El Día de la Cruz

Last Thursday, the 3rd of May was Cruz de Mayo (Fiesta de las Cruces). As far as I know this religious holiday (mixed with more than a few pagan traditions) is celebrated exclusively in Spain and a few Hispano-American countries. Apparently it stems from the story of Emperor Constantine I, the guy who made Christianity popular in the fourth century. Before a battle with a whopping big enemy army, Constantine had a vision of a cross in the sky, and was told that with this symbol he would be victorious. You guessed it, Constantine wins, is baptized, and more or less institutionalizes Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. He sends his mom, Saint Helena to Jerusalem in search of the original, True Cross. El Día de la Cruz commemorates the day that she discovered said cross on Cavalry Hill.

In Spain, most people get the afternoon off of work, and each city has its own unique way of celebrating. Granada is particularly famous for outdoor festivities and numerous crosses hung in decorated courtyards, shop windows and plazas; the most beautiful arrangement wins a prize. I had a wonderful day walking around with friends to see the crosses and enjoy the ambiance. The streets were filled with colorful, traditional Spanish costumes, people dancing Sevillanas (flamenco-inspired dance for the layman), horses, and merry making. My fantastic group of Spanish friends were so warm and inviting to my American friends that joined us, we had a great afternoon! 

An apple with scissors stabbed into it is at the foot of every decorative cross represents an interrupted "but"... as in, someone is commenting on the beautiful arrangement, how many flowers there are, etc. etc. "but it is missing a..." or "but the one down the street is prettier". No buts about it, there is the but, rammed through with a pair of scissors. I asked half a dozen Spaniards - so how is a "but" an apple? 

Ni puta idea. No effing idea. Quite charming, though.

Me with A in her beautiful dress!

1st prize winning cross in the Albaicin!

Amongst my friends here I am infamous for creepily taking pictures of other people's children. 

I think this is the best one I've taken all semester.

J and A danced for us whenever the music permitted Sevillanas... such an elegant dance and such 

talented dancers!

Horses, horses everywhere! (I couldn't help myself.)

Basically every girl under the age of fourteen was wearing a flamenco dress, and plenty of adults and little boys were dressed up in colorful, traditional costume, too.

Ah España, te echaré de menos. 

Lisboa, te amo - espérame, algún día te volveré

I have knocked out quite a few European cities in the last seven and a half months. London, Salzburg, Amsterdam, Bruges, Dublin, Rome, Berlin, Munich, Seville, Belfast, Madrid - to name a few. Since last semester Paris and Barcelona had been tied for my favorite European city... and now, all of a sudden, Lisbon has come at me from out of left field and clamored to the top rung. This just might be it. True love. In six days I cultivated an affection and admiration for this beautiful city that rivals my pedestal for New York. This is the first European city that I could actually imagine myself living in. Maybe I'll make it back there one day to try it on for size.

Lisbon took me by surprise. Or I should say, everything about Lisbon was a surprise, and perhaps it is for this reason that I fell for it. Hard. I had uncomfortably, reluctantly turned down a trip to Morocco to save money and missed school days to go to Lisbon, but because I had no idea what to expect, and because I didn't really know what made me want to go there in the first place, I had begun to think that I would regret the decision. That was until (after an 11 hour overnight bus ride) we arrived in Lisbon.

Knit cozy for the signpost. 

This was the view from the window of our hostel; the old neighborhood, the Alfama district, with the Castelo de São Jorge on the hill in the distance.

Graffiti of the emblematic electric tram, as worn by an octopus.

Got a little excited about taking pictures of colorful, crumbling architecture.

It's officially called the 25th of April Bridge... but we just called it Golden Gate.

Monument to the Discoveries

There is something so beautiful and charming about the colorful, dilapidated buildings and brightly patterned tiles that line this cobblestone labyrinth.

Hieronymites Monastery

Sailboats. So sexy.

Belém Tower - J was under-impressed, but it's quite pretty, and it has a draw bridge.

A 45 minute train ride from Lisbon, Sintra was beautiful and furnished with a fairy tale collection of palaces and castles.

Palacio da Pena

Oh, Lisbon.

View of the Atlantic and Lisbon from Sintra.

We rode the famous eléctrico 28 until they kicked us off.... 

way more excited than anyone else on the whole tram.

At Pasteis de Belém - the monastery and tower were cool - 

but mostly we trekked to Belém for these pastries. Mmm.

It is hard to describe just what it is that I liked so much about Lisbon. I understand that much of our perceived enjoyment of any one thing comes from circumstances; I traveled with two wonderful friends, we stayed in an amazing hostel, the sun was kind to us, no one lost their passport, etc... But there is something deeper than that, something of the city itself that bewitched me. 

New living arrangements...

 This pianist marks my little street in Realejo, one of the oldest, classiest neighborhoods in Granada.

....and at the other end of my block, a handsome pair of shoes.

Above: graffiti from around the neighborhood.

Botellódromos, huelga and other shinnanigans

So first I must quickly explain something about Spanish drinking culture that may confound and astound you. As you all know the drinking age here is a hazy 18, and just like in the United States it is illegal to drink in the streets. But many Spanish cities have one exception to this rule; a botellón, which is a gathering of young people in a designated area of the city (in Granada, an enormous abandoned parking lot) where they can amass and drink publicly. Every year in Granada, for la Fiesta de la Primavera (on the first day of spring) ...partly fueled by a competition with Seville... the normal botellón swells to a so-called botellodromo, this year with a record 20,000 young people. V and I wanted to see it, so by climbing through masses of people and tiptoeing around puddles of spilled alcohol, these are the pictures we took from the middle of the madness.

Poor grocery cart.

On a hike to the overlook A wanted to show me (top) I had to stop in the beautiful Cementerio de San Jose (to his dismay - young people don't hang out in cemeteries, Kristian... and what are you doing, taking pictures?!) Call me macabre, but I've always thought cemeteries are beautiful, peaceful places, and I love to see how they differ between countries and cultures. 

These two photographs (above and below) were taken near the Alhambra in Carmen de los Mártires, a beautiful nineteenth century garden. After two unsuccessful attempts to visit with two different friends, the third time was the charm! What an enchanting place - and there were peacocks!

This is the highest lookout in Granada that I know of. We had to hike uphill for 45 minutes through the winding, cobblestone roads of the Albaicin to reach this beautiful view from an abandoned church.

I was taking pictures of the lovely H when she made this expression...

"UH donkey!" I was befuddled for a moment before looking around - she had seen this odd couple coming towards us over my shoulder.

Finally finished her - and I'm embarrassed to confess I'm quite proud - not bad for my first carboncillo (charcoal) drawing. Proof I'm still loving my weekly drawing lessons!

29th of March marked the huelga general (general strike) all over Spain, in protest to the new administration's policies, particularly those that open up new conditions for permitting companies to fire employees. Some 5,000,000 people are currently unemployed in Spain.

Cuddled up in my room on a rainy day drinking tea with fresh spearmint. Time to slow down, write, read and reflect on this experience has been a great way to savor and truly appreciate this experience, (it has also on the whole been invaluable to my sanity).