"Look at that fancy looking place...Oh it's just a Cafe y Té"

Sunset in Madrid

Just got back from a busy couple of weeks! We took a day trip to Aracena, spent the week with my parents who were able to fly in (!) and then escorted them to Madrid for their flight to Miami and spent the day exploring around Madrid. Not to mention we’re right in the middle of mid-terms and planning for our trip to Ireland for St. Patty’s day. Heads up, everybody; We’ve got a girl on the move!

 I’ve been spending more time with Spaniards in the past few weeks. Last weekend, Ally, Trevor and I met up with Gabriel and his 2 friends to go to Gabriel’s “party apartment” (the apartment that he doesn’t sleep at and is solely reserved for friendly nightly gatherings) for poker, pizza and gin and tonics. Not a bad night at all. We spent the night comparing the sounds that animals make in Spain and the U.S. (they think that that dogs saying “bark” and horses saying “nay” is ridiculous, and now that I think about it, it kind of is) It was a laughter-filled night that I hope will happen many times more. I also met up with Cristina, my new intercambio, since my old one never responded to my emails or texts. In our situation, Cristina speaks English to me and I speak Spanish to her and we just chat and correct each other’s grammar. It’s a great way to meet Spaniards and learn colloquial things and just practice Spanish. Not to mention Cristina is adorable and I just love hanging out with her.

Aracena is a sweet little down that is just about an hour and a half away from Sevilla, in the province of Huelva. It is known as a pueblo blanco (white town) and is so small and adorable. There’s not much there. It is known for its Gruta de las Maravillas (Cave of Wonders) and they really are marvelous!

 These half a million year old caves have lakes and stalactites/mites galore. It has a sense of humor, too. There is one room, known as La Sala de las Desnudas (The Room of the Nude People) and all of the stalactite formations look like unmentionables (of which you can probably guess.) Even the most mature can’t deny how funny this part of the caves is. Overall, the tour was very informative and the caves are so beautiful. We even met some other American exchange students during the tour. And because Aracena is so small, we kept running into them in various parts of the town for the rest of the day. There is no picture-taking of any kind in any place in the caves. But with our craftiness, we managed to snag a few photos. However, they do take one picture for you, which you can purchase at the end of the tour as a momento. We had to buy ours. Aracena also has a beautiful church and some ruins on top of big hill that overlooks the city and provides a nice vista of some mountains in the distance. I forgot how much I missed open air.

Sneaking a picture. Does this place even look real?

Us and our fellow Americans

 We then came back to mid terms and studying and papers. Blah. But we got through them just in time to pick my parents up from the airport! It was so unbelievably nice having them here. All the being cooked for and taken out to eat and being bought bathroom rugs and kitchen utensils was such a treat. I forgot how much I missed things like that. We unfortunately had to go to school during the time that they were here, so we spent the week fitting in sightseeing in between classes and they did some exploring around the city on their own too. They saw all the essentials and we even took a few hours one day to go to the Arab Baths, which is basically the most relaxing place in the world. From the moment you walk in, you can just feel the aura of relaxation all around you; it has the same feel as a spa. You wear a bathing suit and are led into the relaxation room where they provide you with tea and water and explain all the different pools there are to go in. The most traditional is the process of passing through first a warm bath, then a hot bath, then a cold bath, mean to open and close your pores and be very cleansing and relaxing. There is also a steam room and a salt bath and the option for a massage (which we of course took advantage of!) Definitely worth the 35 euros. 

In front of the Plaza de España in Sevilla

View from the end of a pier in Cadiz

One day, we were adventurous enough to rent a car and head towards Cádiz, stopping in Jerez de la Frontera on the way down and stopping for a sunset dinner in Puerto de Santa Maria. When we got back to Sevilla, we spent the rest of the week doing a little shopping and wandering around the streets, just exploring and stopping at whatever seemed interesting that we happened to stumble upon. Not a bad way to spend the week at all!

The most intense sand castle I have ever seen

Not a bad view for dinner...

