Sevilla and Cordoba

So this past weekend was...well I'd like to say calmer considering I didn't take a weekend trip anywhere, but in fact, it was quite the opposite. A friend from IU who is studying in Barcelona had a trip with her program to Sevilla this that got in on Friday and both of our programs had a day trip planned to Cordoba on Saturday.

During the days:

Friday and Sunday during the day my scavenger hunt group (Stef and Pam) and I worked on our list. Its a game set up by our program that runs throughout the month of February and into March. Each week we get a list of places to go to in Sevilla and to take pictures at. Although some were closed when we visited, it was fun to get to know the city a little better.

Some of our stops included:

- The convenience store that is open 18 hrs a day 365 days a year

- The popular churro stand

- The Art Museum which is the second best in Spain to the one in Madrid, which is one of the best in the world

- The bus station to catch the bus to the closest beach

- A tree in el Monestario de la Cartuja which is near a statue in memory of Christopher Columbus and was planted the same year America was discovered

etc.

It was a lot of fun and our group can't wait for the next list to come out and to see more of this beautiful city. Its a great way to get out and not only see things on the list, but find other places. Such as the BEST ice cream place in the city, a Duffin Dagles (sound familiar to anyone?) and some great pastry shops. Can you tell we were working up an appetite walking over 5 miles throughout the city? Haha.

Saturday during the day we went to Cordoba. It was a beautiful city, and I'm happy our program took us there. There is so much to know that I wouldn't have found out going alone.

Some that interested me about the Mezquita:

- It was built in 4 phases

- Along with being a Mezquita(Mosque) it also has a large cathedral

- There are a total of 1300 columns or pillars inside

- More than half of the pillars inside of it are all unique as they were taken from verious other churches, mosques, cathedrals, etc. Therefore they are made out of various stones

- The other half of the pillars were created by locals. Each creator signed the pillar that they created and their signatures are still distinguishable today.

We also visited the Jewish Quarters in Cordoba which are well known internationally in the Jewish Community. Interestingly enough, although it stands relatively intact, there are little to no Jews living in the Jewish Quarters present day.

Cordoba is a beautiful city with beautiful gardens and patios. It was a nice place to take a day trip. Not to mention, Saturday was a gorgeous day filled with sun!

Night

Friday and Saturday nights were probably some of the most fun nights I've had in Sevilla. It was fun to show Kristen around and take her to all the local bars and discotecas. We were frequent visitors to this place called norstrum(yes like my favorite store without the d and spelled slightly different). They have this drink called agua de fuego which is the cheapest and tastiest way to drink that we've found yet. It comes in a large pitcher that you share amongst friends and each person gets a shot glass and you stand/sit around and split the pitcher. Warning: One pitcher between 3 or 4 people is all that is necessary for a night.

Friday night Kristen and I and some others in our program went to Catedral (a popular discoteca) after Norstrum and danced. One of the local excursion programs was having a dance competition that night. And sure enough, Kristen got entered and hence I had to join her. Needless to say it was a fun night filled with laughter.

My mom and dad come visit this weekend and I'm so excited to see them and show them the city. We are all going to Portugal the following weekend and Hillary (one of my best friends and roommates at IU) is meeting us there. I haven't seen her since winter break (the longest we've gone not seeing each other since we've met) and I'm super excited to spend some time with the people that mean the most to me. Wish my brother, or other friends from school/home could come though!!!

HUGE Update

Well. What a weekend. Lots to talk about so I might as well start from the beginning.

Catedral:

Last Thursday, it was a beautiful day, so Stef and I decided to take a visit to the Catedral(Cathedral). We didn't know anything about it, so we were just soaking it in and randomly taking pictures. Any student studying in Sevilla gets free admission to the Cathedral..so no worries mom, no waste of money. Fortunately though (just to jump around a bit), CIEE scheduled a final visit to the Cathedral today, so Stef and I were able to find out what we actually took pictures of.

