Sevilla

At the Alcazar in Sevilla

Boating at Plaza de Espana

Well after being sick most of this week, and having those “I´m glad I live in America” and don´t have to pay 5$ for cough drops, or go to a pharmacy and try to describe a neti pot and settle for a pitiful bottle of water and a syringe, I have the energy to write about my excursion to Cordoba and Sevilla. 

Cordoba is really a lovely, and very historic city as I described in my other blog, but unfortunately it rained the first four hours we were there.  So as you can imagine almost everyone but me, who enjoyed a sunny day the weekend before, had a bad first impression of Cordoba.  Fourteen Americans walking around with their luggage in the rain doesn´t make a pretty picture.  Not only were we wet and tired, we only realized the morning of that we were not spending the night in Cordoba, so we had to spend all day just touring without a resting place.  In the evening we took a very pleasant train ride to Sevilla, which of course had to consist of us causing trouble in our cab.  When we arrived in our cab there was a woman sitting in one of the seats reserved for our group, so instead of just letting it be like we should have, everyone starting trying to explain to this woman about how that seat was so we could all be together (on a very short train ride no less).  After several minutes of the entire cab staring at us in silence and several red faces from our end, I and my other friend volunteered to move seats.  Oh that caused an even bigger problem!  Luckily a nice young man behind my seat spoke English and helped us solve our problem.  While I was mortified after kicking a poor woman out of a seat and making her move to the other cab, I sat and tried to enjoy the peaceful train ride.  Being rowdy Americans however, the rest of the group decided to open a pack of strawberries and basically have a little picnic on the train.  Our half was the only half with noise needless to say.  It was rather humorous and I´m sure we provided a good show for the other Spaniards who had probably never seen a group of tourists make themselves quite at home on a train.  But, we were “adultless,” so what do you expect from American college students?

After successfully finding our hotel and relaxing six girls and myself set off to find some easily accessible Italian food which the man at the hotel told me was right around the corner.  After running a very drunk woman and her boyfriend who tried to convince us to come with her to a jazz club, we escaped to the restaurant.  However when we entered we found it was an hour and a half wait we continued our search.  A long story short, about an hour later, after looking like fools racing down the streets, trying to follow different advice as to where a good and relatively cheap Italian restaurant was we ended up back near the hotel.  Thankfully my companions were as committed as I was hungry to satisfying our Italian craving, and somehow ended up waddling, screaming and laughing like monkeys playing tag down the streets of Sevilla.  Finally, I stopped and asked two sophisticated looking older women and kindly they took us to a street, pointed left, said all the way to the end and we bolted for our new destination.  At last, someone had pointed us in the right direction.  Fortunately I can report, merece la pena (it was worth it)!  After having a glass of wine and scrumptious goat cheese, walnut ravioli, we were all stuffed and wondering how we were going to make it back to the hotel without assistance.  Upon leaving we say a boy asleep in his dad’s arms, as he was carried to their car, needless to say we all groaned and wished we were him.   We spent our Friday night unusually quiet and had an early night, meaning bed before 2am.  

Ya, I think we were tired.  

Saturday morning after multiple people convinced me to wait for them before heading off, and attending several café’s to gather people for the day, our first stop was the cathedral.  I know I have said each cathedral was better than the last, and say it’s the last time for me to say it, but I guess it isn’t meant to be.  The cathedral in Sevilla was truly impressive in its architecture and beauty and symbolism on the inside.  As some might know, this cathedral is the biggest Gothic cathedral in the world and the third largest in general (after St.Peter’s and St. Paul’s).  It is the resting place of Christopher Columbus and  many important archbishops and cardinals of Spain, it holds many precious jewels of the monarchy within its walls, has a bell tower that used to be a minaret from a mosque (which requires you to walk up many, many flights of stairs) and while I cannot tell you much more about the cathedral, despite doing an audio tour, it was indescribable beauty.  

View from the top of the bell tower 

View of the Cathedral on the way up to the bell tower. 

Sara and I in the Arab Gardens!

 After the Cathedral for almost 2 hours we decided it was time for a picnic at our next stop, Plaza de Espana.  I guess for people who have heard of it, they know it´s a big deal, however I just imagined it was a plaza, not much else.  I was wondrously wrong!  It was probably my most favorite place in Sevilla to simply sit and enjoy the sunshine and people watching.  Our group of six decided to take a boat through the little canals in the plaza, mostly for the perfect picture moments, but we had a wonderful time and it was the most charming addition to our visit.  

