Barcelona

Thursday

                I got up bright and early Thursday morning for the trip to Barcelona. Paige’s Spanish parents were going to Madrid by train so they offered to take us with them to the station in a taxi; which was nice rather than leaving earlier to walk. The train ride was supposed to last eleven hours so it was a rather long and boring day. However, at around 6:30 or so, the train stopped and we were informed that there would be a delay. I’m not quite sure exactly but I believe a train in front of ours had experienced problems and they were blocking our path. After waiting around awhile, busses arrived to take us the rest of the way since the train wasn’t going to be leaving anytime soon. It was chaotic getting onto a bus, because there were four and only three were going to Barcelona and the other to another city nearby, so everyone was rushing to get onto the right bus and I was a little concerned we weren’t going to get a seat. Fortunately it all worked out okay and we were finally on our way to Barcelona. We got to the train station around ten and from there took the metro to a stop near the hotel. Finally at the hotel close to eleven, we weren’t in the mood to go back out to get food so I was glad I’d come prepared with an extra sandwich. Then the night ended with watching part of an Audrey Hepburn movie (in Spanish of course) that I’d never seen before.

Friday

                We decided to take the bus tour Friday since it was a hop on/hop off type of deal for twenty-four euros at a large number of stops throughout the city. It also provided an audio guide while on the bus. We walked to the information office and found out that for only seven euros more we could get a two day bus pass, so since there was a lot to see, that seemed to be the way to go. We walked to Plaza Cataluña and started with the green line bus since that was the one going to Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia.

                We rode the bus around for a while until we decided to get off at the Sagrada Familia stop. We didn’t time it the greatest though and had to wait a decent amount of time in line to get in. Finally we were able to buy our tickets, which cost eleven euros, and then entered the amazing basilica. First of all, it was huge! The crazy thing is that they still have a long way to go with constructing the towers, and the towers that seem enormous now are the smallest ones overall. We entered through the Passion Façade which was designed by the architect who took over after the death of Gaudi so it has a more modern look to it, however it was based on Gaudi’s original plans. An interesting fact I discovered from the audio commentary is that Gaudi was hit by a tram on the street that our hotel was on and then died three days later. Gaudi was strongly influenced by nature and so with the church he wanted to give the appearance of a forest making the pillars seem like trees and the ceiling to bear resemblance to a leafy covering. He used a curved technique which gives the basilica overall a very unique appearance. It was so completely unlike any church I’ve ever seen outside and inside and quite amazing to behold. After taking a ton of pictures inside we went out the other side to see the Nativity Façade that was completely Gaudi’s work, and the detail of everything was overwhelming. Then we went through the museum and there was a window to see into a room where there were workers constructing and restoring models for the continuing construction of the basilica. The visit to the Sagrada Familia was probably the best part of the trip because it was just absolutely amazing to see.

                                                The Sagrada Familia

                We grabbed a quick lunch and then took the bus up to Park Guell another work of Gaudi’s. The park was huge and had some very unusual-looking buildings that resembled gingerbread houses, but that was no surprise since anything by Gaudi is bound to be unusual. As we walked around the park, we saw a program taking place that consisted of a bunch of little kids dressed in costumes performing dances. I think it had something to do with a carnival, because this weekend seemed to be carnival weekend across Spain and on both Friday and Saturday we saw people dressed in costumes all over the place. The views of the city from the park were great since it was at a higher location. Then we took the bus to see Casa Milá and Casa Batlló that were both works of Gaudi’s constructed for wealthy clients who wanted to live in something that would outshine all the other buildings. The Casa Batlló is part of the Block of Discord which receives its name from the competition between the three distinct buildings designed by three different architects. We just looked at the houses from outside though because the entrance fees were over ten euros and didn’t seem worth it.

                                                Park Guell

                                                Casa Milá

                                                            Casa Batlló

                Our last stop of the day was to Barceloneta which is a beach of the Mediterranean. It was a really pretty beach to take pictures, but we didn’t stay too long because as it was getting dark it started to get really cold. Then we rode the bus route back to Plaza Cataluña and walked to our hotel. We ventured back out for food and found a place that had pizza right next to the hotel. Then we went to a little twenty-four hour mini mart that had yummy chocolate filled pastries for an inexpensive price and took our treats back to the hotel. We watched some more Spanish TV Friday night and there was a quite entertaining game show for professionals on that involved a team of two people from a group of firemen, nurses, and finally cooks that each had a turn competing to see how much of one million euros they could earn by choosing the right answers to eight questions. They would put the money on the answer(s) they thought were right and any money put on a wrong answer was lost, until they got to keep whatever was left by question number eight. It was a different type of show, but I liked it.

