Sweet is the dance of the houses round the mount

The Alameda de Hercules in Sevilla is the oldest public garden in Spain. It is known in Sevilla simply as Alameda. The restaurants and bars are always busy and the playground is crowded with children as families finish dinner around 9:30 or 10 in the evening. 

 Alameda is about a five minute walk from where my host family lives. Last week I walked over to Gualdaquiver River to watch the sunset. Here you can see the Puente del Alamillo which connects Macarena and La Cartuja. There is a cloistered monastery in La Cartuja and it is where Columbus lived when he planned his voyage west.

 Here are a few other pictures from my walk . . .

Now that I'm going on week three in Sevilla, I feel like I have a few routines that I enjoy. First thing is in the morning, after making a pot of coffee (because I'm the first one up), I sit by the window to do my makeup. The lighting is better than in the bathroom, and I need the cool breeze as I drink my coffee. That's right, they don't do cold brew or iced coffee here. I asked Maro, my host mom, and she made a noise signifying disgust at the thought of ice in her coffee.
I met with my intercambio (conversation partner) last Wednesday for coffee at La Cacharreria. We talked in Spanish for an hour and then in English. His English is much better than my Spanish, so he did most of the talking for the first hour. I'm finding that the easiest vocabulary words to remember are everyday objects that I use or need often or food I like. For example, perchas~hangers, bolso~purse, vino tinto~red wine, or palomitas~popcorn.
On Thursday nights I've been going out with a group called Discover Sevilla. They organize events for international students and offer a free drink and entry to a bar or discoteca. They also organize trips and I am going to Morocco this weekend! I'm getting ahead of myself though. This past weekend I went with a group of students from CLIC to Granada. Here is an excerpt of Federico Garcia Lorca's poem "Albazin" about the city of Granada:

With fantastic echoes, white houses spring up on the mountain…Opposite the golden towers of the Alhambra reveal a jagged oriental dream against the sky. The Darro cries its ancient lament, lapping the regions of Moorish legend. The sound of the city vibrates in the air. The Albaizín is heaped on its hill raising aloft its towers full of Mudéjar grace…it displays an     infinite external harmony. Sweet is the dance of the houses round the mount. Here and there, among the red and white tones of the district, the rough outlines and green darkness of prickly pears appear…Around the tall towers of the churches appear the campaniles of the monasteries their cloistered bells gleaming behind the amaranths, singing in the divine dawn of Granada, echoing the deep honeyed tone of the bell of the Torre de la Vela. In the clear and wondrous daylight of this magnificent and glorious city the Albaizín is delineated on a uniquely blue sky overflowing with rural grace and enchantment.

 Me and Stephanie walking through the neighborhood Albayzin, with the Alhambra in the background

 Gardens at the Alhambra

 Palacio de Generalife, garden of the architect 

 On top of the Torre de la Vela, overlooking Albayzin

My favorite textiles in the Palacios Nazaries where the kings of Granada lived

 The ceiling in every room is different and beautiful

The weather was amazing in Granada, and a brief respite from the heat in Sevilla. I enjoyed listening to music on the bus ride there. Time is always marked by the music I listen to. Whenever I hear Mum or Air, I think of  taking the TGV from Paris to Geneva when I was seventeen. Here's the music I've been listening to as of late, that will always remind me of Sevilla and Granada. 

                            Golden Suits                      

                 Repave by Volcano Choir