Una semana aquí

As much as I love traveling Europe, I can't help but feel excited simply staying in Sevilla for two weeks. Who wouldn't though, Sevilla is a vacation in it of itself. I got back from Italy on the Saturday before Easter, which was the final day of Semana Santa. Semana Santa is huge in Sevilla and hard to explain because we have nothing like this in the States, but it was definitely cool to see a "paso" as I walked home from the bus station. People carry giant floats with "La Virgen" and everybody marches through the city to the beat of drums. They wear these tall pointy hats (no relation to the Klu Klux Klan) and celebrate their Catholicism. 

 "Un Paso"

Easter Sunday, Emma and I went to church in the Catedral, which was so cool. I'm not a really religious person, but to be able to sit in on mass in Spanish in one of the largest cathedrals in Europe was pretty cool.

 Easter Sunday outside the Catedral

 Beautiful day for Easter!

 It gets more beautiful every time I walk by

Emma's family arrived late Sunday and came to our host family's house for lunch on Thursday. I got to help my host dad cook Paella before their arrival! It is actually quite simple, and was SO GOOD. I'm glad I got to see one of the biggest Spanish traditions in the making. I had a fun time interpreting my host dad's recipe into Spanish while he tried to explain and demonstrate the steps. I can't wait to try and cook it for my family when I get back; I hope it will be as good!

 Salud!

This past weekend was the first weekend Emma and I have been here since February, which is hard to believe. March was completely consumed with travel (not complaining) so we were excited to cross off another thing on our bucket list this Saturday. Our host sister (the oldest) owns a bar here in Sevilla, named "La Fina" after her mom, Fina, and we've always wanted to go. Our parents took us there and we enjoyed tapas and cervezas like one big happy family :) Our family consists of two girls (only one pictured below on the left) and one boy who lives in Granada, all of which are in their 30's. 

 Emma, María (oldest daughter), Eloy (dad), Fina (mom), and María's co-worker

On Sunday, Emma and I decided to continue checking things off our list and went to a fútbol game! Funny story actually, we were told that if we go to the game halfway through, we could buy cheaper tickets (tickets are upwards of 40 euros, about $53) so we arrived at halftime in search of the ticket office. We asked a random security guard where the office was and he told us we were too late. But we didn't take no for an answer...

We asked again and he pointed where to go. As we walked around the other half of the stadium still not finding it, we asked another random man in a nice suit where we could buy tickets. After telling us we were beautiful Americans, he gestured toward a side door and told us to just go in! A crowd of security guards stared at us, but let us in as if we were celebrities with VIP access. We practically walked onto the field we were so close, it was unreal. After freaking out for about five more minutes we finally took our seats (that we found) and cheered right along with the rich Spaniards who sat around us. Go Betis! 

 Best day ever. 

 Betis won!

To complete my week of Sevillian activities, our program took us to a bullfight last night. I am NOT a fan. I am not a person with a weak stomach or an Animal right's activist by any means, but I could not handle the show. I witnessed one bull (there are multiple within the two hour show) and after 20 minutes I had to leave. It was one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever seen and it literally made me nauseous watching them torture the bull. I still cannot understand how people enjoy watching something like that for entertainment, it was just so sad. The crowd was practically silent the entire time, except when the bull got stabbed and then they would cheer. It was eerie and just messed up. I'm glad I can say I saw a show, but I would never go to one again. Poor bulls! 

 Opening ceremonies of the show. The horses are later involved in the torturing of the bull, another part I could not stand. Poor horses had to be in the middle of the fight. Thank goodness they wore armor. 

Note the spears in the bulls back, they are individually stabbed by various bullfighters. One main bullfighter instigates the bull's anger and makes him fight to his death. Not a pleasant thing to watch. Also note the bull's tongue hanging out in agony.

Aside from the gruesome bullfight, this past week has been one of the best. I am so glad I did not choose to travel these two weeks in April because there is so much to see and do in Sevilla. The weather is beautiful (like always), people are everywhere, and Fería de Abril is right around the corner. I'm not discussing how little amount of time I have left here, instead I'm going to take advantage of every minute and enjoy my time as a Sevillian. You can sleep when you're dead right?

¡Olé!