                                                Barceloneta

Saturday

                We got an even earlier start than Friday on Saturday morning and arrived at Barcelona’s Cathedral a little after ten. It was very old and large with a rather interesting set-up inside. There was a chapel underneath the main alter area and the stairs leading down to it were in front of the alter so the pews at the main level of the church were all in back of or surrounding the stairs right in the middle of the church. It’s kind of confusing to explain which is why I’ll include a picture that shows it somewhat. Like all the other cathedrals I’ve visited there were a large quantity of little side chapels dedicated to a saint, Jesus, or Mary. There were also two sepulchers high up on one wall that were from the ninth century of a count and countess who had founded the cathedral. 

                                                           Cathedral

                Our next stop was to see the Columbus Monument which marks the spot where Columbus debarked after his voyage to the new world. After taking some pictures there we walked along an inlet filled with boats including one that was a reproduction of a boat from back around Columbus’ time I believe, but I’m not positive about that. I think it was called Victoria, and had been used for some important voyage.

                From there we took the bus up to Montjuic which is just outside the city and provides some great views as well as is the location of some museums of modern art and the Olympic Stadium. We decided to skip the museums because neither of us cared very much for modern art, but we did stop at the stadium. The stadium was host to the 1992 Summer Olympics and aside from the stadium itself there were some pretty fountains and nice views.

Olympic Stadium and surrounding area

                After seeing some more sights while remaining on the bus we eventually arrived back in Plaza Cataluña. Then we walked down the Ramblas which is a large street full of shops, stands, live statues, and crowds of people. We stopped for a late lunch at a sandwich shop that had a lovely deal for a bacon and cheese baguette, fries, and a drink all for 3.50€. Then we continued walking around for a while looking at products for sale such as the usual touristy stuff and food, and my personal favorite, bunnies, birds and turtles. The bunnies were absolutely adorable and if I would have been able to take one on the plane with me I would have totally bought one. They were so adorable!! Some of the turtles for sale were as cheap as 10€ which seems like a good deal for a turtle to me.

                                                Aren't they cute?

                We took the bus back to the Cathedral for Mass at six and I really enjoyed the fact that a lot of the response parts were sung, because it made it slower and thus easier to follow along. I wish all the Masses had music, but the majority that I’ve been to in Spain haven’t included any music. After Mass we walked around looking for a place to eat supper and decided that we wanted to return to the mart for pastries again since they have become one of our favorite things to eat on our trips. So we wound up eating a quick and cheap supper at KFC and then returning to the mart for dessert. Back at the hotel we watched the funeral of Whitney Houston, since it was being shown on the UK channel in English, and after being depressed by that we watched a Disney movie that I don’t remember the name of because I’d never heard of it before, but that was in Spanish.

Sunday

                We were able to sleep in a little since we didn’t have anything on our agenda except for getting to the airport for our 1:45 flight. We left the hotel around eleven and walked to Plaza Cataluña to catch a bus going to the airport. The plane to Sevilla was larger than I’d expected and there were six seats in each row.  I was surprised that despite the aircraft’s size the downward descent and landing were the really jerky and anything but smooth. However, we landed safe and sound and then caught a bus into Sevilla. The trip to Barcelona was overall a good experience and I’m glad I had the opportunity to see the second-largest city in Spain. 

Week 5

Monday

                Well I didn’t do anything cultural or super exciting on Monday; however I was able to have some Skype conversations although I didn’t always have the greatest connection with the internet. My third class of the day actually officially changed to Business class, which was kind of a disappointment because the professor, Alberto, is a lot more intense about memorizing terms and taking tests and such. It isn’t terrible or anything, but it will be a lot of learning business terms in Spanish which is fine, except that I feel like a lot of the vocab will never be used by us and so will be quickly forgotten. On the positive side it is only three or maybe four weeks long. I’m not exactly sure when my internship starts but I should be done with classes once I begin, so sometime at the beginning of March I’ll be done.

