To be sick in Spain

It really sucks actually, I had gotten a little cold that lasted like 2 days earlier but I got sick again and this time it's for real.  I haven't left the house today :( I think it was a mix between lack of sleep, going out, and many activities last weekend.  Which I really can't complain about cause it was a really fun weekend.  Last week was like any other week, the only thing is it's actually starting to get a little cold here. The way the weather works is that it's warm in January and then it gets cold at the end of February and by March it's supposed to be like 80s.  Ughh I can't waittt!! But in the meantime we are still discovering things we like to enjoy in Sevilla on the day to day.  There is a big river that runs through the city and it's always very pleasant to go down to there and hang out in the sun.  

We went to the river and enjoyed some mid-day Sangria on a boat bar, it was lovely!

                                     

I started my Flamenco class at the University of Sevilla, here's a picture of the entrance way there.  The class so far has been okay, a lot of watching and listening to Flamenco and for 4 hours it can get to be a lot.  But i'm excited to really start to understand the dance. 

Night life in Sevilla has been really exciting, especially compared to the lack of things to do back in Amherst.  There is always a club or a bar to go to.  Most of the discotechas we go to are huge and perfect if you want to dance all night.  But then there are also plenty of bars.  I prefer to go to a mixture, bars that have dancing but aren't so huge that you can't lose all of your friends.  Above is a picture of Alfalfa Street which is a street lined with bars.  A lot of times people flood into the streets to hang out and drink, its all very cool if you ask me. 

This is a picture of a man hole with the slogan of Sevilla on it, NO8DO. This slogan can be found all over Sevilla like on flags, buildings, bricks, you name it.  There are several ideas about where it came from and what it's meaning really represents but in a nutshell it means Do Not in the name of God.  Popular legend believes that this is referring to the cities resistance to Don Sancho's take over of his father Alfonso X the Wise in the 13th century.  

A trip out of Sevilla

So this weekend was the first time I actually left Sevilla, we went on a led trip by CEA to Cordoba and Granada.  Both cities were like 2/3 hours away and the bus ride was very enjoyable because it gave me the opportunity to appreciate the beautiful Spanish countryside, which I never get to see in Sevilla.  It was very mountainous and either very green or filled with lined olive trees.  

Cordoba! 

We have a theory that this town would be absolutely nothing if it weren't for this massive Cathedral.  We only spent a few hours in Cordoba where we toured the Cathedral and then got a little lunch.  This Cathedral is a very unique structure in all of the world because it was first built as a Mosque by Muslims.  As a Mosque alone it was thought to be one of the most important sanctuaries but then when the Christians came along they build a huge Cathedral inside of it. Yes.  So we are walking along, lots of red and white striped arches, dark halls with stained glass windows, all very Mosque like and then BAM huge bright Cathedral with high ceilings and extravagant statues of Jesus.  It really was very cool.  The only thing was that we were in huge groups which made it difficult for me to hear the tour guide, let along understand what I was really seeing.  Either way the transition from one section to the other made a lasting impression.

Mosque section

Cathedral section 

Granada! 

After our tour in Cordoba we drove to Granada which is where we spent the night and a majority of the next day.  Granada is a mountain town and wherever you are you can typically see a massive mountain looking down at you.  It was nice to see some mountains :)e

Similarly to Sevilla, Granada has a symbol that can be found all over the city, pomegranates! This was exciting for me because while I was in Israel I formed a little obsession with pomegranates as a symbol.  The reason it's connected with Granada is because pomegranate in spanish is Granada!

The afternoon we arrived in Granada was pretty much free time, we didn't have anything scheduled till the next day.  We relaxed and saw the city and then had a long spanish timed night out at this massive club.  Needless to say the next morning we were very tired but we all got up so we could enjoy the complimentary breakfast, which was amazing if I do say so myself.  After that even though we were lagging, we decided to explore the city some more you're only in Granada once!  

It was an awesomely clear and relatively warm day and Marielle, Keliana, and I had a great time just wandering the streets.  We also ended up running into some amazing street art graffiti, which I absolutely loved!  Everywhere you turned there were beautiful works of arts on random buildings. Later we met up with on of Keliana's friends who lives in Granada and she gave us a tour of some more artwork. 

Graffiti of Loui Armstrong, amazing stuff.

After our street adventures we met up with our group and took a tour of the Alhambra which is a massive palace that was also built by the Muslims.  Here are some pictures.

View from the "summer home" which is basically right next to it. Apparently the closer your summer home to your palace the richer you were because you didn't have to ride on horse back for too long.  It was all very pretty and full of impressive architecture, fountains, and gardens. 

