Discovering Sevilla

February 8
The weekend was absolutely beautiful here in Seville. Not only did the weather more than cooperate by giving us loads of warm sunshine with the occasional cool breeze to cool us down, but we got to see so much more of this fantastic city!

The lack of sleep in Granada really caught up with me during the week and I was trying hard to fight off the inevitable cold. So when Friday rolled around and the school was offering a day trip to Aracena I decided to pass in order to sleep in. Laura opted to sleep and explore the city with me while Katrina and Tricia headed out at 8 am to see more of Spain! While I was sad that I wasn’t going with them and missing a cheap trip, I was ridiculously happy to sleep till noon!

Laura and I asked Vicki for some sandwiches and then headed out in the beautiful weather. We walked with no exact desired location but meandered through the streets and we ended up stumbling upon the church we can see from our balcony. I was actually probably a little too excited to find it because it was quite small inside but I have been trying to picture the inside of my “glowing distant church” for weeks! It didn’t appear to be equipped for actual mass any longer but was used for more of a museum. Get this, it’s called the San Luis church. A coincidence? I think not.. ☺

San Luis Church

The dome part we can see so perfectly from our balcony

Calle Constitucion (Constitution Street) where the metro link tracks are

Forging on through the streets we made our way towards one of the main roads which we followed down until we reached this pretty little fountain that I have yet to find the name of, and we decided to set up camp. We found a bench, pulled out our sandwiches and literally sat in silence while we ate, caught some rays, people watched and soaked up our incredible surroundings. Let me tell you, ham and cheese taste better in the sunshine.

My view during lunch

The tram that I am amazed people do not get hit by.. In America people most definitely would, and then sue the state...

After our long lunch we met up with our friends Mindy and Hanna who had also chosen to stay put in Seville, and we decided some ice cream was in need. So while enjoying our sweet, cold treat we wandered down following the monorail tracks to the Plaza de Espana which was constructed in 1929 when Seville hosted the Spanish-American Exhibition and showcases beautiful “Moorish” or Islamic type architecture. It was kind of undergoing some street repairs so I tried to get a shot around the machinery. By the way construction is EVERYWHERE. There is literally always someone fixing the sidewalks and streets and with the way the streets still look no one should be out of a job! (Interesting fact: the unemployment rate in Spain is worse than it was in American during the great depression.) Back on track though; we sat in the plaza for a while right on the edge of the center fountain just people watching and soaking up the sun. Then we realized we were becoming fixtures in everyone’s pictures of the fountain so we decided not make it in any photo albums and walk to the park.

Check the rainbow please. Only an excellent photographer would be able to catch such an image

The plaza with crazy tourists.. So annoying to us locals.

Heading out

Maria Louisa Park is not the type of park I was used to. I’m thinking swings, maybe a pond and a gazebo? No, this was a sprawling landscape of everything imaginable. Including statues, ponds, tropical jungle-like trees, ducks, peacocks, fantastic tile worked pathways and benches, lots of little gazebos, fountains, bridges, main roads for biking, rollerblading, skateboarding or carriage rides, restaurants, adorable children I have to refrain from stealing, and most importantly, weird people. Everyone is interesting. Whether they have blue hair, or no hair and are rubbing their bald partner’s head, everyone is doing something interesting or at least wearing something interesting.

Notttt a wig.

A jean purse.. A jurse if you will?



Straight from the tropics

This bridge was begging for some Senior Pics

I am truly unsure of the amount of time we spent in the park but when the sun started to head towards the river we decided we should to. We followed the river for a bit until we came to the conclusion that we needed a drink. As fate would have it there was a little place out on a dock (the whole ground of the little cafe moved with the waves) so we grabbed a table and a few beers to enjoy the last few hours of sunshine with. To continue this fateful happening our friend Mark (a fellow tiger studying in Seville) was walking past and came down to hang for a while. We watched the kayaking people on the river and even watched 2 guys play a basketball type game in kayaks where they bounce the ball on their paddles? It was crazy!