Tuesday

                I saved the lives of two animals today. I feel like that is quite an accomplishment. The first incident was in the morning when I came out of my room and found a bird inside the living room/dining room throwing itself against the balcony door. Concepción usually leaves the door cracked a little bit at night, I’m not sure why, and somehow the bird had flown in and could not figure out how to get back out. So I opened the door wider and in a matter of seconds the bird was enjoying its freedom in the wide open spaces. The second animal-saving incident was at Paige’s house as I was about to leave in the evening. I had opened the door to head out and Paige’s Spanish family’s cat, Lola, snuck past me and went running out into the street. Thankfully I managed to catch her before she was able to get too far away. Did she appreciate me saving her?  No, on the contrary, she hissed like no other cat I’ve ever heard and tried to claw me viciously. It was a major struggle getting her into the house, but thanks to my experience taking cats to the vet, I was able to succeed. I think I’ve saved my share of animals for a while now.

                Aside from the animal occurrences, finding travel to Barcelona was the other main happening of the day. It was super difficult to find affordable options to Barcelona for this weekend, but it is definitely a city that Paige and I have to visit since it has Gaudi’s famous Sagrada Familia Cathedral. After a lot of futile searches we ended up purchasing train tickets to Barcelona that cost only 66€ but take eleven hours to get there and for the way back plane tickets that cost around 80€. Transportation is certainly a killer when it comes to planning affordable trips. Also, because we are taking an eleven hour train ride to Barcelona, we have to skip Thursday classes as well as Friday, just to get to Barcelona by Thursday evening rather than Friday evening. Just a pain all around, but since we haven’t skipped a full day of classes yet, I think our professors should be okay with it. 

Wednesday

             I met with Audrey (who is in charge of setting me up with an internship) today and she told me that I will be working with a tourist agency called Discover Sevilla. My job will basically be to put information into their database, which seems like it has the potential to be a little boring, but I will be working with other interns and should get some good experience with my Spanish. The best part about my internship is that it is from 1:45 to 4:30 Monday through Friday so I will be able to sleep in everyday  and still be done fairly early. Sounds fantastic to me! Another great thing about it is that it is right next to Plaza Nueva and CLIC is also right next to the plaza so I don't have very far to go to get to work. Overall, I'm pretty excited about it, and on Monday I'm going to meet with Audrey in order to set a day to go and visit the company. 

           I had to do this blog entry early because I'm leaving for Barcelona tomorrow morning and won't be able to access the internet until Monday. So be prepared for a lengthy blog post on Monday!

Madrid

Friday

                Friday was test day in my first class; however I think it went better than my first one two weeks ago. Our train to Madrid was scheduled for 2:45pm so we had to skip our last class of the day but our professor was okay with it. Once back at the apartment, I did some last minute packing before heading out to meet up with Paige. Things seemed to be going according to schedule until Concepción  lost her keys so after some fruitless searching I gave her mine since I didn’t have time to wait in order to catch the train. After meeting up with Paige we set out to find the train station. We ended up cutting it close getting to the station only about fifteen minutes before departure time. I was just glad we made it there at all considering the station isn’t on my maps because of how far out it is and we had never walked in that direction before so it was a little bit of guesswork, but it all turned out fine.

                The train ride to Madrid was relaxing and the movie shown was Captain America, so the two and a half hour trip passed quickly. Once in Madrid we met up with Paige’s friend Julie who is studying in Madrid for the semester. She helped us find our hotel, which was really awesome and this time all the lights worked. Then we walked outside for a little bit looking for a good (and cheap) place to find supper. We settled on a pizza place and got a medium pizza with ham that was really good and not a bad price for size. Once back at the hotel, we ended the night by watching Disney channel in Spanish. Good times.

Saturday

                Saturday morning the first thing on our agenda was to go to the famous Prado Museum. I love being a student because it enables us to get in free to the majority of museums or at least get discounts. The Prado was no exception and we were admitted for free. What we thought would only take two to three hours at most was more like five hours. There were rooms and rooms and even more rooms filled with paintings and sculptures. It was impressive but also a little exhausting. Some of the more famous painters that have works there were Goya, Raphael, Titian, El Greco, Rembrandt and Velázquez.