Interesting facts I found out:

- It is the 3rd largest in the world (Rome...duh and London are above it)

- It was primarily built in the 16th century

- It has the largest wood carved/gold leaf display/visual depiction of the bible

- After being moved around, it is the final resting place of Christopher Columbus

- San Fernando III is also buried there. He was responsible for the catholic conquest into Sevilla.

- The land was originally a mosque

- The primary style inside The Cathedral is Gothic

Aka...check out the pictures under my two Sevilla albums, they're spectacular.

Granada:

Thursday night, me and 2 friends took a bus to Granada. After settling into the hotel we went out for a quick drink. In Granada it is custom to receive a tapas (for free) with your drink. So we got a small hamburger and a tinto verano (yum). Then we decided we were too tired and had to wake up early for our visit to the Alhambra.

After waking up at 7:45 and getting ready, we made our journey to the Alhambra. It seemed like a long walk, but after walking it once, the way back didnt seem as bad...maybe because then it was downhill? We got to the Alhambra at 8:30. Our visit to the palace wasn't until 9:30 so we walked around and saw some of the other parts. It was absolutely freezing in Granada and the Alhambra is primarily outdoors so we were passing the audio guide around to allow our hands to defrost. Also, because it is still so cold, a lot of the flowers had not bloomed in the gardens yet, but it was still beautiful.

Interesting facts:

- Originally under Moorish rule

- Constructed in the 14th century

- Changed to Christian rule in the 15th century

- Washington Irving stayed there and is a main reason why it became so well known

- Wide spread and very wildly laid out

- 3 main sites: The Palace, General Life, Alcazaba

The facts do not give it justice. The pictures explain better.

After the Alhambra, we went to the information center for recommendations on where to eat. We went to one of his recommendations and had some of the best sangria and best sandwiches I have had here. One sangria, two sandwiches and fries for 5 euro!! Then we went back to the hostel because it was beginning to rain and we wanted to take a siesta after waking up so early. On the way back it started to SNOW. Yes, there is a picture, check it out if you don't believe me.

After our nap we got dinner at one of the other recommendations, not as good, or as cheap, but I got a pita type sandwich which I hadn't had here. After dinner we found a place to buy alcohol so that we didnt have to spend so much at the bars. We hung out in the room and skyped with some people through one of the girl's iphones, which was fun. Then we went to the recommended discoteca. It was 10 euro to get in, which considering we had never had to pay cover yet, seemed like a lot. But we got 2 "free drinks" so it more or less balanced out. The discoteca bar was fairly boring, it played good music and a group of guys and their uncle talked to us about Granada for a bit. Then we left them to find the dance floor, which was absolutely huge, and packed! We stayed out dancing pretty late and then headed back to sleep.

We caught the mid-day bus home back from Granada. Overall, despite the rain and freezing temperatures, Granada was absolutely beautiful and a must see in Spain.

Cadiz for Carnival:

Saturday night, a bunch of us (as in like 500 from various programs) hopped various busses through Discover Sevilla(A tourist company) and headed to Cadiz for Carnival. Everyone wears disguises, and wanting to save my money for elsewhere, decided to go with a simple, yet crowd pleasing quail man (cartoon character from when I was a kid...man I feel old saying that). Not knowing what to expect, we got off the bus and were immediately surrounded by people wandering the streets in disguises and drinking/peeing wherever there was room. While mildly disturbing, it was a once in a lifetime event and it truly was spectacular. The whole town basically shuts down for a week for the celebration and it is supposed to be a celebration before the beginning of lent. After enjoying ourselves and getting a taste of Cadiz, we got back on the bus and headed back to Sevilla. It wasn't an overnight trip, so we only had about 5 hours in Cadiz, but trust me, it was plenty for me.

After such a long weekend, I slept all day on Sunday and prepared for my week ahead.

Although I was supposed to start my internship on Monday, the dates/times have been pushed back twice now. I am now supposed to start on Thursday at 6 pm, so lets keep our fingers crossed.