 On Friday, we followed them to Madrid, where they would be catching their flight to Miami early Saturday morning. We took the AVE while they flew and then met up with them at the hotel later that night. Navigating the metro system to get from the train station to the airport was interesting and an adventure to say the least. And then navigating back from the hotel  to the airport to the train station and across the city for our day of sightseeing. After this weekend, it’s safe to say that we would be a force to reckon with on the Amazing Race. We saw some really amazing things though. As much as I didn’t think I was going to like Madrid after hearing it compared to cities like New York and Los Angeles, I had a really great time and enjoyed the city. It was busy and still had a rush-around kind of lifestyle, but it’s still Spain and is much more chill than anything in the U.S. ever could be. At about 7:30 we walked over to a park that my Foder’s guide book (I’m such a tourist) told me was a good place to watch the sunset. Foder’s did not lie. It was beautiful. And apparently the rest of the city knew about our spot too. When we got there, there was a huge crowd, all just standing around waiting for the sun to set behind the mountains in the distance. It was so nice being in a big city where even though there is so much going on, people can still stop for 15 minutes to go and watch the sunset. People in Spain appreciate the small things, and I love it. Madrid is also where the quote for this blog comes from. We passed a very classy looking restaurant, with a beautiful terrace overlooking a busy plaza and Trevor noted how nice the place looked, only to discover moments later that it is just a chain coffee shop that exists all over Spain, probably about the equivalent to a Barnie's Coffee. We found it pretty hilarious. I guess it was a "you had to be there" kind of thing.

The line we waited in at the Prado Museum.

The madrileños know how to relax

In front of the Parque Madrid

The constantly busy Plaza Sol in Madrid

Plaza Mayor

Still not sure why Madrid needs 3 Spongebobs and 2 Patricks

I am now sitting in Starbucks in front of a big window, switching between writing, people watching, and sipping on my frappacino, The sun is warm, low in the sky, doing that pretty orange thing that it does. The weather is perfect and I actually wore a sleeveless dress today. Since most things, including supermarkets, are closed on Sundays because Sunday actually is a day of rest in Sevilla, we will be ordering pizza, drinking wine and watching a movie with Ally tonight in the chateau.

Life in Sevilla is good.

*note: this was written Sunday and posted Monday. I wish I was hanging out in Starbucks drinking frappacinos; I’m in the library at school. blah.

Next stop: Ireland! That will be in an interesting one, so stay tuned for the inevitable stories to come.

 

Love from Spain!

Carnaval, Italica, Ronda, Sevilla and More!

So I'm a few weeks behind on my blog posts and I have a lot to tell you! This past few days, we've been to the Museo de Bellas Artes in Sevilla, Carnaval in Cádiz, the Roman Ruins of Italica, the Bullfighting Ring in Sevilla, Ronda, and other places are Sevilla. Ready, set go!


We woke up last Saturday, thought to ourselves that it would be nice to go to the Museo de Bellas Artes, got a group together, and made our way over there. Little did we know that we would spend 4 hours in the museum and hardly see everything there was to see. By the time we got out, it was 5 pm and we were all about to rip eachothers heads off we were so hungry. Good thing that admission is free on Wednesdays because were are definitely going to have to go back to cover all the things that we had to skim over in order to get some lunch.

Later that weekend, I became an honorary University of Florida student when I attended the reunion of all the students from UF that are studying at UPO this semester. It was a great opportunity to meet some people and eat some delicious food! We went to a popular restaurant called Taberna Colonial, which is 3 stories tall and always crowded. In order to keep things moving smoothly, it even has a food elevator. High-tech. It was all of my favorite things: busy and lively, delicious, and cheap! 

Friday morning we took a little 20 minute excursion out of the city and went to the Roman Ruins of Italica. It is one of the 2 trips that the international office at UPO takes us on. Italica, as one could guess, is an ancient city founded by the Romans. There are lots of mosaics that are very well preserved and beautiful. There are also several statues which seem impressive until your tour guide tells you that they are replicas. Kind of a let down that not everything there is genuine, but the ruins that are real are pretty cool. The ampitheater even still has a functional passageway through it. We were lucky enough to be there on the same day as an elementary school field trip. If I had known, I totally would have dressed up with them!