Prado Museum

                By the time we left the Prado, it was almost four in the afternoon, so we decided we should probably eat something since we hadn’t even had breakfast. The first place we came to was Burger King, I know it’s not a very good way to get immersed in the culture, but it was affordable and we were starving and that’s what counts. Then we went on to the Reina Sofía Art Museum which was more of a modern art museum. It was neat and had a lot of Dali and Picasso surrealist art as well as the famous Guernica painting by Picasso. I didn’t realize how huge Guernica was until we entered the room and it basically takes up the whole wall. So that was pretty cool, however I think of the two museums I preferred the Prado which was more along the lines of realism and romanticism.

Reina Sofia Museum (with cool glass elevators)

                Then we wandered up to Puerta del Sol which is a big plaza area that is super busy and full of musicians and people in costume. It is also full of pickpockets as I’ve been told by several people and in my travel guide books, however I made sure I kept a good grip on my purse at all times. In the plaza was also a stature of a bear and a tree that is supposedly pretty significant since in most of the shops there are statues and magnets of the bear. After wandering around for a while and browsing around in the surrounding shops, we ate supper at a pizza place that charged a euro per slice and was very good. Then we wandered around some more and by around nine started to head back towards the hotel. We didn’t get far before we spotted a shop that had yummy looking pastries in the window so we of course stopped and bought pastries that had a chocolate and cream center and were delicious. Then we found a shop right next door that sold sweatshirts so Paige got an “I love Madrid” sweatshirt and as we were about to leave Julie called. She wanted to come out and join us at Puerta del Sol so we went back to the plaza to wait for her to arrive. Since it was really cold out, as usual, we went into el Cortes Inglés to warm up since it was right next to the plaza. About forty-five minutes to an hour later, Julie arrived and then we wandered around some more and ended up going to the Plaza Mayor which was basically kind of like a large courtyard. From there we walked to the Cathedral of Madrid and then to the Opera house. Finally at some time after 10:30 we headed back towards the hotel and didn’t reach it until 11:30 because we were on the other side of the city and it was quite a walk.

Sunday

                We took the metro to the Cathedral for Mass at 10:30am and since we arrived early I walked around and took some pictures before Mass started. After Mass, which was the longest one I’d been to yet and lasted for about forty-five minutes, we walked around some more taking pictures. It had some really beautiful statues; however the stained glass and main alter area of the Cathedral made it appear more modern than the other cathedrals I’ve seen so far in Spain.

                Our next stop was right next door at the Royal Palace. Once we paid and passed through the security system area and gift shop we ended up in the courtyard area that provided a good view of the Palace and the Cathedral. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the palace which was a bummer because there were definitely some picture-worthy sights. It reminded me a little of my tour of the White House because there was a fancy dining hall and rooms with specific color or decoration schemes like one that was called the yellow room. However, this was much older than the White House and was very impressive and ornate. My favorite room was the Throne Room which thanks to eavesdropping on a tour guide I found out that with each new king and queen a new throne is built and it has their portrait on it. After seeing a bunch of rooms mainly from Carlos III’s reign including his study and bedroom where he died, we saw some rooms filled with medals and decorative glassware. At the end of the palace visit we saw the Royal Chapel which had a special throne for the king and queen. Then we visited the Royal Armory which was filled with knight armor from the 16^th, 17^th and 18^th centuries including statues of horses and knights wearing the armor. There were also a ton of swords and pistols from those centuries as well as some other weapons including knives and small-looking cannons. Overall it was quite fascinating to see so much armor each with a unique design from so long ago. I really wish photos were allowed because I wanted so badly to take a picture. We ended our visit with the Royal Pharmacy, which were basically a few rooms filled with jars and glasses of herbs and such and an office place.

                From the palace we walked to Madrid’s genuine Egyptian monument which was given to them from Egypt for some political reason or other but I can’t remember now. It was pretty cool to see and it was located at a nice viewing spot of the city so it was worth visiting. We didn’t make it in time to go inside though, which was a disappointment since they practically closed it in our faces but it looked cool from the outside anyway. Then we walked to the Plaza de España which wasn’t nearly as cool as Sevilla’s Plaza de España but it did have large statues of Don Quixote and his sidekick Sancho. We took the metro back to the area near our hotel and from there went to see Retiro Park. Retiro Park is basically a large nature walk area in the city and has some nice trees and little bridges and such. It would have been a nicer place to visit in warmer weather but it was still pretty to see.