Our little dock

When we started to get chilly we headed for home where Laura and I were happy to see the other halves of our rooms waiting. They had a great trip and we swapped stories of the day. We got ready (painfully because we all had to take showers one right after the other so warm water was greatly missed) then met with a big group to decide which tapas place should receive our business. We ended up splitting up into smaller groups and 5 of us found ourselves at this really cute little place for some sangria and “dinner,” which we are still all shocked at the small portions we receive, but it was reall good!

After dinner we ventured across the river to meet up with some more friends of our in our program. We went to “Calle Betis” which is actually just a street where there are lots of bars and ended up having an impromptu bar crawl. We traveled all the way down the street popping into every bar on the way for a 1 euro, or free if we could manage (which we did frequently thanks to Katrina ☺) shot of tequila. Once we reached the end, we made our way back down the street and really just had a blast. I might have had a bit too much fun and am sad to report that tequila and were not friends by the end of the night. Or status now is sill rocky but we might make up soon so stay tuned.



Saturday proved to give us much hope for the future weather of our current home because once again it was bright, warm and beautiful out. Katrina and I rose a little later than Tricia and Laura but when our stomachs started talking there was no way we could deny that we needed to wake up. We met Trish and Lo down by the same fountain Laura and I had eaten by the day before except we were not going to choke down a Vicki-made sandwich. The place we went was actually really cheap and Trina and I were completely European while ordering our “Coca Lights” … and hamburgers haha

With some substance in our bellies Laura and I were excited to show the other girls our discovery from the previous day and lead them into the Maria Louisa park. They were equally as amazed and it was funny the sense of pride I had in showing it to them. Like, I played no role in constructing this ancient park nor did I even find it on my own but still I couldn’t help but say “Look over here,” or “Right down there is this really cool fountain.” Embarrassing that I’m admitting this? Possibly. Surprised that I’m treating this blog like a diary entry periodically? You can’t honestly answer yes…

Me and my rooms

I mentioned that one of my favorite aspects of the park was that the people were always doing or wearing something interesting. In hindsight I now realize that we definitely fit into both categories. We were wearing ‘weird’ American clothes and were playing ‘weird’ American games. First we started just playing the “Humming Game” where one person starts humming a song and the others have to try to guess it. Then we upgraded to charades, which was highly entertaining. Tricia is phenomenal and I almost peed my pants laughing so hard at her and her enthusiasm. It was soooooooooo much fun. Although we were off a main road and in our own little area of the park we still had people stopping to watch us and I finally became aware of the fact that we were the weird foreigners doing really weird things in public. It was the first time I have felt empathy for the Asians in Columbia. (Sorry Paige!!!) I mean, how crazy must we have looked from an outsider’s perspective? However, I honestly did not care. I wasn’t going to see these people again and they couldn’t even understand what we were saying so why act docile on a warm sunny day in Spain? Once I reached that reality I had a completely different mindset it was actually a ridiculously freeing thing. To not have the restrictions of social normalcy and to not even know the language in which you could be corrected in was almost blissful. Not sure I can describe it but it is oddly a feeling I think everyone should experience at least once in his or her life.

Where we were sitting playing charades

Can you guess what movie this is?

Ok, again, sorry for the diary entry… We ended up finding our friend Nick strolling through the park with his iPod in singing and doing a little dance. I wish I was kidding you but that was exactly what he was doing. We were following him but he had no idea and we were dying laughing at how he was “swaggering and singing.” When he finally caught sight of us he took out his earphones and explained how he didn’t know anyone so why should he care if they thought he was weird for singing and dancing. See.. I’m not alone in my theory! However, I’m not sure I would have the guts to actually sing and dance like that in public.. haha

We decided we needed a jolt and all voted on some coffee. There was this little outdoor café next to the Plaza de Americana where you can feed the pigeons and they swarm around you and even land on your head! We were not feeling up for that type of adventure, plus Laura is afraid of birds so we just ordered our coffee and sat at a table far from the craziness. I remembered I had a pack of cards in my purse (from Chaminade Prom.. haha) and it was a perfect realization. We sat and played cards while drinking coffee until the sun was setting and it could not have been better.