ITALIA: Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It stands for “Five Lands” because there are five little towns within the city. The small neighborhoods are wedged in between massive cliffs and are tucked right up along the Mediterranean. The scenery of the beautiful blue water splashing on the rocks along with the cute colorful Italian buildings, was the best thing I’ve ever seen. 

 First European train experience

 Reading the Hunger Games...obviously couldn't stop

 Beauty

The best part of Cinque Terre was the tranquility. No crazy tourists and crowded metros, no city pollution, just peace and quiet. There was one bar in the entire town and it closed at midnight, which was great, we actually got some rest. 

Our hostel came with a kitchen and a full set of dishes, so we decided to cook our own dinner the first night. We went to one of the few markets along the main road and bought noodles, wine and fresh pesto. Pesto and seafood are the signature dishes in Cinque Terre, so what better to buy it freshly made from the market!

We enjoyed our authentic home-cooked meal overlooking the water at sunset and couldn’t believe what we were doing was actually happening. None of us talked, we just sat there and enjoyed the view, the food and the entire experience of the beautiful Cinque Terre.

Unfortunately, it was raining on our first full day there, the day we planned to hike. As Sevillians, we have barely seen clouds this entire semester, so we were a little bummed. But we didn’t let it stop us so we bought some oversized ponchos and hit the trails. 

My favorite meal. Pasta with fresh fish

People say that when you travel you experience something greater than yourself, greater than something you’ve ever witnessed. That moment came for me when we were watching the sunset and having dinner. It’s impossible to explain because I was so speechless, but it truly was an incredible moment. Everything was right in the world and every part of me was so happy. You don’t get moments like that in the hectic lifestyle of college, or in the real world. A moment of complete happiness that you can’t even pinpoint, a moment when you look around and feel like you’re in a dream, or a movie and you’re almost jealous of your own life. This moment made me so grateful to have had the opportunity to study abroad. It made me understand that traveling is my passion and I want to continue to see the world and other beautiful places like Cinque Terre.

ITALIA: Pisa/Florence

I have no words to explain how amazing my trip to Italy was. I have dreamt of going to Italy for as long as I can remember, and I can hardly believe I just spent nine days there. I have so many things to say and so many memorable stories from this trip, I had to divide my posts according to cities.  Pisa and Florence were the first stops on my Italian adventure.

The day we left there was a nationwide strike in Spain, so we got to the airport with seven hours to spare, anticipating long lines and a possibly delayed flight. To our surprise, our flight was on time and everything went perfectly smoothly (aside from sitting in the airport for so long) and it wasn’t until we were almost landing in Pisa that we had problems. The captain announced we had to land in Genova, two and a half hours from Pisa due to the weather. Long story short, we got to the airport in Sevilla at roughly 2 p.m. Thursday, and my head didn’t touch my pillow in our hostel in Pisa until 5:30 Friday morning. We could have flown to the States and back in the amount of time it took us to get to Pisa, not the best start to the trip.

After getting some rest we went to see the Leaning Tower Friday afternoon and enjoyed our first Italian pizza near the tower for lunch. 

 We hopped on a bus and headed to Florence Friday afternoon and I will say that Florence is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I could not have loved it more. Meri’s friend is studying there so she let us stay with her at her apartment tucked away in the older area of the city. We had our first gelato experience Friday night and went to bed early since we were still so exhausted from the night before.

 First gelato experience. Cookies and Café

 Florence at night

Saturday we did all things touristy and saw the famous David, climbed the Duomo and had a great picnic lunch overlooking the Ponte Vecchio, the famous bridge in Florence lined with jewelry shops. 

 View of Florence from The Duomo

 Ponte Vecchio

 Picnic lunch

The best pizza I had all week...Gustapizza!

I loved every second of it. I think my favorite part of Florence was sitting on the steps atop the Piazza de Michelangelo watching the sunset over the city. A local woman was playing guitar and singing Italian songs for the crowd and everyone was so happy. To say I was speechless during this time would be an understatement.

Atop Piazza de Michelangelo

We met up with our friends from Sevilla (by accident) on Sunday night and had fun enjoying the crazy Florence nightlife. Monday morning we hit the train station and headed to Cinque Terre, my second favorite place in Italy. (See next post)