A very long post long overdue...

Drue got into Sevilla Tuesday afternoon and I met him at the stop of the bus from the airport. We then walked to the apartment we would be staying in (Loli used our fall break as a good time to do some traveling of her own) and got settled. The apartment was really cute, with a small sitting area and a little kitchen so we could do some cooking and save a bit of money. It was also only two minutes walking from my school, which was a nice change from the thirty to forty that it normally takes. I had to go back for a class that afternoon, so Drue took a bit of a nap to recuperate from his flight. That night, we went to a little tapas bar called Estrella, which I hadn’t tried before. I really enjoyed the food; tapas are great (in addition to the taste) because you can sample a bit of everything for a cheap price. We had: avocado stuffed with shrimp covered in a tomato-y type sauce; fried goat cheese on toast with a tomato spread; fried eggs with fried potatoes and peppers; fried baby squids; and some sort of grilled meat with peppers and potatoes. It’s really nice because although that sounds like a lot, you just get tiny plates of each thing, so you aren’t stuffed afterwards. Which made it really easy to go get some tasty ice cream (a cone with strawberry and chocolate with cookies for me, and pistachio for Drue) yum!

The next day, after I was done with my morning classes, Drue and I fixed lunch with the groceries we had purchased the day before. We had very tasty sandwiches made with fresh bread, chorizo, eggs scrambled in the chorizo oil, and Manchego cheese over the top. Very yummy! We then spent the afternoon by the river, since I had to study for my art history exam that evening. It wasn’t the most fun thing to have to do right after Drue got there, but at least we had a pretty view. The exam was somewhat exhausting, but it went rather well and I was relieved to be done with it. Wednesday evening was much better because we were able to eat dinner with Loli before she left for her trip. She fixed us a delicious spinach salad, pureed soup with dried ham, and a tasty tortilla. I was very happy that Drue got to try Loli’s food (which he loved) since I had been talking about it to him for so long. Plus, Loli loaded us up with all the fruit that was in the house, plus a package of chorizo, a tin of tuna fish, and the rest of the spinach from dinner.

Thursday we went to Taberna Coloniales, where I had gone for tapas once before with Rachel, Nicole, and Justo, and I am sad to say that this time, it wasn’t nearly as good. We only got a few things, but our last tapa was some fried calamari that tasted like it had been cooked in bad oil. It wasn’t very appetizing and neither Drue nor I could get the taste out of our mouths and felt a bit icky afterwards. It was slightly disappointing, but then we went and saw a bit of Flamenco dancing at La Carboneria and had a little sangria, which was very enjoyable.

I think (it’s getting hard to remember what we did every day) Friday we headed to the Plaza de España and the Parque de María Luisa. Overall, it’s a very pretty location and Drue and I just sat in the Plaza for a while and chatted. I have to say that one of the things I liked most about our trip was that we could actually talk without worrying how much it costs for the phone call. Since I will be graduating in May, we wanted to talk a bit more extensively about what’s going to happen once we go out on our own, though neither of us are certain about anything career/job-wise. Our plan as of now is to try and find an affordable apartment in the Atlanta area, where we would be close to jobs/schools/friends, etc. Though I still am not sure what I really want to do, it really helps to know Drue and I have some sort of plan (and continuing to learn Spanish is definitely involved for the both of us). Then, that night we headed into the Alamenda area and checked out a tapas place called Bar Ambigú. I had probably one of the best tortillas of my life (right up there with Loli´s) with lots of garlic.

Saturday we went to the Alcázar and wandered around. It was great to go back (especially since it’s free for students studying in Spain) and explore more of the gardens. When I went with my school we didn’t spend too much time there. They are a lot bigger than I thought they were, and beautiful of course. We also did a bit of shopping, and Drue found a really cool coat at H&M. I have been searching for a coat for a while now, but it proves to be a difficult mission because I am very picky (plus I don’t want to spend a lot of money). We decided to make that night our tapas-hopping night, in order to sample more of the dishes at a few of the restaurants in the Santa Cruz area. Thanks to my guidebook, we found some really neat places, and had a delicious and varied meal without paying a lot. Some of my favorites of the night include tiny blood sausage (another one of my new favorite things) sandwiches, a plate of jamón (Spain has the best ham I have ever tasted, and they slice it right off of the legs hanging in many of the bars which is always interesting), and hake tacos with potatoes. A very tasty night overall I would say, which more than made up for the night before.

