Extremadura

Extremadura isn't exactly a top tourist destination. It's probably one of the most forgotten about corners of Spain. Even the name screams "Don't come here!" as Extremadura more or less translates to extremely hard. It's known mostly for its poverty and its jamón (but more on that later). So how did two Americans find ourselves here? Well, partly because Meg was getting cabin fever in Sevilla, had a long weekend, and was excited to travel anywhere. Partly because Extremadura is just north of Sevilla and is one of few regions of Spain I hadn´t visited yet. And mostly because despite the bad rap it gets sometimes, Extremadura is actally pretty awesome, with incredibly well preserved history, good food, and an escape from the hustle and bustle of the modern world. Most of Extremadura looks like it hasn't changed in about 100 years (and some for longer than that!). 

Our trip started with lunch in Cáceres. While Extremadura isn't really a tourist hot spot, it's still a relatively popular weekend getaway for Spaniards, and since the Día de la Constitución is a nation-wide holiday weekend, the Plaza Mayor was already packed with lunching Spaniards when we arrived at 2:30. We snagged the last open table in the whole plaza and enjoyed a lunch of traditional Extremaduran foods, including a plate of embutidos (chorizo, salchichón, and jamón), migas (basically bread crumbs with an egg), fish with a salad, and flan that pretty much redefined what flan is (unfortunately Meg ordered this and not me, so I had to settle for one divine bite).   

View from our lunch table

Migas

Cáceres is a Unesco heritage site because of its amazingly well preserved medieval neighborhood. Most of the day was just spent exploring and getting lost in the maze of old stone streets. More than once we had to ask ourselves if it was 2013 or 1513. I don´t think it´s changed at all in those 500 years!

Sevilla

Sevilla. One of the most iconic and recognized cities in Spain and somehow I'd never been. It was one of my only regrets about Granada, that somehow I'd lived only three hours away and never went. This time around though there's no missing Sevilla, since my sister now lives there! So after Granada, I continued on to the next stop on my week-long tour of Southern Spain: Sevilla. Finally. In four days, Meg took me to see all of the "must-sees" in her city:

Las Setas, the mushroom-shaped observation deck with views over the entire city.

The Torre de Oro, on the banks of the Guadalquivir River, with a beautiful sunset behind the Triana neighborhood.

The Museo de Bellas Artes, where Meg studied for her upcoming Art History exam by teaching me everything she knows about Renaissance and Baroque art. The building was as beautiful as the art work, with a series of beautiful Sevillan patios which the museum was centered around.

The Alcazar, the Moorish palace.

The cathedral and Giralda, worth the climb up to the top of the tower for the amazing views out over the city. Fun fact: There are no stairs in the tower, it is one long ramp because it was originally built for horses!

Exploring the Triana neighborhood, full of quirky, fun houses.

Plaza de España, my favorite part of the city mostly because the geography nerd in me was obsessed with the beautiful tiles along the edge of the plaza depicting each of Spain´s provinces.  

December is the perfect time to visit Sevilla, and I really can't imagine going any other time of year. No tourists and no heat! December was perfect weather (24ºC one day!) and the tourists were almost entirely gone. There was no line at the Alcazar or the cathedral (places where you usually need to reserve tickets in advance or wait in line all day). Plus, all of Christmas lights are hung up in the streets, making the city more beautiful than usual.

Seeing Sevilla from a local's perspective was definitely the best part of the trip- staying in a residential barrio on the outskirts of the city, getting coffee in a neighborhood cafe while waiting for my sister to get out of school, and visiting what must be Sevilla's best undiscovered ice cream store- Helarte (for non-Spanish speakers, a fun play on words since helarte can means "to freeze yourself" but is also a combination of helado and arte, ice cream and art). The ice cream was amazing, they were playing Christmas music, and their pastry case was decorated like a first aid case.  

"This isn´t a cooler, it´s a first aid kit full of rich homemade cakes that are a cure for: sadness, heartbreak, tiredness, apathy... and a celebration of love, friendship, encounters, affection, the sweetness of being alive. Becuase of this, this isn´t a cooler. It´s a first-aid kit."

I might have to go bck to Sevilla just for the ice cream!

Granada, tierra soñada por mí

Warning: If you studied abroad in Granada and miss it like crazy, proceed at your own risk.

I studied abroad once upon a time and fell in love. No, not with some beautiful Spaniard, but with the city of Granada. I spent 5 perfect months there and when they finally made me leave I dreamed of the day I would finally return to what had become my home.

It was surreal to be back, to see that nothing had changed while I felt so different from the innocent, scared 19-year-old who stepped off a plane there three years ago. Waking up in my old bed the first morning I had a momentary panic attack worrying I´d slept through my 8 am historia class until I figured out what year it was.

My return was everything I dreamed it would be (although two days was not nearly enough time). I saw my host family again, slept in my bed, walked the dog, ate so much delicious food, drank pomegrante juice and ate pomegranate seeds (hoping that maybe Persephone-style, I´d be "forced" to spend a month in Granada for every pomegranate seed I ate), watched TV with my family while enjoying the warmth of the brasero (most wonderful invention in the world, a table covered by a blanket with a space heater underneath, sit down on the couch and lift the blanket onto your lap and you enter a cocoon of warmth), saw En llamas, and took one wonderful paseo into the city center to "remember", as my host dad put it. Granada was even more beautiful than I remembered. Its hard to believe this was actually my home for five months.

My favorite spot in Granada, Avenida de la Constitución,
 with the Albaicin and Sierra Nevada in the background