Jackie and I made it to Spain without a single problem. We even got into London almost an hour early and had LOTS of time to spare at Gatwick Airport.
Emma was at the airport to meet us and help us drag all of our luggage into the city. I ended up packing a large duffel suitcase, filled my big multiday backpack and brought my school backpack as a carry-on. Jackie had four bags... keep in mind we are here for five months! After seeing the Center that Emma’s program is run through we found our Hostel (Oasis Hostel). It’s an incredibly nice hostel for 15 euro a night. It has a central location, free/clean/soft sheets, free Wi-Fi, free breakfast and decent beds. We are in a room with six other people, all of which happen to be boys right now. People come and go but some of the same boys have stuck around. Emma took us out for tapas our first night. It was a really neat tapas place because they charged you based on the number of toothpicks you had on your plate when you were done eating.
Yesterday we started out the day with a tour of a small church farther out in the city of Seville. We went with Emma’s group that is here (her program includes kids from Cornell, University of Michigan and University of Pennsylvania). It was a very elaborate church that utilized natural lighting to illuminate certain Saints and paintings. We brought a picnic to the Parque de Maria Luisa and sat by a fountain. My lunch consisted of a traditional spinach and chick pea salad, shrimp salad, bread and cheese. It hasn’t been hard to find vegetarian stuff to eat, especially because Emma is my tour guide. We saw the Plaza de Espana that was built for the 1920s World Fair and walked through the main building of her University (the Universidad de Sevilla). We also toured the Plaza de Torros where there are bullfights during the warmer months.
Let’s just say we have been doing A LOT of walking... café breaks are needed around five or six o’clock :-)
Last night Emma had a birthday surprise for me since she wasn’t able to send me anything in October. We went and saw traditional Flamenco dance!! The music and the dancing were magnificent. The footwork that the man and woman do together on the stage looks so difficult. Think of it as really intense tap dancing with awesome Spanish guitar and singing in the background. She also took me out for Italian food, pretty much the only ethnic food found in Sevilla. We sat in the restaurant until after midnight just talking and drinking wine. Not a bad birthday celebration!
Today we hit the major sites in Sevilla. First we went to the Alcazar where Emma’s program director gave us an extensive tour. The Alcazar is one of the King and Queen’s palaces in Spain. It was built almost 1,000 years ago and has a lot of Muslim influence in the architecture. The palace is HUGE and very open for when it was hot during the summer. The King and Queen of Spain still use the palace occasionally. The palace also includes impressive gardens that we wandered around for a long time searching for the peacocks that live there. We finally found them, but despite Jackie’s and Emma’s bird calls and singing the males would not put up their beautiful tails. Emma has a couple of appointments this afternoon so Jackie and I went and toured the Cathedral in the center of the city. The Cathedral in Seville is the third largest in the world… we spent almost two hours touring it.
I’ll include a couple pictures at the bottom of this post to better explain the things I’m seeing!
I’m having a fantastic time with Emma and Jackie! Emma has been a fantastic guide and this trip has been very stress free because of her. Her Spanish is incredible, which is great considering Jackie and I know pretty much nothing.
I just want to leave you with an embarrassing moment I’ve already had… We were sitting at a café close to our hostel yesterday and Emma told me to ask for the check in Spanish by saying “Perdona La Cuenta” (the check please). The entire time I was waiting for the Waiter to walk by I was repeating “Perdona La Cuenta Perdona La Cuenta” in my head. When I finally got the chance to ask him I ended up saying “Perdona La Cuenta Please”. So much for my attempt at Spanish…
The central patio of the Alcazar.
The Flamenco.
Me and Jackie in front of the Plaza de Espana.
A view of the Cathedral we have had every morning when we walk to meet Emma.
A good picture of just how large the Cathedral is... oh yes, Christopher Columbus' tomb is here too!