Sunday we rode along the river on rental bikes, which was very nice. It had warmed up a bit, which was great, because it was a bit odd for the weather to be so warm one day, and the next be pretty darn chilly. I think it also seems colder because my house and the school are still open, and there isn’t central heating. I have definitely started to layer my clothes when I get dressed, as the afternoons can still be pretty warm, especially walking to and from school. Anyway, after the bike excursion, we headed to a restaurant that is affiliated with a cooking school, and thus offers a three-course lunch for a reduced price. I treated Drue as a (very) belated birthday present, and we had a really good time. It was a bit more formal of a meal, but very fun to experience. We ate (splitting everything) pasta with baby squids in its ink, white beans with some sort of organ meat (tasty, but unknown), veal with vegetables in some sort of teriyaki sauce, a bacalao (cod) dish, a brownie type pastry with honey ice cream, and a cheese-cakey type pastry with vanilla ice cream. We also had some sangria and, after dessert, espressos. A point to explain: previously, I haven’t eaten veal, but I feel like I should either be eating everything (since I enjoy food so much) or be completely vegetarian. Since I don’t feel like I could be completely vegetarian, I think I should just eat what I am served, especially in a meal situation such as this. Overall, I enjoyed the dishes, and the experience, a lot. I believe my favorite dish was the pasta with squid ink; it was really tasty, with a mild and slightly sweet flavor.

Monday night we finally tried a place I had been hearing about for a while called 100 (Cien) Montaditos. It literally means one hundred tiny sandwiches. You have a list of all 100 sandwiches and you just mark which ones you want and then pay at the counter. It was really crowded when we went so we just stood at a bar, but there was a special going on and every sandwich only cost 1,, which was fantastic. We sampled a few and I think our favorites where the chorizo and brie (actually a terrific combination) and the duck pâté with crispy onions. Fantastic and quick food for not a lot of money is always a good thing.

We headed back to 100 Montaditos for just a couple tiny sandwiches the next day for lunch since we had enjoyed them so much and didn’t want anything costly (they still had the awesome special going on). Tuesday night we met up with my roommate Rachel, her boyfriend and two friends (Scott and Curtis), and Meara and Chelsea. We all hung out for a bit in our apartment, and then went out for tapas. We revisited La Giralda, which I thought was just as good the second time around. It was a lot of fun to be out with such a big group and goof around. It’s definitely harder to do that here, since everyone is usually in different parts of the city, but this worked out really well and I had a great time. A highlight of the night was when Rachel and I ate the unripened oranges in order to win free ice cream. They really didn’t taste that bad (though sour of course) and I would say it was definitely worth it.

Wednesday Drue, Chelsea, and I went out for coffee (though I just had fresh orange juice since I wasn’t feeling well). Then we all hung out in the Plaza Nueva and chatted. It was really nice to all be together and catch up about what’s been going on (less so between Chelsea and I since we’re here together). Later, Drue and I met up with Rachel and the boys and walked to Loli’s to all have lunch together. It was pretty interesting, since there were seven of us around our little dinner table that could even hold all of the food that Loli prepared. We had a platter of meats and cheese, shrimp, a salad of cod and roasted red peppers, and white beans with chorizo in an orange-y sauce. It was delicious of course, though it was a bit confusing with translating back and forth between English and Spanish so everyone could understand each other. Drue is anxious to learn more Spanish and he did really well while he was here, so I am definitely happy about that. Loli seemed impressed as well; overall, it was just great to have them meet.

Drue left from our apartment at about five the next morning, which wasn’t great, but we had had a really great visit, so it wasn’t terrible. His flights went rather smoothly and I went back to class (writing a paper before one of them - though I got a 90.5%, not bad for twenty-five minutes worth of work before class started).

Now that I am mostly caught up (Drue – feel free to add and/or make corrections) with my break, I’ll start writing about my trip to Barcelona, which now seems like it was ages ago. I may insert a short blog at some point about the past couple of weeks, but they haven’t been nearly as exciting. Keep me updated with events in the States!

