With a blue sky, rays of sun and 60 degree weather, a group
of Erasmus students ventured to the Alcazaba, Almeria’s castle. I will mention
Erasmus a lot in my future posts so I will explain it a little. I came to
Almeria through a program called ISEP, which is solely for the United States.
Since there are only five ISEP students here (my roommates and I) we are able
to join in the Erasmus group and participate in their events.
Erasmus is the
European version of ISEP and it is the main study abroad program in Europe.
There is an office at my university solely for Erasmus and they put on daytime
events, weekend trips and parties. This group is a great way to meet people
from many different countries and aided in me befriending Bulgarians, Mexicans,
Croatians, and Poles.
I will also
be going with this group to Barcelona in less than a week.
The
Alcazaba was a breathtaking mix of old Moorish ruins and
well kept gardens. It provided a stunning view of the Mediterranean Sea and the
city of Almeria, and reminded me why I chose this location to study. The castle
had a variety of architectural differences between the three main sections
since it has changed rulers many times throughout its existence. The Taifa
kingdom, the Christians, and the Catholic Monarchs have all aided in the
development of the castle. Each ruler added his own input on the castle and
some ultimately reorganized the entire layout.
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The entrance to the Alcazaba
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| On the steps of the Alcazaba |
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| Inside the castle |
After the tour was complete the group ventured back into the
tiny city streets for “una ruta de tapas” or a tapas crawl. We went to three
different tapas places all reasonably priced at two euros for one tapa and a drink.
At the first place I got “La Tahona” which was potatoes, two quail eggs and
bread. It was delicious! I have learned it is very hard to go wrong with
breakfast food. The second tapas place was a charming bar covered with deep
mahogany wood on the inside. This place was my favorite because I got the
classic dish of Spain, paella.
Paella is a mix of rice and either seafood, chicken or both. This paella included
scallops, octopus and some shrimp. The octopus was surprisingly yummy and not
chewy like I had imagined. We ended the tapas crawl with a modern bar that had
nice outdoor seating. I got the “Hamburguesa especial” which was very dry and
far from the American hamburger. All in all this was a great experience because
it introduced me to three new places that had decent portions and reasonable
prices along with new friends.
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| "La Tahona" |
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| Paella |
To wrap up this great activity the group ventured down to
the beach since the weather was perfect. I finally got to put my toes in the
sand and feel the Mediterranean Sea against my skin and it was glorious. It was
the perfect ending to a very Spanish day.
Here are some more pictures from the day:
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| Part of the Alcazaba |
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| My roommates |
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| The city of Almeria |
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It was a very windy day so many people were flying kites.
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