the sun, the moors, and big dorks

i´ve been a lot of places in this world, but i have never seen more beautiful buildings and religious architecture than in the south of spain. google the moors, history, and spain, and you´ll get a feel for what went down here many, many years ago. basically the romans were here, then the moors, and then the christians, and all of the architecture reflects a mixture of the three cultures/periods. basically it sounds like the moors were doing extremely well, especially in cordoba, but then the christians just kept kicking the moors out, screwing them over quite a bit in the process. i could walk around these places forever - it is amazing how long the structures have lasted with such great detail. it always reminds me of just how new the u.s. is compared to the rest of the world.

we were in cordoba for two days, where we wandered the streets and visited at the mezquita, the 3rd largest mosque in the world. the historic part of town has narrow, windy streets, with balconies almost touching each other. we got majorly ripped off by our hotel where our desayuno incluido wasn´t exactly included and cost more than any of our dinners so far! no matter how much we travel, one thing that i can´t get used to is getting the tourist rip off. it happened the entire time we were in thailand, and has happened here and there in spain. i think the only way to avoid it is to visit places that don´t ever see tourists, so they haven´t yet figured out how to pull a fast one on them. but one small meltdown and a little bit of candy later, we were over it and on to sevilla.

we have been in sevilla the last two days, and i have loved every minute of it. it is probably the most romantic city in spain, with beautiful cathedrals, palaces, and plazas. there are people spilling out into the streets, drinking and eating, enjoying life and music all night long. the streets are similar to cordoba (but WAY more windy - i think we have gotten lost about 20-30 times a day, even with a map in hand). last night jim and i went for cuban food and then bar hopping, enjoying snacks here and there and jim enjoying the sangria. we stumbled onto a beer garden that had impromptu flamenco performances by local musicians and a dancer. this woman kicked some serious a*s in the way she danced. her feet must have gone a million miles a minute! and the flamenco guitar is absolutely beautiful. i wish jim knew how to play that way.

tomorrow we head to granada to see the alhambra. i cannot wait! i have always wanted to go but never went when i lived here. it should be spectacular. then it is back to madrid and then to barcelona! we were able to get really cheap last minute flights there. so trip planning problem solved! i am looking forward to seeing the water and enjoy some cooler weather.

we are having a wonderful time here. we have been getting along perfectly, having lots of laughs and savoring these moments pre-baby knapp. it is hard getting used to the heat, especially since our room has little or no a/c. but there is always a place to sit and have a cold drink or a little bit of rest. the setting is perfect for a romantic vacation, so we´ve had a lot of talks about love and all of that sappy stuff too.

we have been dorking out on a daily basis, trying to speak only spanish to each other so that we can practice and learn as much as possible. it is amazing how a language can come back to you as you use it - i guess it is much like riding a bike. i have been speaking it every day with people at work, trying to get back into the habit of conjugating verbs correctly and not being nervous or embarrassed that i will screw things up. so now that i am here and immersed in it again, it is all really coming back to me. and jim is doing awesome with it too. he has an a great ability for language. i once heard that the way one learns foreign languages and math are linked, so i am not surprised that he is doing well, since he is such a braniac. he is not afraid to mess up, and he jumps in here and there when i am totally monopolizing the conversation. i guess it is much like the way we do english.