Pictures from Drue´s visit!

Here are just a few of the pictures from my fall break:

Here I am hanging from the beam in our kitchen!

Drue pretending to jump out of the window onto Calle Arfe.

Drue and I in front of the Alázar.

This is me enjoying an apple tart from Horno San Buenaventura and...

this is Drue devouring his!

This is the sweet rope chandelier that was in our apartment.

An attempt to obtain unripened Sevilla oranges (supported by Curtis and Bryce).

From the left: part of me, Scott, Curtis, Rachel, and Bryce (enjoying tapas!)

Drue, Scott, Curtis, Bryce, Rachel, and Loli around our teensey table.

I am currently in the process of writing about Drue's visit, but there is a lot I have yet to cover. I should be posting it soon, but I might not have internet access again until the beginning of the week. I hope everyone is doing well!

Madrid (sorry it´s been so long)

I haven’t written in so long (I am very sorry!), so what I think I’ll do is just catch up on my trip to Madrid this weekend first, and then work my way backwards to write about my fall break with Drue and my trip to Barcelona (both of which were awesome). I also have pictures, so I might post a few here and there during the process of catching everyone up with events here. It’s definitely been a crazy few weeks (and I caught a lovely cold right in the middle of everything), but I’ve been having a really good time. I hope everything is great in the States, it’s been wonderful to hear from everyone, especially about the results of the election!

We left for Madrid a day earlier than the school with the intention of going to Toledo for the day, but since the train was full when we got to the station, Saxon, Rachel, and I just hung around Madrid for the day. We went to a huge park and ate our sandwiches, which was really nice and probably my favorite part of the day. The rest of the time we just wandered around and stopped in some stores so Rachel and I could look for some coats. (It’s not really that cold yet, but since our house and the school are still open all of the time, and we’re walking outside a lot of the time, I never really seem to get warm, especially since I haven’t been feeling well.)

We stopped in the Corte Ingles’ cafeteria for ice cream (for Rachel and Saxon) and orange juice and tea (for me). I was too cheap to pay for both, so I just asked for some hot water and then used a tea bag that I had in my purse. I am trying to conserve money where I can, though it sometimes earns me some odd looks.

After we got back to our hostel, I decided to eat my dinner early (another sandwich, like I said, I am cheap) and then I went to bed early. I think I got around 12 hours of sleep, which I definitely needed. Then, after dropping our bags off at our new hotel and meeting up with the school group, we headed to the Prado. It was really neat to be able to see all of the works that I have studied in art class in person. My art teacher, Conso, was the guide for this trip, and she talked briefly about El Greco, Velazquez, and Goya (while we looked at their works, of course) and then we wandered around the rest of the museum. I especially enjoyed seeing the Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch. Seeing it up close was super cool because you can really see all of the crazy details and imaginary creatures and whatnot. That was probably my favorite piece there.
After a lunch break we headed to the Reina Sofia, which houses a lot more modern art, which is definitely more my style. We again had brief descriptions of some of the works with Conso, then wandered around to see more of what each of us wanted. It was amazing to see Guernica, which can’t really be experienced the same way if you only see it in a book. The size and expressiveness of the painting are simply incredible; it’s really neat how much emotion you can see through basically simple materials like paint and a canvas.

The next day, after a yummy breakfast of toast, bacon, and scrambled eggs (and juice, and espresso, and cereal...) we headed to the Palacio Real. It is truly enormous, with something like three thousand rooms. The royal family doesn’t live there anymore, but it is still used for state functions and galas and the like. We took a brief tour (obviously not the whole palace) with Conso whispering brief explanations (we weren’t really supposed to have a guide speak the whole time). It was way too fancy for my taste; everything seemed a bit extravagant and over the top. On the whole, I am not a big fan of crystal chandeliers, gold upon gold, and velvet wallpaper. Yikes. However, it was pretty neat to see some real Stradavarius stringed instruments. I guess there are only seven that still exist today, and five of them (that we got to see) are in Spain. As you could imagine, you can’t even put a price on them, they are that valuable.