Also, it has rained EVERY day this week and is supposed to continue into next week. According to our professors this is very uncommon and this is the first time in 60 years that Sevilla has gotten this much rain. Keep your fingers crossed for sunny days :)

Any questions or requests on what youd like me to go into more detail on, or less...leave a comment or send me an email. I love hearing from everyone and its fun to answer your questions!!

Pictures!

Both Sevilla photo albums have been added to and there's a new one of Granada and Cadiz added also. I have a lot to write about from this weekend, so that will come later this week, but I wanted to update the pictures at the least for everyone!

Ronda and Marbella

First things first, to make it easier to follow my photos, I put links on the left hand margin. Any of the pictures taken in Sevilla will be uploaded to either the Sevilla Scenery link or the Sevilla People link (unless I fill them which will probably happen at some point). All of my separate trips will have their own link. As you can see now, I've uploaded pictures from this past weekend!

Last Week:

Finished up my intensive spanish course, I think it went well. I'm excited to be done with the 3 hour long 9 am course. I will still have 9 am classes Mon-Thurs, but they'll only be an hour and a half at least. Friday night we had an intercambio party. It was an opportunity for all of the students in my program to meet some students from Sevilla that are interested in learning English and helping Americans with their Spanish. Before going to the party, a group of about 10 of us from our program went to the river and botellon'ed(making this a verb!). All along the river, students and locals buy beer and alcohol and sit on the sidewalks and drink from about 10-1. It's their way of avoiding paying so much for the bars. Spaniards typically only invite family into their houses and do not have friends or guests over. Instead they meet at cafes or restaurants or in this case by the river. Its fun to sit along the river, relax and talk to other students or spaniards. We didnt stay out much later as we had to catch a bus early the next morning to Ronda!

At 9:45 am on Saturday morning, 15 of us hopped a bus to Ronda to begin our weekend away from Sevilla and it was absolutely fantastic.

Ronda:

Ronda is a small historical town about an hour and 45 minutes East of Sevilla. It is absolutely beautiful and so peaceful. The locals were extremely hospitable and you cannot beat the views (look at the pictures, you'll agree!). It was in the mid 70's and everyone got a little bit of color from walking around. We first went to this gorgeous canyon and took some pictures. Then we went to the Arian Baths which are underground caves that they used to use as their version of a spa. They designed them so that the water from the canyon ran under the floors of the baths and then with the way they trapped heat in the rooms, the water would evaporate through the floor and create a steam room. They would also have massage tables going and hot tubs. We were told that there is a modern day recreated one somewhere in Spain, but I'm not sure where. We then hiked up the hill a bit and then climbed down these caves and through mines. When we got to the bottom, we were at water level with the canyon and it was breath taking. The water was so clear and the walls seemed to go up forever (which would explain the never ending steep steps we had to walk down!) After all that climbing, we stopped at this small restaurant where the waiter set up a long table outside so that we could all sit together. He was extremely nice and the food was delicious. For 9 euro, I got a 3 course meal of spaghetti with meat sauce, chicken and french fries, and flan. Instead of the chicken, bull tail was also an option, which some of the guys decided to try. They said it tasted a lot like beef roast. Fitting the serving of bull tail, Ronda is also the home of the first stadium built for bull fighting. The only other stadium in Spain built solely for bull fighting is in Spain. For 6 Euro, we got to walk around, go out on the arena, see the horses and where the bulls are kept and they also have the largest bull fighting museum in the world! After 6 hours in Ronda and lots of walking, we got back on a bus at 6:30 pm to head to Marbella.

