Sevilla

We woke up bright and early for our first full day in Sevilla! A lot of Emory students have studied abroad in Spain, and a lot of our friends have said that Sevilla was one of their favorite cities, so we were all excited to see what the city had to offer.

The morning started out at the Plaza de America. The plaza had beautiful buildings and fragrant flowers surrounding the area but, I think everyone's favorite (or least favorite) attraction was the crazy amount of birds. We were unaware of how, more or less, friendly these birds were. All I wanted to do was throw seeds at the birds, but little did I know these birds weren't afraid to perch on the people who were holding seeds. These birds had us all laughing and screaming because as I grabbed a handful of seeds and began to toss them, the birds flew towards me and ate the seeds right out of my hands. As you can see below, I really enjoyed my time with the birds.

From the Plaza de America, we walked through some gardens to get to the Plaza de España, which was a huge palace that stretched for what felt like miles. The architecture was absolutely stunning and our tour guide let us explore the plaza for a while.

No one wanted to leave the plaza, but after our tour guide begged us to get back on the bus, we finally made our way to the next destination.

Our next stop was to see the main Cathedral in the heart of Sevilla. There were a lot of monuments and picturesque streets along the way, so we wandered through many alleyways to get there.

When we made it to the city center and the cathedral, we had some free time to explore as well as eat lunch.

For lunch, we walked down the main road and found a tapas restaurant. The restaurant had decorated the walls with music related items, so it only felt right to have lunch there. I might have spent more time taking photos of my food than eating it because the food was amazing. Below there are some photos of the tapas my roommate Gracy ordered, consisting of salmon tartar, Iberian meats, and an avocado stuffed with seafood. I ordered a seafood paella which was gone before you could say "delicious."

After lunch we returned to our hotel for some downtime and to get ready for our concert in the evening. A lot of students went to the rooftop pool and had a relaxing break before our concert. As for me, being the resident grandma of the group, I napped for my break! (I call myself the grandma being that I am one of the older students in the group that values sleep and treats all the younger students in a motherly way. No disrespect to all the grandmas out there.)

We left later in the afternoon to walk to the cathedral in which we were to sing our concert.

The space was smaller than the other places we had sung in, but the acoustics were beautiful.  Although we loved the huge cathedral in Jaén, I could tell we all really liked being in a small, intimate space as well. The video is of us singing the Busto Ave Maria during rehearsal taken by Leila!

After rehearsal we had some free time, so we walked to the gelato shop we passed earlier. The young woman working was so sweet and let us practice our Spanish as she practiced her English. Now that I'm writing this, it probably wasn't the best idea to eat gelato before singing a concert... but it was still a great concert! The Emory Spanish Study Abroad program started today so there were many Emory Students who came to our concert tonight, which was a fun surprise!

After the concert, the 3 priests of the church said that in the 20 years of this tour company coming in and arranging for different choirs to sing in the church, we were the best group they've ever had! Everyone was in a great mood after that comment. 

A lot of us are sad about leaving Spain for Portugal because we have a lot of amazing Spanish speakers that have been helping the groups out when we're out in the city on our own. Guess how many people speak Portuguese in the choir? I'll give you a hint: none. Nonetheless we're all excited to explore a new city and new country tomorrow! 

I just wanted to say thank you for following our tour blog!! Hope you're enjoying the posts :) Stay tuned for tomorrow's post about Faro, Portugal!

-Jenny Jiang

Jenny Jiang is a graduate from the Class of 2017 who majored in Film Studies.

Córdoba

After a quiet final night at Hotel Basilio in Granada, we said goodbye early this morning (10 AM!!!!) and hopped on our autobùs to drive to our next destination, Córdoba. On the way, we made a pit stop at a charming store where the owners make their own olive oil from scratch. Many at the store considered the olive oil there the most authentic olive oil you can buy!