After another sack lunch, we went to the Thyssen Museum. The artworks there previously made up a private collection. It was unbelievable to think that all of these famous works belonged to a single person. Though it was really neat to see all of the pieces, I got pretty tired while I was there. I think the weekend was just a bit overwhelming, what with being sick and not really having a chance to catch up on sleep before I left. After we left, we headed back to the train station and caught the AVE to Sevilla. I finished up my homework and went to bed as early as I could, though it didn’t make getting up at 6:30 the next morning much easier. I still wasn’t feeling great, but the trip was definitely worth it and I am very happy that I got to go.

I will keep writing to try and catch up all of the way, so be on the lookout for more posts soon!

An assortment of summaries about the past couple of weeks

Our long weekend (over Christopher Columbus Day weekend) was pretty great, I got to do some exploring and also relax a bit as well. I went for a run both Friday and Saturday, which felt great for once because it wasn’t nearly as hot. However, the trade-off for that on Saturday was getting caught in the rain. I was pretty soaked and my shoes were very squishy, but it was still enjoyable. I also explored some, walking around for almost five hours on Sunday. I went to a mercadillo (an open-air market) that is held by the Museo de Bellas Artes, but there wasn’t a ton on display, probably due to the rain. I also found a fancy chocolate store with delicate bon-bons and truffles and all sorts of yummy things. Just the smell was worth paying for, though the chocolates I bought weren’t bad either.

On Friday, I think for the first time ever, Rachel got up before I did, as she had to be at her bus at 6:45 to go to Morocco. She ended up returning that same day (after spending nine hours in the ferry terminal). I guess there were really fierce winds and storms and the ferries wouldn’t have been able to make the trip. To try and make up for that, we tried to watch a DVD I rented from school named Viridiana. It was interesting to say the least. Basically, a nun makes a visit to her uncle, who ends up dressing her up in the wedding gown of his deceased wife and then drugging her with the help of his housekeeper and begins kissing her while she’s passed out (without the help of the housekeeper this time). She of course is mortified when she wakes up and attempts to leave, only to be called back to the house after learning that the uncle has hung himself. Then she leaves the convent out of guilt and brings homeless people to live on her deceased uncle’s estate, where her cousin (I think?) also ends up living. Of course, he hits on her as well. At this point, Rachel and I decided we couldn’t take anymore and turned it off. Apparently, it’s one of the most important films in Spanish cinema, but I just think it’s not for me.

Friday we had classes because of the holiday held on Monday. It was really difficult to get up early on a day that I usually have off, especially knowing that it was going to be my long day of classes. It wasn’t too bad though, I didn’t have to go to dance class, and we got out early from art history. Originally, we were supposed to go visit some museum, but I guess it was closed that day. Then, after dinner, a bunch of us walked back to the center (for the third time that day, my legs were definitely not happy with me), to check out some live music. We went to a place in Santa Cruz that I read about in one of my guidebooks, and it turned out to be really neat. We got to watch a man and a woman dance Flamenco, and also listen to some music. I definitely want to go back another time, as I was tired and returned home at one-thirty (which is crazy-early for Sevilla!).

This most recent Saturday, we got up and walked to the Alameda/Center area. Of course, it had to rain, just like last weekend, but we made the best of it. The funny thing was, Rachel, Meara, Chelsea, and I all had umbrellas, and by the end of our trip, all of them were broken in some way. I bet we looked pretty awesome (especially Chelsea, I don’t even know if you can call what she has now an umbrella). We stopped in a few stores along the way and then continued on to the chocolate store I found last weekend. I had a chocolate with cinnamon, and a dark chocolate truffle (covered in chocolate sprinkle-type things). Probably the most exciting part of the day was when I was asked for direction on how to get to Feria Street. First of all, I understood what the woman was asking me. Also, I know where the street is (more or less) as a result of my explorations last week. Finally, I was able to communicate the general direction to the woman. I was very proud of myself! Then we ended up walking back home for lunch, which was one of my favorites (though I can say that about almost everything we eat), lentils with chorizo and vegetables.