Some girls that we met that taught us the Spanish version of the Chicken Dance

This past weekend was the kick off weekend of Carnaval, which is the equivalent to Mardis Gras; It's a giant party where everyone celebrates before Lent starts. Except here, everyone dresses up and gets drunk in the streets until the sun comes up. It's really classy. But of course, being in Spain and only an hour away from the 3rd largest Carnaval celebration in the world, we wouldn't pass up the opportunity to go. Trevor and I dressed up as chickens (technically I was a hen and just wore a pink bow on the top of my head), packed some snacks and drinks, and loaded onto one of the 15 buses departing from Sevilla headed toward Cádiz. It was instant insanity the moment we arrived. People were taking up the streets in ridiculous, often inappropriate, but always hilarious costumes. We arrived at 10 pm but the party would not stop until we finally boarded the bus to head back to Sevilla at 6:30 in the morning. Blahhh. I, and many other people we were with, hit a wall at about 2:30 am. At that point, the people are way too drunk, the streets are covered in trash and who-knows-what-else, and all I want is a little personal space. Not to mention that Cádiz is on the coast, so the ocean breezes are making it unbearable cold. It was definitely an experience that I am glad I had. We had some good times, came back with some good stories, saw some hilarious costumes, ate some delicious churros, an overall had a fun night, but if you asked me to go back with you, I would politely but forcefully decline.

Just a couple of chickens on the streets of Cadiz

Most of us were ready to go home around 2:30 or 3 am

Last week I went to my first Softball practice. There is a local league here that has players from ages 13 to 35 and it is so fun! It is fairly relaxed, so I didn't feel uncomfortable joining in even though I have played close to no softball in my life. Unfortunately, I have a conflict with future practices so I won't be able to continue, but I am glad that Josie convinced me to go out there and try it! Just the opportunity to meet some Spaniards and do some physical activity made it all worth it. I have also started playing soccer on Tuesdays, something that the international office organized. The teams are mixed between Spaniards and internationals so it is also a good way to meet people and just to talk in Spanish. I am absolutely terrible at soccer, but I consider myself among friends there, so I am not uncomfortable going out there an embarrassing myself. Yoga is also going really well. it's not as physically strenuous as I like my yoga to be, but it's a good way to relax on Monday evenings and to meet and talk with Spaniards. I always look forward to it. 

We received our care packages the other day from our parents! (Thanks everyone!!) Everything in it was lovely. Especially because it included my Kindle, which I was severely beginning to miss. I'm back on track with my books. (Just finished Water for Elephants and working on a new book) It also had a beautiful bracelet from my mom, which I now wear every day. Speaking of mom, I am so excited that my mom and dad will be here in just 5 short days. I can't wait to show them around the city I now call home :)

Even just wandering around Sevilla, there are some pretty amazing things to be seen. The other day, Trevor and I decided to take an alternative route to the way that we usually walk to the city center, and we ended up finding several plazas that we had never seen and some delicious looking bars and restaurants (at least I assume they were delicious because they were so busy the crowd took up practically the entire plaza). Ally and Trevor and I did the same thing the other day, and stumbled upon a man and a woman that handmake beautiful jewelry. They have a large assortment of jewels and stones and beads, and they weave metal around it to make it a work of art. The vendors on the street are some of the most talented artists around.

Jody, Steve and I took the tour of the Bullfighting Ring in Sevilla. Bullfighting is a huge part of the culture here and especially after the tour, I am excited to go to a fight. I will probably have my eyes closed the whole time, but you can't live in Sevilla and not go to a bullfight, right?

Yesterday Ally and Trevor and I spent the day in the Parque Maria Luisa, a huge beautiful park right in the middle of the city. They have opportunities to rent multiperson bicycle cart type things, which we of course cheesily took advantage of. 8 euros for a half an hour of hilariousity is absolutely worth it in my book! (Please excuse my use of made up words) We basically just spent the (wonderfully warm) day sipping Tinto de Verano (red wine and lemon soda) and peoplewatching, all in paradise. Another great thing about Sevilla is the people here! After attending several intercambio events (events organized by the international office to integrate Spanish students and internationals), we have finally made a connection with several as friends! Last night, Gabriel even came over for dinner. Ally Trevor Gabriel and I enjoyed some homemade shrimp-fried rice at our chateau and spent our time laughing over our spanish and his english over delicious food. Tonight is poker at his apartment with some other Spanish students; wish me luck!