Walking home from the park we were trying to plan the night and in an effort to safe time and money decided to dart into a grocery store and have a makeshift dinner. So dinner Saturday night consisted of a loaf of bread, cream cheese and wine. What more could you really ask for? The wine we found was literally like 82 cents and came in a “super-sized juice box form.” It was the best purchase I have made at this point. So cheap, so convenient to travel with as long as you find a straw and it proceeded to allow us to have a great time!

Juice Boxes!

In our “save money” mindset we decided to consume lots of wine in hopes to refrain from spending 8 euros on mixed drinks at the bars. This proved to be both a good and bad strategy. Tricia and Laura headed home early but Trina and I hit the town with some other friends going across the bridge to Triana (just another name for a part of Seville) back to “Calle Betis” to a Flamenco bar where we danced the limited Flamenco we learned in the one class we took. It was really fun. Then we walked back across the bridge quite a ways away to some “local dance club” where we were immediately turned down solely due to the fact that we were Americans. Talk about discrimination! Katrina and I refused to end the night on such a note so we set out for our favorite discoteca, Buddha! Granted at this point, with our late start it was around 4 AM.. Woohoo!! I finally went out like a Spaniard! On the downside, with all that traveling we had walked off any hope of whatever buzz we had acquired and realized we were far too sober to be at a discoteca at 4 AM. However, on the way out Katrina was literally prancing down the stairs and somehow missed the last step which cannon-bolted her onto her knees where she picked up momentum and slid onto the middle of the dance floor. I watched this happen in slow motion and literally saw a guy point and say “Noooo waaay!” I was torn between wanting to run and help her up and asking who is that girl? Luckily before I had time to react though, Trina had hopped up and scampered on back down the next flight of stairs… Unreal. So, what is a girl to do? Why grab McDonalds and head home of course! There is a “McDonald Express,” which is basically a drive through window that you can walk up to, right outside of Buddha and Trina and I tried to order chicken nuggets but were served chicken sandwiches with lettuce and BBQ sauce on them? We ate them all the same though.. (Maybe we weren’t as sober as we thought?) All in all it was a great night!

Sunday we woke up and barely pulled ourselves together for mass. We slid in a few minutes late and feeling bad but glad it was still the opening song. I was surprised at how few people were at this mass. Since we went back to the same church as last time and before it was very crowded with kids bouncing balls and playing I expected the same size crowd. There weren’t any balls this time but there were quite a few people who had congregated in the back of the church and were not attempting to be quiet while chatting. I could barely hear the priest (who am I kidding, even if I could hear him I would have no idea what he was saying but you get the point) because the rumble of chit-chat was so loud. I was trying very hard to refrain from turning around but after 15 minutes I finally caved and turned to get a quick glance in. Man was I surprised to see the majority of the pews behind me filled! I guess everyone really does run on a later schedule here. Which might actually mean I’m early more? This could be quite nice ☺

After church we went to the river. It was not nearly as nice as the past two days had been but it was still nice enough. We brought a few snacks, our wine juice boxes, my deck of cards and the blanket Katrina bought for 3 euros. What a great bargain right? We were really happy about the blanket and then when we unfolded it we saw why it was on sale. It had a big outline of a dog on it and it said Pro Life. The 2 images separately would have been fine, but together they made for an odd pair. Pro Life for dogs?? What, don't spay your dog? Haha Our other Mizzou friends came to join us along with their friend Lauren from California who was really nice. We had a great time talking about our experiences so far and the families we live with. It was Jack’s birthday so I had to refrain from singing Happy Birthday to him and almost burst into song about 5 times but managed to hold back. He should consider that his birthday present. Mark lives with one old lady, Concha and they seem like a perfect little fit. Together their average age is probably about 58 and they enjoy watching Spanish game shows together. Fate?

Back at the ranch we were all anxiously awaiting a good meal. Thus, you can imagine our disappointment when we were finally fed at 10 PM to find a plate of spinach and garbanzo beans… What a joke. We then went back to our rooms to dig up some other source of nutrition before calling it a night. At least we got a few laughs out of it! I can’t wait for the warm weather to settle in and we can spend more time outside. It was an awesome weekend and I was so happy with everything that we did. We had long full days filled with quality time and I couldn’t feel more blessed. I feel like every time I feel like things can’t get better, they do. My life is just absolutely unbelievable ☺ All my Spanish love!