sevilla!

This weekend three friends and I went to Sevilla (Seville) for a night, and it was so much fun. I studied abroad in Sevilla in 2007 and had forgotten how much I loved the city. It's very different from Malaga, it has a slightly more "Spanish" feel because there are fewer tourists, and it's the capital of Andalucia so there are a lot of cultural and historical attractions. The big things to see are the Cathedral, which is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, the Giralda, the bell tower next to the Cathedral, the Plaza de España, and the Plaza de Toros among others. Determined to be the best tourists possible, after dropping our bags at the hostel we set off to explore. First stop, the Cathedral.

The Catedral de Sevilla is the third largest church in the world, and it's hard to convey just how big that is without standing inside the structure. Originally the site was home to a mosque constructed in the 1100s, but the cathedral was begun in 1401 and finished roughly 100 years later. The cathedral is absolutely stunning. The Gothic arches are massive, it's highest point is 138 feet, and there are intricate stained glass windows, wood carvings and small chapels all over the building.

Catedral de Sevilla

Catedral

The largest Gothic cathedral in the world

Altar de Plata

Catedral

Determined tourists

Catedral and part of the Giralda

Next to the Cathedral is the Giralda, or bell tower. The Giralda is 343 feet tall, and this weekend was the fourth time I've climbed it. As someone who doesn't like heights, I think that's a pretty good accomplishment considering I'm fairly certain grows each time. The upside is that on a clear day like we got, you can see for miles and the view is pretty spectacular, as long as you don't look down. I made that mistake the first time I climbed it - terrifying.

Bull ring from the Giralda

Sevilla

The views are worth the height

On the way up!

After our cultural excursion we headed down to the Guadalquivir River for some Sevillan food. Amidst our croquetas (mandatory), adobo, chicken and beer, all four of us decided that our weekend trip was a fantastic decision. Then we took a pedalboat out on the river to see the city and play chicken against some Spanish teens. I think we won! We couldn't have asked for a better day to relax on the water and pedal around a Spanish river. My life is not real.

View from our pedalboat

Just a casual Saturday lunch

Our driver for all of 10 minutes...

Rio Guadalquivir

The Plaza de España was built in 1929 for the Ibero-American Exposition World's Fair. Located inside the Parque Maria Luisa, the main building is a semi-circle designed to show Spain's cultural and technological exploits. There are many alcoves representing various Spanish provinces that have been decorated with intricate ceramic designs, as Sevilla is known for its ceramic work. The Plaza is one of my favorite locations in Sevilla, even though I didn't visit this time. I had a very good reason though, I was having lunch at my host parents' (better known as Meli & Nessy) house!

On Saturday after lunch we decided to poke around in the famous Triana ceramic stores. Unfortunately, they don't reopen after siesta but we continued wandering to my host family's house. I hadn't talked to them since we left in December 2007, not for lack of wanting but they're not so good with technology, so I had no idea if they still lived there or whatnot. Anyhow, I buzzed their apartment with no answer but then I heard the front door of the building unlock. I decided I would just run upstairs and knock on their door. Maybe they were siesta-ing or something, but I had to try. However, the people who unlocked the door were in fact, Meli and Nessy! After recovering from their shock at seeing me and exchanging hugs, kisses and a few shouts of Hija!!! (My daughter!!) they invited me back for lunch on Sunday. Not only do I love them, but Ernesto (Nessy) is a chef, so how could I say no? I still can't get over how perfect our timing was, I'm sure people are sick of my talking about it but after that experience, fate (or something like it) is real.

Me, Meli and Nessy

On Saturday night we went to an amazing flamenco show organized by our hostel before going out for all of one hour and then calling it a night. After a long day of climbing, walking, pedaling and sightseeing, we were beat. Sunday was a more relaxed day with my friends heading off to the Plaza de España and me venturing back to Triana to catch up with my Spanish family. A lot has happened in the past few years including a wedding, a baby on the way, new boyfriends, girlfriends, new businesses and thankfully, the faithful bulldog Gordo (yes, that means fat) is still alive. My weekend in Sevilla was undoubtedly one of my favorites of this entire experience, here are some more pictures!

Sevilla

Sevilla

A flamenco show in the street

Plaza Nueva (so excited that I remembered the name!)

