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!