug up and there was a McDonalds (which I did later eat at, so I could use the free WiFi).  It was just very ugly.  I expected a lush green place, based on some pictures that I had seen.    What also sucked was that it was RAINING.  Not just drizzling.  Pouring rain.  For most of the morning.  My ticket for the Alhambra was for 1:00 and it stopped raining around 12:30, and then as I was waiting online to go into the one palace where you can only go into at your scheduled time, it started raining again, and I had no umbrella and was soaked.  And I couldn't leave the line because then I'd lost my chance to go into the building.  Not a great experience.

However, the Alhambra was absolutely beautiful and totally made up for the ugliness from the morning.  It's up on a mountain type thing and is stunning.  It's made up of a few palaces and, of course, an alcazar, spread out over a whole bunch of space.  All of the buildings are amazing (and you can totally see the influence of the Arabs from back in the day when they took over Spain!).  It's so beautiful!  Here are a few pics:

View of palaces, etc. from the other side of the Alhambra (huge!)

Some of the gardens of the Alhambra

Me on top of the Alcazar!  Granada is beautiful.  I'm all wet from the rain.

Not much else to see in Granada, but I walked around and explored for a while and headed back to the bus station like 3 hours before my bus since it started raining again and wasn't gonna walk around.  But despite the rain, Granada did end up being great.

Next...Valencia!  Valencia might have been one of my favorite days of the trip so far.  Not necessarily that it was my favorite place, but it was a great day.  I had things to do from the moment I got there that kept me busy all day, which was a nice change from places like Córdoba where it was really just the cathedral, and Granada where it was rainy.  Valencia is a city on the coast of Spain about 5 hours south of Barcelona.  It has a beach.  I went into the Mediterranean sea.  Well, my feet did.  It was such an awesome experience. 

Look, my feet are in the sea!

So the long ass walk to the beach and staying there for a while took me to around 2ish.  Headed back and went to the City of Arts and Sciences, which is this huge very modernly designed complex of a science museum, art museum, aquarium, and something else that I think I'm missing.  I only went to the aquarium/sea park since I didn't want to spend the money for the combo ticket.  But it was great!  The ocean is so fascinating.  And they had a dolphin show!  Which was also very awesome.  AND it was in Spanish and I could understand it!  Yesss that's always great.  Unfortunately, my camera died as the dolphin show started.  Disappointing.

Entrance to the Oceanogràfic

The last thing I had to do in Valencia was get PAELLA VALENCIANA.  Which is like, legit paella.  Found a little cafe type thing that served it and got it with a beer.  It was so great.  The one they had didn't have seafood in it, it was the ORIGNAL original paella Valenciana (seafood paella came later) but it was still great, especially eating outside.  Only thing--it's a lot more bland than paella I make.  I think just because Spaniards in general aren't fans of lots of seasoning and whatnot on their food.  But, yummy.  I'd have taken a picture, but you know, my camera died.

Well those were the last few days that I missed.  I'm in Barcelona now and it's absolutely beautiful.  I may like it more than Madrid, and I think the fact that there is a beach has a lot to do with it.  It's very much like the Paris of Spain, if I had to describe it.  It's charming and romantic and there are trees lining the streets and it's very artsy.  Totally different than Madrid.

Off to explore.  I'll do a Barcelona update in the coming days, then hopefully I can stay somewhat on track with this.  DEUCES!