Beware of the small blond, she's fiesty

paella on the playa

Sundays in Andalucia are extremely boring. Everything (save for a handful of restaurants) is closed. The European equivalent of Target (Carrefour) is closed, the gym closes at 2. The Spanish take the idea of Sunday being a "day of rest" very seriously. Therefore Sundays are usually spent in a cafe preparing lessons for the week or lying on my couch catching up on American TV. Spanish TV is terrible, even the Spaniards think so. But last Sunday my friends and I took the day into our own hands and walked to a neighborhood of Malaga called Pedregalejo. It's residential and quieter than the center of town, so it was a nice break from the constant noise around my apartment. The beach is lined with restaurants, mostly specializing in seafood (shocking) and paella, a Spanish specialty. Paella is a rice based dish with saffron, vegetables and a selection of meats. Typically paella includes a lot of seafood, but the cook can throw in anything they like to a paella pan. The six of us happily spent most of our Sunday afternoon sitting on the beach indulging in paella, adobo (lemon fish) and cerveza con limon (beer with lemon). Those of you currently experiencing the snowpocalypse may want to avoid the pictures below.

Mixed seafood paella

Gina, Becky and Lucy

En route in Pedregalejo

Also, for any who has been wondering what my beloved croquetas look like, here is a picture. These are delicious mushroom croquetas. Recently I've sampled chicken croquetas and spinach croquetas in addition to the traditional ham ones. Life's tough.

Croquetas!

a brief clarification

Those of you who've been reading my travel updates from the start (Hi, Mom) may be wondering why I've changed my blog's name a couple of times. Basically, I didn't like the other ones, and you can't just make brilliance appear whenever you'd like. I actually don't think my current (and hopefully) final title is anything near brilliant but it does encapsulate my life in Spain pretty well. Here, my life is about 50% croquetas and 50% confusion. What are croquetas?, you may ask. Answer: they're heaven. A typical Spanish food, they're fried balls of cream and ham. They're absolutely delicious and a balanced part of my diet. Cream=dairy, ham=protein, olive oil (for frying)=omega-3s. Basically if you grab a couple fruits or veggies every day croquetas can be healthy center of your balanced diet. I'm working on surveying the various croquetas around the city in order to find the perfect plate. So far there is a clear leader, but I've been directed to another location by my friend, another croqueta fiend, and I'm trying them tonight to celebrate the end of law school applications and the start of "the long wait". Fingers crossed, please.

The second half of the name, confusion, is pretty self-explanatory. Although my Spanish is improving every day I still find myself a step or so behind in most conversations. For example, this morning, I finally sucked up the 60 euro membership fee to join the nearby gym because it's too windy and cold to run outside now, and in my attempts to get my "abono" I ended up in a five minute exchange in which I thought I was talking about a social security card but the man behind the desk was actually asking me for my health insurance card. Sadly, I had neither with me, but since it's Spain they let me join anyway as long as I promise to bring it next time I go. Such trusting people, the Spaniards.

In other updates, the kids at my school are still crazy. Last week a ten year old with a fauxhawk winked at me in the middle of my lesson. It was not an accidental "I-have-something-in-my-eye" kind of wink, but a full on, head tilted, come on kind of a wink. I was so floored that had I been talking (we were playing Hangman, a classroom favorite) I probably would have had one of my ever so flattering coughing fits. Tutoring is going well, my students are so nice and eager to learn. It's also a nice opportunity to practice Spanish with their parents and get some snacks! Last week I got a slice of homemade cake and yesterday a Mantecado. Mantecados are traditional Christmas treats; slightly doughy, slightly sugary cookies about 2 inches across and an inch and a half high. My host mother in Sevilla always used to bring them to me and my roommate and we loved them. Last night I had a cinnamon flavored one. The parents tell me that because I'm tall I can eat a lot and therefore they give me lots of food. I don't counter them.

I realized that I never posted anything about Halloween, so here is a brief synopsis. Spaniards, who love any and all excuses to party, take Halloween very seriously. Despite the fact that they just started celebrating about five years ago they've wasted no time creating their own traditions. Our impression that Spaniards dress up as scary creatures was correct; foreigners, however, don't. Therefore, in comparison to our other friends dressed as fairies, doctors and the like, we looked terrifying. Credit to my friend Gina for the amazing makeup, but wow, we looked insane.

Heartbreaking.