                Before heading back to the hotel to get our bags, we had lunch at McDonalds. Again not the Spanish place to eat, but we found a one euro menu and Spain McDonalds has onion rings on their one euro menu, unlike in the US. Also it was the fastest service I’ve ever received, because they had these kiosks that you could opt to place your order yourself at and as soon as I printed my receipt and went to the counter my food was already there. I was impressed.

                Then it was time to bid adios to Madrid and take the train back to Sevilla. Once we sat down in our seats on the train, we were surprised to discover that the travelers in the two seats next to us were fellow CLIC students. I knew there were going to be other students from CLIC in Madrid over the weekend, however what are the odds of ending up on the same train (there are at least several a day in between the cities) and in the same row on the same car.

                Once back in Sevilla, it took us about a half hour to walk back to familiar territory and then when I got back to the apartment I had to ring the bell and hope Concepción was in since I’d left my keys with her.  Fortunately she was there and let me in and I was glad to hear she had found her keys finally so that I could have mine back. All in all it has been a busy but enjoyable weekend. I don’t think I liked it better than Granada, because the views in Granada were absolutely gorgeous, but it was definitely worth visiting Madrid. 

Week 4

Monday

                It was Concepción’s sixtieth birthday Monday so for breakfast I had a large piece of cake with my toast. Not a bad breakfast by my standards. Then it was off to begin another week of school. My second class of the day was a little unusual and we dealt with the theme of terror. We spent a lot of the class period discussing and creating endings to this little clip that was from some sort of exorcism horror film, at least that’s what we all believed it was from. Then at the very end of the class our professor played the very end for us and it was nothing like any of our created endings but instead on the comical side. I believe if anyone wants to watch it the title may be dirt devil commercial or something to that effect.

After classes, I spent a couple of hours using the internet in order to post my blog and put up photos from Granada and also to look into transportation options for possible weekend trips and to leave. Transportation is a college student’s worst enemy. While the food and lodging in the majority of places is quite affordable, it’s the act of getting there and back that really drains the monetary funds. It is taking forever to figure out what exactly we want to do with all our weekends and then after our program finishes. I haven’t bought my flight home yet because I’m still not sure how much time I can afford to spend in Europe afterwards. On the positive side, I found tickets to fly out of Dublin straight to Chicago and then on to Omaha, that were I believe four hundred and something, which is about two hundred cheaper than the flights here. I didn’t purchase them yet though because I don’t know my departure dates for certain, so hopefully within the next week, Paige and I can get everything planned out.

                Later Monday night I gave Concepción a chocolate bar as a gift for her birthday. It was a nice fancy and fairly large chocolate bar; however it was super dark chocolate because that seems to be the most popular type around, so I was a little worried that she might not like dark chocolate. She was super excited that I gave her a gift and then after supper she had some of it and shared some with me. Overall, she seemed touched by my little present and she even saved the sticky note that I had written Feliz Cumpleaños on.

                These are some pictures that I've been meaning to put up of the street that I live on. They are taken from my balcony!

Tuesday

                After breakfast Tuesday, which aside from the usual fare consisted of four cookies with chocolate fudge centers that were super good but also really filling, Concepción gave me another piece of her chocolate bar. I have a feeling that every time she eats it, I’ll also be getting some of it. These Spaniards are really good at sharing.

                After classes Tuesday, Paige and I went around to look at Mass times of various churches, because we want to try to get to Mass on a more daily basis. With so many churches in the city, we can basically choose a different church each time if we wanted. Plus all the churches here are super gorgeous and since most of them are only open during Mass, it is the best way to get to see a lot of them. After that adventure was successfully accomplished we decided it was time to have some American food. I think we have lasted a decent amount of time without succumbing to our desire to eat at an American fast-food place. We decided on Burger King and although it was a bit pricier than in the states, the onion rings were delicious. It was a pretty cool Burger King and it had a second level that could be accessed by stairs or by elevator. It was the first time I had ever seen an elevator in a fast-food place.

                After eating, we decided to find the movie theater that played movies in their original language and we knew of one that Paige had gone to on her first night with her fellow housemates, however Paige didn’t really remember where it was to be exact so we decided to find it so that we could see the schedule of times for various movies. We found it without any difficulties and prices aren’t too bad; I believe it costs 5.70€ for students normally and on Wednesdays it costs 4.90€.