Marbella:

We arrived in Marbella around 7:45 and went to check into the hotel. Marbella is a beach town south east of Ronda and therefore also south east of Sevilla. It used to be a popular tourist spot for Saudi Arabians and other tourists. They built it up accordingly with a beautiful port and a very tourist like town along the beach. It is definitely higher end as it has a strip of stores consisting of Dolce and Gabbana, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and more. After the Saudi Arabian king passed away, less Saudi Arabians made the trip to Marbella and the town began to empty out. They began a project to create a port for cruise ships, but the locals refused to give up their siesta to accommodate the varying arrival of the ships, so the project was cancelled. As a result, the town is more of a high end ghost town. According to some of the people we talked to, the town gets busier on weekends in the summer, but it cant get that busy as when we were searching for places to stay, there was very limited hotels and hostels. The hostel we stayed at is run by a Scottish man and was very clean and the owner was very hospitable. We received a complimentary beer when we arrived and it had to be the best beer I've had in Spain (it also has 5.4% alcohol, more than a typical beer, probably not a good thing its the best tasting then!). At the hostel we met a guy in his upper 20's from Miami that has been traveling all of Europe for the past few years. He has written one travel book that can be bought on amazon and also writes for various travel magazines. He showed us where to go for dinner and told us about his trips and gave us recommendations on where to travel and when. Good person to meet!

Being exhausted, half of us, including me, went to bed after dinner. The other half went salsa dancing. The next morning we woke up early and explored the city of Marbella. We walked along the beach and took lots of pictures and also walked along the major strip of stores and window shopped.

At 4:30, we caught the bus back to Sevilla. Three of our group almost missed the bus, the driver refused to wait and fortunately just before getting on the highway we saw the three and convinced the driver to pull over and pick them up. Being the last ride back to Sevilla that night, it's a good thing we found them!

Super Bowl

We went to the local irish pub to watch some of the super bowl. With the time change, it played at midnight here and having a 9 am class today, I only stayed through half time where they gave out free hot dogs! It was fun to be in a bar with a bunch of americans cheering for american football. Most of the Spaniards cleared out as they didnt quite understand the excitement, but there were plenty of Americans to fill up the bar and almost cleared the bar out of their drink specials(6 Heineken for 10 euro) and hot dogs. WAY TO BEAT THE COLTS SAINTS!!!

Overall, it was an amazing weekend away and it was fun to see other areas of Spain. Check out the pictures!

Revalations

Random things that I've noticed that are different from the states, or that I've taken notice of. (Good and Bad)

1. The shutters on my windows make me feel like I'm in a bomb shelter. They're kind of like the hurricane shutters people use in Florida.

2. Spaniards freak out about the smallest possible waste of energy (ie. the light being on on a power strip even though nothing plugged into it is actually turned on)

3. Drinking a beer in the middle of the day while walking down the middle of the street is perfectly acceptable.

4. Long lines in clothing stores mean nothing. Even if there are 5 available sales people and 30 people in line they will still only have one register open.

5. Everything is on sale in January and February, getting shirts for 3 euros is common.

6. Little kids have no sense of personal space or manners. Things that children in the U.S. are taught at a young age are simply ignored here. Such as demanding for their parent to move out of the way so they could leave the table, even though everyone else is still eating.

7. It isn't uncommon to have your clothes to be taken on a Monday to be washed and have them not returned until the following Monday. Washing machines are common, dryers are not. Everything is hung to dry.

8. Large dogs are uncommon, but with the lack of grass dogs are allowed to take care of business on the sidewalks and owners do not pick up their dog's waste forcing people to avoid the land mines while walking places.

9. There are orange trees everywhere, but the oranges aren't for eating as they are too bitter. Instead they are sent up north to be turned into perfumes.

10. Fruit is considered a dessert and not a snack or a side to eat with your lunch.

Probably more to come in the future, but that's my list for now!

HEALTH WARNING

Over the past week and a half I've come to the realization that food contamination and proper handling of food doesnt mean much to Spaniards. The end all to end all was Stefanie and I coming home to our empty house(they told us they were going out for dinner and they would leave food for us to heat up) and discovering that the food they left out was on the stove waiting to be cooked...the kicker- it was raw potatoes with two, already cracked raw eggs, in a frying pan, waiting to be fried. Now, normally when they leave out food its something already cooked and just waiting to be reheated in the microwave. But assuming that Stef and I didn't come back to eat at our normal time, the raw eggs would have been sitting out for approximately 3 hours. Needless to say, it was quite the conversation Stef I had over dinner, discussing our potential poisoning.