Sunday was basically spent in an attempt to do homework and rest up for the coming week, though the homework thing kind of fell through. I got the stuff I had to have done completed, but I really need to buckle down now and take care of upcoming schoolwork. I have a Usage test tomorrow, and a rough draft for Composition (the final draft due on Monday), so I should be working on those instead of the more fun stuff (like my blog). Plus, since I go to Barcelona this weekend, I won’t want to work on anything then. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to change the fact that I don’t really want to work on anything now.

In other news, I just bought a flight to London for the first weekend in December. I am definitely looking forward to revisiting the city, and hopefully getting a good English breakfast. With eggs. And bacon. Eggs are common here (especially in the tortilla española), but not the breakfast type. Yum, I am getting hungry just thinking about an egg sandwich right now, and how awesome it would taste.

So before I start drooling on the keyboard, I’ll stop for now and attempt to get some homework done. I hope everyone is doing well, and enjoying a beautiful fall in the States.

My daily walk!

This is our breakfast table. I get up rather early, so Loli sets it the night before in preparation. I usually have toast with peanut butter and jam and a piece of fruit before walking to school.

This is right before I walk under the bridge. The pictures I took before this one were too dark to come out.

This is one of the many abandoned houses that I believe were used for the military. Now they are falling apart, but still very intriguing. That´s a palm tree in the front!

This is just after la Puerta de Carne (or the Gate of Meat in English). I believe this marks the beginning of Santa Cruz, which is the old Jewish neighborhood. Now it´s very touristy, though still beautiful.

This is probably the best view of my entire walk. When I come out of Santa Cruz, there is a spectacular view of the Cathedral.

This is just around the corner from CC-CS. On the right is Bliss, the crepe and fresh fruit juice place I ate at a couple of weeks ago.

This is right by the Cathedral where the horse drawn carriages are all lined up (this marks my return journey).

This is Barrio Santa Cruz on my way home.

This is the bike path where I cross Menéndez Pelayo. A girl on a bike ran into me right here the other day, it was not the most pleasant experience that I have had in Spain.

Another view along Eduardo Dato, in Barrio Nervión.

This is the soccer stadium. When there is a game going on, we can hear the cheering from our house.

Along Calle Cristo de la Sed (I always think Thirsty Christ when I see the name).

Another view.

Home at last! Calle Padre Pedro Ayala (we´re number 47).

As promised:

So this post brings us to the beginning of the second week of continuation classes, which means I have more catching up to do, como siempre (like always).

The first week of my new classes passed rather well, though I always get a bit worked up over change as most of you know. I really enjoy my Usage class (good since it’s held every day at 8:45). We basically just talk and go over new expressions, which is really fun. I also have Advanced Composition, for which we’ll write seven short papers and one longer piece at the end of the semester. I am really looking forward to improving my Spanish writing skills and I definitely don’t mind not having any exams for that class. Finally, Art History seems really interesting. I’ve enjoyed the art history courses I’ve taken in the past, and I think this one will be no different. These last two classes meet twice a week for two hours at a time, and I can get a bit antsy toward the end, but at least I enjoy the material. I have to say, all of my professors are really cool and interesting, which makes going to class less difficult.

Thursday was an excellent day because although I had class at 8:45, it’s my only one of the day. I felt great because I not only got done early, but I knew I didn’t have to go back to classes until Monday, which will be the case for most of our weekends. I then took my camera to a store to find out the problem, and though it took me a bit of time to actually find the store, once I got there I was able to effectively relate the problem and the new battery the man gave me made my camera work! I was really happy about that. I then shopped a bit in the downtown area (though I didn’t find anything good) and then headed back to lie on the terrace. Disappointingly, after charging the new battery, it did the same thing, but then I realized I probably wasn’t charging it correctly, since I was only using an adaptor and not a convertor. Sorry about all the boring details...

Over the long weekend, we went to Mérida, Cáceres, and Trujillo. In Mérida we visited some more Roman ruins, with a spectacular ampitheater. Rachel snapped the great picture of Wilheim shown here. We also visited the museum of Roman artifacts, which housed some statues of characters from Roman mythology, mosaics, and some smaller items like coins and jewelery. From there we went on to Cáceres, where we checked into our hotel, and then took a walk through the historical barrio. It was a very interesting experience, because these buildings are immensely old, yet continue as a part of the town today. Unfortunately, my camera again decided to not turn on, so I suppose the problem was never with the battery. Thankfully, Rachel has been great about taking pictures for me in addition to her own, so I am not completely heartbroken. Plus, she cheered me up to no end with a goofy photo of the two of us, shown here.