                Then we went on a long walk across the bridge (over the Guadalquivir River) to visit a Pavilion called Pavilion of the Future. That was a joke and aside from an old rocket looking structure the Pavilion was basically grown over with weeds and deserted. I’d say it was more like a pavilion of the past. At least the weather was relatively warm so the walk was enjoyable anyway.   

Wednesday

                Well Wednesday I got a change at breakfast. Instead of the usual toast or cornflakes, it was a super sweet cereal consisting of chocolate squares filled with a rich chocolate center. Kind of like mini wheat’s but a very chocolaty version of it. They were good, but that combined with a huge mug of hot chocolate and six cookies with chocolate fudge centers seemed to be a bit overdoing it on the chocolate. I knew when I saw the full bowl of cereal plus the additional goodies that eating everything was going to be impossible. I told Concepción that I liked everything but that it was too much, so hopefully next time there will be less.

                After classes, Paige and I went to the same place we went last Wednesday which has a one euro menu on Wednesdays and is super amazing. This time I got a chocolate batido which is supposed to be a milkshake but it was more like chocolate milk. However it had been refrigerated and was served to me cold so I was grateful for that much at least. Then Paige and I went to see Moneyball at the movie theater we visited Tuesday that plays movies in their original language. It was overall relatively enjoyable, however I don’t watch baseball ever so I wasn’t a huge fan of it. 

Thursday

              Well so far nothing much has happened today, and instead of posting my blog Friday, I'm posting it a day early. The reason for this is that Paige and I are skipping our last class tomorrow and taking a train to Madrid for the weekend so I won't have another chance to post my blog until Monday. So I will probably have a fairly long blog full of pictures for Monday if the internet works as planned. Hasta luego. Y tenéis un buen fin de semana!   

Granada!!

Saturday

                The three hour trip to Granada passed pleasantly inside the nice, warm bus. However, that was about the only thing warm that whole day. It would have been a lot more enjoyable if it had been about twenty to thirty degrees warmer. The temperature had a high of I think twenty-nine degrees when converted to Fahrenheit, so it was COLD. Not that I can’t handle cold weather or anything, but when I came to Spain I was counting on only a little period of cold weather and then warm weather, thus I didn’t really pack for cold weather. In Granada, right next to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, it was much colder than Sevilla, and it was unpleasant having to be outside for hours on end. But enough about the weather.

                After we reached our hotel and unloaded our stuff for the night, we headed out to a plaza in order to split up for shopping and lunch. On our own, Paige and I wandered up and down some streets until we settled on this one little bar that had been recommended by our tour guides. In Granada all drinks come with a free tapa, (which is kind of like an appetizer, although some are heartier than others), and so Paige and I both got a Coca-Cola and received a tapa that consisted of bread, tomato, lettuce and some sort of meat. It wasn’t bad and it was free! I wish Sevilla had the same policy, but sadly it doesn’t. We then looked at some of the shops, which all seemed to have identical products that were definitely aimed at tourists. 

              This is one of the streets full of shops...and there were many more.

Back with the group from CLIC, we went to the Capilla Real, which is part of the Granada Cathedral, and is the Royal Chapel where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel are buried. Sadly, we were not allowed to take pictures there. It was really impressive and aside from seeing the monuments erected depicting the monarchs in death, there was a little passageway down to see the actual coffins of King Ferdinand, Queen Isabel and their son and his wife as well as their grandson who died when he was six or seven I believe.

 This was the best I could do with a picture of the poster on the window, since we weren't allowed to take photos inside.

The last thing we did as a group that night was trek up to a great viewing spot of the Alhambra, which was a little bit of a walk in the cold, but the view was worth it. However, due to the cold, Paige and I snapped some photos and left ahead of the group to find our own way back to the hotel. We were overall successful in that venture and made it back to the hotel without any problems. 

After warming up briefly, we went back out again in search of a church for Mass since we weren’t going to return until Sunday evening to Sevilla. We found a church called St. Dominic’s that was really huge and had some impressive and unique statues. We were about a half hour early so there was plenty of time to look around at all the statues. Some of the really notable ones included a set of Last Supper statues and the death of Mary with all the apostles surrounding her.

After Mass we went off in search of food because the one tapa from earlier that afternoon had not been overly filling. We couldn’t resist this one place that had all sorts of sweet treats so we both got yummy desserts and after finishing them decided that they hadn’t succeeded in filling us up. Then we found this little store that sold pizza baguettes, so we got those, which were quite satisfying, and returned to the hotel. I know the meal was a reversed a little, but it all worked out okay.

