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!
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