After returning to the hotel, we had a really tasty dinner of bread, cooked veggies with toast (zucchini, eggplant, and other stuff I didn’t take the time to identify because I was stuffing my face), and something along the lines of chicken cordon bleu, basically chicken stuffed with cheese and ham. Pretty yummy, especially with papas fritas (french fries) soaked in vinegar, which is definitely my prefered method of consumption. We had wine as well, which before coming to Spain I never enjoyed as much (I think because I don’t care for it warm), but I have gotten to actually like. From there, we hung out in some of the rooms of other people from the center, which was rather nice to do, since to hang out normally you have to go out somewhere, and we live so far away.

The next day we left for Trujillo, which was very beautiful, and in more of the way I expected Spain to look. We visited a beautiful castle, and were able to walk around the exterior walls. The views were absolutely amazing. Though I have pictures (thanks to Rachel!), they really can’t begin to show how unreal and stunning everything was. After the palace and walking around a bit, we had another great meal (also included in the trip, yay!) consisting of pasta with chorizo, roasted chicken and papas fritas (which I doused in vinegar again), and some vanilla yogurty stuff with cinnamon. I actually didn’t care for the dessert, one of the few things I have not enjoyed so far in my trip. More wine accompanied our meal of course, along with still and bubbly water, the former which tasted like soda. I was definitely stuffed, but that made it easy to get some rest on the bus ride back, after which I felt much better.

After another delicious meal (leftover seafood soup and chicken with mushrooms) at our home in Sevilla, Rachel, Chelsea, and I took the bus to meet with some friends from the Center. We partook in some “botelloning” (as Chelsea put it). In Spain, a botellón is just getting together to drink in the streets before going elsewhere. We shared a bit of wine, and then walked to Buddha, a discoteca. We finally managed to find a place that we enjoyed, and had a really fun night. You definitely have to be careful of the viejo verdes - creepers - that inch up behind you, but I’ve discovered I’m really good at ignoring and rejecting unwanted attention, a trait of which I am really proud. We stayed out til the wee hours of the night (or morning, depending on how you veiw it), but surprisingly, there are still lots of people walking around at night, and I definitely felt safe walking back, so no worries. Plus, I never walk alone after night, and we take the busier, more populated streets as a precautionary measure.

After sleeping in until lunch on Sunday, for which we had stuffed calamari that was truly awesome, Rachel and I walked to the Plaza de España, which we had yet to see. It was really pretty, with a lovely fountain. The surrounding buildings had beautiful tile inserts in their structures, something I hadn’t really seen before, but definitely enjoyed. Then we met with another friend, Hanna, in el Parque de María Luisa. We got some ice cream and just relaxed on some grass. That is probably one of the things I miss most about the States, and Berry in particular. There isn’t much grass here, so we made sure to soak up as much as we could.

Monday was more of the same, classes, walking (I’m up to about eight miles a day on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays when I have class in the morning and afternoon), eating, etc. I feel more comfortable here as time progresses, though I do miss home more now than at first. I think since fall is coming, and fall at Berry is usually such a great time, that contributes to a bit of homesickness. Plus, I really felt like I was just on vacation the first few weeks. I definitely will continue to enjoy my time here, but there are some moments where I miss home as well.

That´s a pretty good review of the past week or so, but I´ll continue to post more as it happens. I hope you all have a very pleasant Tuesday!

Quick post before class:

Hey everyone!

I have class in a few minutes, but I figured I would post some pictures as I don´t have a blog ready to go for today. Hopefully, I can get one written before too long.

Rachel and I with our juice at the crepe place

Rachel, me, Meara, and Chelsea at the Alcázar of Córdoba

Fish stand at a market

Hanna and I at Itálica here in Sevilla (ancient Roman ruins)

Me eating some churros and chocolate, yum!

That´s all for now!