Back at the hotel, Paige and I had excitedly planned on both taking thirty minute hot showers since we wouldn’t have to be concerned with conserving the hot water. That dream dissipated when we discovered that the all the lights in our room including the bathroom, were dead, except for one lamp. We decided we could turn on the TV for light in the room, while we each showered with the lamp in the bathroom. That plan was shattered when we discovered that all of the outlets in both rooms were also not functioning, except for the one that the lamp was plugged into. So we gave up on the showering idea until there would be daylight, and settled on going to bed and watching Disney Channel in Spanish.

Sunday

Since I’d gone to bed at a relatively early hour on Saturday, it felt like I’d slept in to wake up at 8:30. Then after finally getting a fairly long shower, Paige and I went down to breakfast which was provided by the hotel. It was actually a good breakfast and I had among other things bacon and some amazing rolls, one of which had chocolate inside it. Super yummy. And as an added bonus I got to use pepper for the first time in three weeks!!!! I have missed pepper so much; food just isn’t the same without it. Anyhow, after breakfast we cleared out of the hotel to head off to the Alhambra, which is the top-visited sight in Spain.

Fortunately, the weather was a bit warmer than Saturday, so being outside for a long time wasn’t as painful. The Alhambra was AMAZING!!! I snapped pictures of anything and everything and it was incredible. We saw the gardens and this cool arena-type place that I think Javier (the guide) explained, but I was so distracted by photo-taking that I missed the majority of his explanation. That and it was in Spanish, which is always a bit of a challenge. Then we visited the palace area, which was impressive, however the views of the city and mountains were the best part. We climbed a tower to get an absolutely breath-taking view of Granada and the Sierra Nevada Mountains that was incredible!!!  Despite the cold, I could have spent hours up there just soaking it all in.

Back in the city itself, we were given a couple hours of free time to get lunch and do some more shopping before heading back to Sevilla. After going to a couple of places to enjoy the drink+tapa deal, we went browsing through the shops some more and ended with a visit to a place that had gelato and Italian in its name. If it had been a warmer day, I would have had some gelato, however it wasn’t warmer, so I settled for a cup of hot chocolate while Paige was daring and got the ice cream. Then it was back to the bus and Sevilla bound.

Once back at the apartment, I found a note from Concepción telling me she’d left food out for me in the kitchen as well as some birthday cake. She had hosted a party in the afternoon with all of her family to celebrate her sixtieth birthday which is Monday. The leftovers from the party that I had been provided with, including the cake, were delicious. I was really glad though, that she hadn’t offered me any of the shrimp that I had noticed sitting on a plate in the fridge. They still had their eyeballs and legs and the thought of putting any of that in my mouth was positively nauseating.

When Concepción returned later she showed me some of her presents which were all articles of clothing, which she was going to exchange because the dress and blouse were too big and the pants were too short. She also informed me that she’d forgotten to tell me to help myself to the shrimp and I quickly told her that it was fine because it wasn’t one of my favorite foods and I was thankful that the matter was settled. I was dismayed upon returning to my room to find that while I had been out Cala had snuck in and eaten my sandwich that had been all ready to go for Monday. I hope she doesn’t get sick because it had Nutella in it, but then again it was her fault because she shouldn’t have been in my room in the first place.

Well all in all it was a good weekend and although I would have preferred warmer weather for visiting Granada, I definitely was glad I went. One thing’s for sure, it was an unforgettable weekend. 

Week 3

Monday

                Class size increased Monday in my first two classes. We went from having a class of six people to ten which seems really large after the past few weeks of relatively few people. I don’t mind though because the four new people are all pretty talkative and therefore I will be required to talk less, however that is probably not a good thing since I need the practice. I guess the last class of the day makes up for it though because I have to talk a ton then due to only two other students with me.

                I didn’t really do anything exciting after class, however I did sign up for the trip to Granada next weekend and it is both Saturday and Sunday so I’ll get to see a lot. I have a feeling I will be taking a huge amount of pictures, but that’s not a bad thing. I also wandered around a little bit looking at shops to see if there were any potential souvenir possibilities, but didn’t end up buying any. I think the cost of the trip to Granada made the thought of spending any more money unpleasant. Supper Monday was one of the best meals so far. It was macaroni, according to Concepción, which consisted of tri-colored noodles with a tomato sauce and some cheese sprinkled on top. It was delicious. We also had these fried fish bite things as well as green olives, but I could only bring myself to eat one olive and the fish actually wasn’t bad and I was able to eat a few. 