An hour later, we arrived in Córdoba, a beautiful city with an incredibly rich architectural history. The epitome of this expansive architectural timeline is the Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba, which we were fortunate enough to tour during our short visit in Córdoba. The Mezquita(Mosque)-Cathedral hybrid contains structures and design spanning nearly a millennium of architectural shifts. We could stand in certain places inside the mosque-cathedral and literally all of the architectural shifts in one full turn, all the changes absolutely stunning at each angle you turn.

One memorable moment today was our being allowed to sing two songs from our repertoire in the Mosque. We sang Caritas Et Amor and Beautiful River. Yet the memory of that moment was not just the beautiful music that was made in a space in which we were so privileged to sing but the reactions from the crowd. I distinctly remember a woman in the crowd lean her head on her significant other's shoulder, and then he kissed her head. They remained in their embrace through Beautiful River, and I honestly could not stop smiling when I noticed this couple who seemed to have connected intimately not only between each other but with the choir and our music as well.

We also had a few hours to walk the streets of Córdoba surrounding the Mosque-Cathedral, turning down alleyways to find beautiful strips of shops and restaurants that were covered in vibrant colors that framed the top of the Cathedral when you turn back down the alleys.

After our peaceful visit in Córdoba, we boarded our autobús and began the final leg of our trip to Seville where we will stay for the next three days! We are all looking forward to seeing what Seville has in store for us. If the food in Seville is as good as the dinner we had tonight together at the hotel, then Seville definitely looks promising!

-Will Warren

Will Warren just graduated with a double major in Religion and Dance.

Jaen

As we entered the countryside on our journey the Jaen province, I noticed the mountain sides lined with carefully planted rows of olive trees peaking over the burnt-orange tiled roofs. Mile after mile, olive groves dominated my view; striping the hill sides creating waves of different patterns. Our tour guide, Marianne, pointed out that these scenic mountainsides were also littered with fortresses still standing tall on the peaks just as they did hundreds of years ago. Seeing the more recent agricultural growth alongside the enduring historical structures was like viewing Spain's history through the land. Needless to say, this hour long drive flew by filled with great views and conversation.

After walking down a small street paved with cobbles, we reach the Jaén Cathedral: our venue for the night. While the massive exterior caused many jaws to drop, no one could have expected the beauty that was awaiting inside. The ceilings, pillars, and alters were adorned with intricate moldings and lifelike depictions of holy figures. But nothing compared to the carefully carved 16th century choir stalls that we had the privilege of singing in. During our reheasal, two by two we walked past the pews, standing in front of the main altar to hear the magnificent voices fill the air and echo off the etched marble walls and ceilings. Not only was it amazing to hear, but also to see. It was truly a moving experience to watch the joy on my friends faces and tears well up in their eyes as they heard our choir like never before. The experience of hearing a holy text such as Ave Maria sung in such a thoughtfully ornamented space such as the Jaén was absolutely breathtaking.

The same look of wonderment showed up on the faces in the audience later that night. The concert was absolutely magnificent, with smiles and tears filling the packed audience.  The night ended with a standing ovation and an encore performance! We piled back on the bus to return to Granada for one last evening, and packed our bags to prepare to head to Córdoba and Seville the next morning.

-Emma Rollins

Emma Rollins is a freshman double majoring in music and business. 

Granada

Our first stop on the tour is Granada, Spain.  After we arrived in Granada and rested, we visited the Alhambra. The Alhambra is a beautiful complex comprised of a fortress, palaces, and gardens.  Granada was the last Moorish state in Spain, and Muslim North Africans built the Alhambra.  After Christians reconquered Spain in 1492, however, the Alhambra become a royal palace for King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.  (Ironically, the year 1492 is the same year Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue.)  Recognized as an official World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Alhambra is a shining symbol of Spain’s complex and diverse history.  Its walls are literally covered with Islamic prayers, Christian iconography, and imperial propaganda.  The mixture of religious and cultural heritage makes the Alhambra an awe-inspiring but eccentric site.