While walking back from class today

I was approached by a couple of Spanish girls who had to be around 12 years old, they were saying something to me in spanish and handing me a flower. Confused I took the flower and they said to me "beautiful person, beautiful person!" and went on their way.  It was really cool and made my day :))

Another week gone by

I can officially say that I am all cozy in my new life in Sevilla, all the girls moved into the apartment and everyone really gets along.  It could have been such a crazy situation (which it still sort of is) but I'm glad that CEA set me up with some real ladies.  It's funny that I go one semester, living with 5 boys and Lucy to this semester living with 11 girls.  Talk about extreme living, haha, was that cheesy? One thing I can safely say is that whether they are boys or girls, no one likes doing their damn dishes.  Good thing my parents had me doing them so early that it's like second nature to me.  

Here is a picture of the market that is like a block from my house, nice right?  Obviously I didn't by anything in this picture because seafood is scary and I have no idea how to cook it. But the market is full of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, breads, and much more.  Plus it's way cheaper than any of the other grocery stores.  Lately I have been struggling with whether or not I should be buying food and cooking or just eating out.  Money is just flying out of me either way, it's a little nerve racking. 

Spanish guitar is the best, and they just play on the streets <3

This past week I've been seeing historic Sevilla

Since I'm living here, I have to go and see the sites!  On the way to school there is this huge wall that lines the sidewalk, turns out its just an old Moorish Palace, the Alcazar!  Keliana, Cari, and I decided to look through this old palace and it was really gorgeous and enormous!!  Walking through every wall is covered with interesting tile and intricate carvings.  While looking at it we couldn't help but wonder how the hell they did it all and how long it took.  That shit cray! The upper levels of the palace are still used by the royal family apparently but the lower area and courtyard/gardens are open for tourists.  

 

Above are some pictures from the Alcazar.  Below is a picture of the gardens within the walls of the palace.  In the gardens there were tons of orange and lemon trees, gazebos, peacocks, and even a labyrinth.  Actually the whole palace was kind of a maze in itself, but non the less a beautiful piece of Sevilliano history. 

Here's a picture of a floating street performer and kid who is more than confused hahah.  But really this guy was legit, I have no idea how he was doing that. 

So more than a couple times I've been walking along the street and ran straight into a random parade, here are two pictures from that, I just thought they were nice :)  We think this one was just a practice for Semana Santa, a whole week celebration of the last week of lent.  It's a pretty big deal here.

In addition to the Alcazar, we also went to the Cathedral.  Inside there is one room that is just like a massive hall with huge ceilings.  There are statues and stain glass windows everywhere, it really is quite a sight.  We were making jokes that it kind of reminded us of the Mines of Moria from Lord of the Rings. Also inside the Cathedral is Christopher Columbus's tomb, it's held by 4 giant soldiers, pretty impressive.  The coolest thing about the Cathedral though is that you can walk to the top of the tower, which we did and amongst the bells you can look out and see a 360 degree view of Sevilla.  Overall it was an excellent activity.   

Entrance of the Cathedral

Inside, LOTR right?

Christopher Columbus's tomb!

Check that sick view :)

It's always nice to chill in the sun at the mushroom :)

A nice street view picture, orange trees holler!

Spanish Food! Yes. This restaurant we went to was amazing, in this picture we have some croquettes which are little creamy fried nuggets usually with ham inside, these have spinach.  To the right is a Tortilla Espanola which is basically an quiche thing with potatoes and herbs in it, they are so good and slices are often served on sandwiches too!  Yummmm

My first flamenco show

which is obviously very important being in Sevilla and all. Andalusia which is the providence of Spain I'm in is known for keeping the flamenco and bull fighting traditions alive, so I'm in a prime spot to see all the traditional Spanish goodies.  The show was at a little bar and the whole time I was going crazy with the camera.  There is a guitarist, a singer, and a flamenco dancer.  Most people think that flamenco must always consist of a dancer, but actually it is very common to just have a guitarist and a singer.  Below is a picture of two men doing flamenco.  The dancer is usually just a visual to accompany the music, rather than vise versa.  But it was an awesome show. 

Here's a picture of some of my roommates when we got lost in the twisted streets of Sevilla while looking for a Mexican restaurant.  We ended up finding it, best and most original Mexican I've ever had. 

I put up this picture purely for my mother and Busy, it's like some kind of weird bug thing? I don't know but I saw it and I had to take a picture to show you guys. 

Here I am with Keliana and Marielle attempting to look classy with a delicious 3 euro bottle of wine :)

This weekend we are going to Granada and Cordoba

It's our first trip out of Sevilla!  I should be a good time and I'm looking forward to getting to know more people in my program and seeing a completely different place.  Both are towns in Spain but it'll be interesting.  The only thing is it should be pretty cold and I'm already having difficulty with the 40 degree weather we sometimes have here! Good thing I brought my Northface!