Tuesday

                It was another great day because it started off with a nice big mug of delicious hot chocolate at breakfast. It also was Paige’s birthday, so hence after classes we went out and celebrated by getting ice cream and eating chocolate muffins which was my attempt at a substitute for birthday cake. Then we wandered around for a while with no particular destination in mind and browsed through a bunch of shops. In one of the shops, they were playing a song which I believe was by Lady Gaga, but the best part about it was that she mentions Nebraska several times in it. So here I was in this little shop in Spain and I’m hearing a song about Nebraska. It was kind of humorous. Anyway, after browsing around for a bit, I bought some postcards because it was the best deal I’d seen yet, with five for one euro. Eventually we ended up at good old el Cortes Inglés and since our bread supplies were running low, we bought some bread and also water. Definitely essential food elements.

When I got back to the apartment, Cala decided to be difficult and snuck past me into the dining room/TV room which leads to my room. Then ensued a chase around the table and I wasn’t able to get her out until I put some dog food in her bowl. I was just relieved that I’d gotten her in her rightful place before Concepción returned from wherever she’d been. For supper we had a creamy soup that had a good flavor but I couldn’t tell what it consisted of and also French fries, eggs and sausage. After supper I stayed up later than I should have watching Tu si que vales which is the program I believe I described at an earlier time as a sort of talent competition show. It was enjoyable to watch but I was exhausted by the time I went to bed.

Wednesday

Well I struggled getting up and motivating myself to actually go to class because I was super tired Wednesday morning. I fought the desire to sleep in though and managed to make it to class in time. After the two morning classes however, Paige and I decided to skip our last class of the day because on Tuesday our professor, Elena, had told us that she wouldn’t be there and so we were supposed to join up with another professor’s class for the day. Since we really weren’t missing anything of importance, it seemed like a good day to skip and we had been such good students so far and were the only students in all of our classes who had yet to skip a class, it was about time. Plus the sun was shining outside and it seemed like a better option to immerse ourselves in Sevilla than to sit in another class for an hour and forty minutes. So we wandered around looking at shops and visiting a couple plazas. We also saw the Golden Tower, which we would have gone inside, but a sign on the door said that Monday’s were free for entrance so we’ll have to go sometime on a Monday. At four we met up with a group from the school to visit the Real Alcázar, which is the palace of the kings in Sevilla. It had a lot of amazing architecture and the gardens were really pretty, however, when the group split up and we were allowed to wander around in the gardens on our own, there wasn’t much time before it closed and so I didn’t have enough time to take as many pictures as I would have liked. Fortunately the entrance fee was only two euros so it won’t cost too much to return again another day.

After leaving the palace, Paige and I went to our new favorite café that has a large one euro menu. We had planned on going on a Wednesday because on Wednesday everything on the menu is one euro so there were even more options at a cheap price. I ended up trying a barbecue sandwich as well as getting my favorite amazing chocolate sandwich and it was very satisfying for only two euros. I have a feeling I’ll be going there every Wednesday from now on.

Thursday

                Thursday after classes, I attempted to get on the internet but I don’t know if there was some sort of service problem at the school or what, but my computer wouldn’t connect and neither would any of the schools’. I hope that it isn’t a frequent occurrence because it is my only means of communication with the world. Quite sad. Anyhow I even went to this bookstore that advertised free Wi-Fi and they gave me a password, but once I put it in, I still couldn’t connect. Just a bad day to use the internet I guess.

                After the disappointing internet incident, Paige and I went to her house for lack of incentive to go anywhere else. We then deliberated over our options of things to do in Sevilla that didn’t cost money and that lead to us watching two episodes of The Next Great Baker. It was kind of nice to watch a show that was in English for a change after about three weeks of Spanish TV. Later, back at my house, Concepcion and I ate a supper of soup that was kind of like Ramen as well as chicken and French fries and we watched a strange sort of reality show called the Gran Hermano that was difficult to follow.

Coming soon… This weekend I’m going to Granada which is called “la ciudad mágica’’ or magical city and has the famous Alhambra. I’m super excited, however it is going to be really cold there and so I’m not so excited about that, but I think it will be worth it.