Cecilia and I, we were actually laughing at a man trying to impressive his girlfriend in the boat but couldn´t row worth you know what. 

Picnic in the Park

 

Rowing in Plaza de Espana 

It was hard to leave the peace of Plaza de Espana but unfortunately while we were adultless, we had several places that were obligatory to see and we figured we would be quizzed on when we returned.  So our next stop was called the Tour of Gold, which if I may say so was quite unimpressive compared to our last several stops.  This tower was an old military lookout and naval base-port, located on the Rio Guadalquiver, now converted into a naval museum.  Pitifully, we all agreed to pay the 1.50 Euros to enter and climb to the top, but it was unanimous that we were too tired to actually read-learn something from the museum.  So, after climbing the top, looking at the view, pathetically we plopped on the floor at the top of the tour to rest our feet, I think you can guess we weren´t terribly impressed and were pooped from "touring" the city all day.  We were slightly rejuvenated when we found some ice cream and headed to the Jewish Barrio before heading to the hotel for the night.  While I was exhausted, unfortunately I had a little FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) about staying in while everyone else was hitting up some discotecas.  And......... our academic director gave us money to enjoy ourselves and specifically told us to enjoy the young life of Sevilla.  So after allowing my friends to dress me in their "going out" clothes, at 1:30 we hit the streets of Sevilla.  I will spare details, but it was a very late, but I must say fun night, and after dancing until 5 am I returned to the hotel only to get up four hours later to go to mass at the cathedral.  While everyone else slept until almost noon, me being rather dorky, I got up to go to the cathedral for mass at 9:30, I soooo badly wanted to sleep and sharing a room with three of my friends didn´t want to wake them, but I knew if I missed the chance because I partied, I would regret it.  I´m entirely glad I sacrificed my sleep (although after being miserable this week with a cold, I had moments where I thought I should have listened to my body) because mass was beautiful.  The entire mass was in Latin and every part was sung by the priests or the congregation.  It was beyond Gothic!!!  As I was sitting there, at 10:15 the giant clock on the wall rang and a group of bats flew out from behind, it was too picture perfect and I couldn´t help but smile and imagine I was in the 16th century since no one seemed to be phased by it.  

Sunday although everyone moved a little slowly, after two cups of coffee and a huge breakfast of toast and American eggs (which we were ecstatic to see) we headed for the Alcazar (Arab word for Castle).  Again, I cannot tell you much about it, not because I cannot remember but because the whole tour of it was simply a fog as I was too tired to try to make sense of the different rooms.  What I specifically remember however was the magnificent beauty of the gardens, made even more picture perfect by the peacocks wandering around. 

After getting slightly lost in the mini-maze of the Royal gardens, after one of the girls attempted to climb a tree, but instead scraped her knee and ended up so contorted on the tree she became a comic picture moment for the other tourists.... we left. We were beyond tired to try to make a better use of our time than just sit here and there, so decided it was best to get to the bus station and wait for our bus home to Granada.  While it is always amazing visiting other cities, somehow we are always so exhausted by the end of the excursion that we-I cannot wait to return "home".
  Tomorrow morning, very early, we embark for 

Yet another place where we chose to sit and rest rather than try to be good tourists. 

 Morocco for five days!  While I am so excited, I am also a little nervous because of the different warnings we have had from our program this week.  The warnings are not safety related, simply use common sense and stick together, but more food and water related.  There´s quite a bit more disease related precautions one has to take in Morocco than in Spain, and it´s pretty much assumed that almost half the group will return with the runs.  I know not pleasant but
it´s the truth.  So after succesfully packing five days worth
of stuff into a backpack, I am ready to embark
on what will truly be our biggest and unfortunately
last adventure here in Spain.  I cannot believe this trip is already upon us because I remember looking at our calendar in February and thinking we had soooo long until this excursion.  Only four more weeks left in Spain after this week and I cannot bare to think about having to leave.  I am more ready to return to the U.S. and my family and general life there, but knowing that I will never have this same experience when I return, and have to leave all the wonderful friends, Spanish and American, I have made here breaks my heart a little.  Well I hope next weekend I will be able to report to everyone a safe and fun trip and will be able to say I´ve been to AFRICA!!!  Still mind boggling!
Hasta el sabado!  

Gardens of the Alcazar