The adorable cafe we ate lunch at and that our friend Gabriel works at

Fact: dessert is always more delicious before dinner

Shrimp fried rice for 4!

Puente Romano

2 days ago, we visited Ronda, a small pueblo on the side of a gorge, with breathtaking views and quaint streets filled with friendly people. We spent the afternoon exploring and even hiking! It was so nice to do something outside for the sake of being outside. It was a little pathway that led down to a waterfall and some beautifully blue pools. Once we were at the bottom, it felt a little Jurassic-Park-esque when we looked up and there were boulders and cliffs with ivy hanging off of them and abandoned sheds and ladders and equipment all over. Ronda itself is an adorable place though. The main bridge there is called the Puente Romano, which is massive and beautiful. It was so nice to go somewhere with copious amounts of fresh air, sunshine and views of wide, wide open spaces.

One of the views from the bus ride in

Looking up!

Next on the traveling agenda: Aracena, another small pueblo in the province of Huelva. This upcoming Tuesday is Dia de Andalucia, so there are no classes. We are taking a day trip there to do some exploring! For 13 euros round trip bus tickets, why not? Updates soon to come!

Love from Spain!

Somos Tenedores en un Mundo de Sopa

Trevor, Ally and I took a much needed get-out-town break and went to the sunny and beautiful (but cold) Córdoba, about 2 hours by bus Northeast of Sevilla. I went straight from class on Thursday to meet Trevor and Ally downtown, where we made our way to possibly the most confusing bus station ever. We went up and down the escalators from the information booth to the buses at least 6 times. I wish I could say it was good exercise at least...but it was an escalator. We eventually made our way to the correct bus after several conversations of us not really knowing what the information people were saying, but just agreeing with whatever they say as we nod and smile. We realized that encounters like this happen all too often here and lead to us starting a section in my journal called "Things we just said 'si' to"This lengthy lists includes things like responses to us asking questions about what certain foods are, directions to places, signing petitions, and the entire of process of staying in our hotel. Fortunately, Spaniards are mostly nice and helpful, so chances are, if you're saying 'si' to something, it's probably in your best interest anyway.

We went to some really fantastic places on our trip to the small city of Córdoba. It's so nice how navigable the city is. You can walk from one of the city the other within 20 minutes, but most things are within no more than 10 minutes of each other. Some of the main sights to see there are the Mezquita-Catedral , the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, the Museo de Bellas Artes and the adjacent museum dedicated to Julio Romeros de Torres, and the Torre de la Calahorra and the Museum inside it called the Museo Vivo de Al-Andalus.  And following the winding streets will always lead you back to something you recognize. The best was that our modest and oh-so-cozy little hotel was right in the middle of everything. It overlooked a beautiful plaza called the Plaza de Tendillas which had a large fountain and some hilarious people watching. The people that work there are also adorable and so helpful, and they have a really cheap breakfast. If you ever find yourself wanting to go to Córdoba, Hotel Boston is the way to go!

The View from our Hotel Room- overlooking Plaza de Tendillas

The Gardens at the Alcázar

Fulfilling the dream

Perro de Agua

Seriously thought about stealing him...

Other than all the normal touristy spots, some of the best times in the city were the restaurants we went to and the random things that ended up happening along the way. Like fulfilling my dream of riding a road blockery thing that goes down in the ground to allow cars with access to pass, and then goes back up to block the way of cars without access. I've always wanted to stand on one and ride it as it's going up. Done. And our hilarious conversations about translations of Spanish idioms (Winner Winner Chicken Dinner= Ganador Ganador Cena de Pollo, pretty sure that one doesn't exist in Spanish) and our attempts to communicate that only failed because we put the emphasis on the wrong syllable, resulting in the always frustrating "Como?!?" We also came across a type of dog that is very popular and only availabe in Spain called a Perro de Agua (and even though it translates to 'Water Dog', it is different than an American Water Dog), which has stolen my heart and made me realize that I need one. Guess I'll just have to make a trip back to Spain to get one! Also, we found a Mexican Restaurant in the city and the owner would write funny quotes on the walls, one of which that stuck with us: "Somos tenedores en un mundo de sopa" ("We are forks in a world of soup") Century old cathedrals are impressive and fascinating, but little moments, conversations and quotes like these that make the trip personal are the things that carry the most meaning for me.


