Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Last week in Sevilla!

Hola!
This is the middle of my last week and I have all types of emotions running through my head right now.
With the over 100 degree weather running me down, I ended up not going to Corpus Christi as i was sunburnt already from the days before. However, Saturday I took a trip to Cadiz for the day where I was able to see a different culture in Spain. Cadiz was one of my favorite places on my travels so far.

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Mid week Review

So far, this week has been nothing but hot. Every day for the past week its been above 90 degrees (34 degrees Celsius) often being above 100 degrees for a couple of hours. I always enjoyed warm weather but this heat has been wearing me down quicker than i thought. This makes me enjoy Wisconsin's weather, where it is not too hot during the summer. After getting back from Marbella, where it was about 20 degrees cooler, I have been wishing to go back to the cool breeze and bearable weather.
With the weather being so hot, one can only stay outside for so long, so my roommates and I spent a lot of time at the plaza next to our homestay and in our homestay (however, our house does not have an AC that reaches the bedrooms so our part of the house is HOT).
With the time I did spend outside, it was later at night when the weather was cool. My roommates and I walked around the river and enjoyed some live music that was going on. The boardwalk is a very peaceful place to relax and hang out with some friends.
One of the things that I found different here than in the US, is you don't invite friends over to your house as it extremely rude to your parents/host parents. Instead, since the houses are so small, many spend time going to the plaza's and parks to hang out. I find that I like it a little more as it makes you more active and also enjoying the fresh air.
Today, It is a holiday in Sevilla, where it is called Corpus Cristi, and the celebrate the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
I will write about my experience here in my next post! :)


Monday, June 12, 2017

Third week of Spain

Hola!
This past week was super busy; I am taking two classes here while I am in Spain and last week was the end of my first class and the beginning of my second. I had a 5 page paper to write and a final to study for, for my first class and multiple readings to do for my second class. I had class for 6 hours every day, which really brought me back to the days of high school. However, I noticed that my spanish language has improved a lot from before; when i first got here, I barely knew how to hold a conversation and now I am able to complete an order and get directions from locals in Spanish! This past week, I slept a lot and spent the little free hours i had walking around the city.
This past weekend, I spontaneously decided to go to Marbella for the weekend with a couple of friends, which was so totally worth it. The houses were beautiful and the area was even more beautiful (Even though I didn't see Antonio Banderas or any other famous celebrities). In Sevilla, it is currently 105 degrees so taking a break from the heat and going to where it is 85 was a good change.
In Marbella, I made another spontaneous decision and decided to go parasailing -- best decision I've made in a while. The view was to die for and it was so peaceful up there; i didn't wanna come down.
I still have two more weeks here in Sevilla until i head up and take another month and a half up of traveling around Europe. Cannot wait for what is to come on my trip.
Adios!


Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Weekend in Lagos

My weekend started off on Friday afternoon after class when I took a 3 hour bus ride to Lagos, Portugal! After we arrived, we went straight to the beach for a couple hours before we had a pool party & pizza for dinner. After, I was able to go and explore the town a little bit which I fell in love with! (Might have liked it a little more than Sevilla ;) )

On Saturday, we spent around 6 hours at the beach, where I was able to take a boat ride through the coves which took my breath away. I also, got a little sunburnt (again) but it was completely worth it for the view. For dinner, I went to a Mexican restaurant called the Green Room, which I would totally recommend to anyone visiting Lagos. You get a lot of food for little money, which is what I am all about right now.

Sunday, we packed up and headed home early in the morning where I spent the rest of the day sleeping, which I need for this week.
Until next time,
Hasta luegos



Monday, June 5, 2017

What a week!

Hola Amigos!
I'm sorry for the late post--I know you are all itching to know what I have been up to for this past week. I was gone for the weekend in Lagos, and when i arrived home, the wifi was out at my
host mom's house. :(

My week was started on Monday by visiting the Archivo de Indias, which today, is an archive of people's journey to the New World (aka the Americas and Philippines), including Christopher Columbus' journey and maps and Pope Alexander VI letter that divided Spain and Portugal. The place was originally built after there was a need to find a new trading spot in Spain, and Sevilla was the perfect spot as it had easy access from the river. This was a cool place to visit, but you can only see so many old books, unless you're really into history.


The rest of my week consisted of visits to the Plaza de Espana, Hospital de Caridad, and the Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts). All were amazing to see but the Plaza de Espana became my new favorite location.


The plaza was created in 1929 for the Ibero-American Exposition World's Fair that Seville hosted.
Today is consists mainly of Government buildings, but it is also the main tourist attraction for Seville. To make it even cooler, it was used as a filming location for many famous movies, but the most famous is Star Wars - Attack of the Clones!

I was able to fit in some activities in before the weekend besides my exam I had on Wednesday (Yes, we have exams here) such as walking around the city and trying new food (such as churros and montaditos, which are little sandwiches) and I was able to paint a tile with watercolor that got fired in a kiln, which is a very popular thing to do in Seville.

All in all, it was a great second week in Sevilla!

PS - I'm sorry that I don't have any photos for this week, my phone randomly decided to delete all my pictures so i am currently in the process of restoring them!