According to our guide at the Alhambra, the Christian monarchs of Spain kept the Moorish art and architecture in the Alhambra as a sign that they had conquered their enemies.  This seems like a plausible rationale.  Nevertheless, when I look at the beauty and detail of the Alhambra, the theologian and artist within me sees theological aesthetics at play.  When we contemplate beauty, we contemplate love, especially God’s love.  For me, the Alhambra is a symbol of war-torn people preserving the beautiful.

After our visit to the Alhambra, we performed at the Basilica of the Virgin of Sorrows in Granada.  Saint Mary, the Virgin of Sorrows, is the patron saint of Granada.  As we performed our repertoire, I realized that Dr. Nelson selected music that prays for and preserves beauty amid sorrow.  “My harp is turned to mourning and my music into the voice of those that weep,” says Alonso Lobo in Versa est luctum, “Spare me, Lord, for my days are nothing.”  In Pablo Casal’s O Vos Omnes, we sing the following: “O ye people that are passing by me and see me, behold and see and consider if there can be any sorrow as mine?  O ye people, is it nothing, is it nothing to you?”  My favorite songs –  African American spirituals by Moses Hogan – remind us that soon we will be done with the troubles of the world and to sing until the spirit moves in our heart. The audience responded with incredible enthusiasm, leaping to their feet and lavishing us with praise in Spanish that many members couldn't understand. 

Occasionally, our travel guide has brought to our attention the economic crisis affecting Spain.  Nearly twenty-five percent of Spanish citizens are unemployed, and the majority are young people like us.  This reality means something to me.  It is something that I must behold and see and consider. It made me reflect on our tour guide at the Alhambra. She told me that her husband was unemployed. She also shared pictures of her newborn son and their first Mother’s Day.  (In Spain, Mother’s Day is the first Sunday in May.)  Though her financial hardships are ever-present realities for her family, she treasures the beauty and love of her family.  And so, I start this busy and hectic tour eager to set my heart on higher gifts, on beauty and love.

-Byron Wratee

Byron Wratee is a graduate student in the Candler School of Theology

And we're off!!

With any international adventure comes an entire day (or more!) of traveling. It was early afternoon on May 9th and the graduation celebrations of the previous day had already been pushed aside to make way for Spain preparations. The Nelsons waited anxiously with our tour coordinator in the international terminal of Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson to see if we would all show up... somehow, we all arrived (nearly) on time!

After checking in, we had three hours to kill in the airport and spent them at the gate in a cliche, braiding each other's hair while we mentally prepared ourselves for the nine-hour flight. Eventually we boarded, all 50 of us spread out but seated just closely enough to each other to annoy the other passengers by talking over them. The next nine hours were a half-asleep blur of seatback movies and terrible airplane food, finishing finally with the beautiful landscape of Germany to welcome us as we landed in Frankfurt at 7am local time (1am EST). We had a full five-hour layover in the airport, which we spent eating German Brezeln and Frankfurter sausages to stay awake.

Just when the exhaustion was really starting to hit us, it was time to board our next flight - this time to Spain! We were shuttled to the middle of tarmac to board our plane (see photo) and this time filled up nearly all of the seats in the back half of the aircraft. This was only a three-hour flight and most of us were so sleep-deprived that we were able to pass out for the duration of it. We landed with an incredible view of the city on the water and made our way through the airport to find our courier, Marianne, who would be leading us for the trip.

Then it was another two hours by bus from Malaga to Granada, where we were brought to our gorgeous hotel in a former monastery. We were given a little time to shower before we met again and walked to dinner five minutes away at Paco Martin. There, we were treated to a three-course meal of soup, chicken, and a bread pudding-esque dessert. It was almost 10pm by the time we were finished and at this point, some of us were falling asleep in our seats.

We were excused for the night and some headed back to the hotel for bed while others stayed out a while longer, enjoying gelato while walking around together in the fresh night air. Full and exhausted, we all went to sleep early to rest before our early morning on Thursday.

-Lydia Rautman

Lydia is a rising senior double majoring in German and Environmental Science 

Before we depart...

On Tuesday, May 8, the Emory Concert Choir will depart on a 10-day tour to Spain and Portugal! Follow along here as some of our members share their experiences throughout this adventure.