All in all, our trip to Córdoba was fantastic. From being put in the best mood ever by being greeted by "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves on our taxi ride from the bus station to our hotel, through all our adventures along the way, and ending with a sunshiny and not terribly cold day, I would definitely say that we made the right choice.

Back to School

Classes officially started last week and so far, so good. It’s a little tricky since they are all taught in Spanish, but I know that it will definitely be worth it and I will learn a lot. I am taking 4 classes here: a Spanish grammar class, a Sociology class called Mujeres en Europa (Women in Europe), another Sociology class called Programas de Lucha contra la Pobreza y la Exclusión Social en la Unión Europea (Programs to fight Poverty and Social Exlusion in the European Union), and a History class called El Mundo Mediterráneo y España (The Mediterranean World and Spain). All of my classes are taught only for international students, which has its pros and cons. It’s nice that everyone in the class is in the same situation, but I feel cut off from the rest of the university and the actual Spanish students. In an attempt to integrate myself, I’m going to start going to yoga classes at the school every Monday evening. I’m eager to get back into the swing of yoga, so hopefully this class works out and is what I am looking for.

In this past week, we’ve done a lot of sightseeing.  On Monday we went to the Torre del Oro, which is right by the river and has some beautiful views of the city and riverside. 

Then we went on to Real Alcazar, but of course, not before taking a batido break in between monuments. Isn’t that just the prettiest milkshake you’ve ever seen?? Trevor and I had already seen the Real Alcazar but Jody, Ally and Preston hadn’t. And I definitely don’t mind going back. It’s only 2 euros for students and it’s so beautiful. This time, we saw a bunch of peacocks that we never saw last time. They aren’t scared of people at all and if you have food, they will follow you until you give it to them. They’re somewhat intimidating actually. 

After playing around in the gardens, we grabbed a quick tapas before Trevor and I headed home to attempt to make a traditional Spanish dish called a tortilla. It’s basically a fried omelet-type dish made of potatoes and eggs. It is meant to be served cold, but I think it’s much better warm.  This was our first attempt making anything legitimately Spanish, and it actually worked! Well, at least one of them worked; we tried to make two and the second one just ended up being a pile of scrambled and eggs and potatoes, which was still pretty delicious. I’m still counting it as a success.

I finally got to go shopping! On Saturday Ally, Jody, Angie and I went to the mall near our apartment and a few other stores around the city. The mall is just like any mall that would be in the States. We even ate lunch at McDonalds. The main difference is that here, during January and February, the entire region goes through their period of rebajas (sales). Every store has huge markdowns on already cheap things. For 130 euros (about 170 USD), I bought 4 dresses, 4 tops, a cardigan, a (fake) leather jacket, a skirt, a pair of heels, a necklace and a scarf.  While the majority of the stores have really cute, fashion forward things, there is always the occasional “What the heck??” clothing item. For example, Wedgie Jeans, as we like to call them. Haven’t actually seen anyone on the street wearing them, but someone must have them and think they’re the best things that ever existed. Almost worse than leggings as pants…

I am currently patiently awaiting the arrival of my new Kindle. Apparently it’s fairly normal for Kindles to experience “impact damage” with hardly any actual impact, and lines appear on the screen. Amazon is very graciously sending me a new one, but the international shipping means I won’t receive it for another few weeks. RIP Kindle and my means of reading in English.

Headed to Córdoba for the weekend later this afternoon, so will probably be out of touch until Sunday. Nobody freak out if I don’t answer an email or facebook post! 

Love from Spain! xoxo