Just a little synopsis of the first few weeks for ya--
The first week was full of orientation and an introduction to Sevilla. We explored the city each day and went to tapas later in the night :) Basically tapas are a variety of small portions of different types of food. They are really common in Spain (Upstate New Yorkers -- I haven't been yet, but Boca Bistro on Broadway has tapas!). It is also really great because it allows you to interact with everyone and get a little taste of everything! We are Token American Tourists because the first couple weeks or so we would literally travel in packs of 30 Americans: all at the same bar, all speaking English, all taking the same pictures of everything. Don't worry, it's slowly changing!
The following two weeks have basically been dedicated to further exploring the city and adapting to the way of life here. There are so many differences/similarities that I'm learning about everyday. It's fantastic.
Now I will attempt to sum up a few of these incredible places I've been so far: (Forewarning: For those who don't know it about me, Excuse the art aficionado coming out in this blog. I'll restrain)
Alcazar of Seville
Plaza de España
Casually walking through the Plaza de España a few times a week simply does not seem like real life. The first time we went, the sun was setting and I fell in love. This and the Alcazar are the best spots I've seen in Sevilla thus far. Every single aspect of this is so beautifully designed. The fountain in the center, the carefully crafted tiles, the body of water running through the center, the architecture, the bridges -- just everything about this site is phenomenal.
Fun fact: This was used as a location in the Star Wars series. Check out the scene here
Metropol Parasol de la Encarnación
We took a little field trip to the Metropol Parasol or "Las Setas." This building is fairly new and claims to be the largest wooden structure in the world. There is a lot of controversy within the city about the construction of this building, claiming that it was very costly to build and the design is too modern compared to the ancient architectural buildings that have been standing for centuries. In the building, there is a cafe and marketplace filled with fresh fruit, meat, and fish. It's really cool to overlook the whole city. It was a beautiful day when we went.
Cathedral de Sevilla
This is the largest Gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world. This cathedral was just absolutely immaculate, inside and out. We also overlooked the entire city from here. This is one of the main staples of the city.
Fútbol Game (Sevilla vs Zarazoga)
We were itching to go to a soccer game. We sporadically decided to go to a 30€ Sevilla game on a Wednesday night and it was great! I'm thrilled that fútbol is so popular in Europe. Here in Sevilla, there are two teams: Sevilla and Betis. They ended up winning. I'm really looking forward to some bigger games this spring because the fans are so much fun.
Córdoba, Spain
We took a day trip to Cordoba on Friday and toured the Mosque and Cathedral. Although it was a rainy day, it was really great. My favorite part was probably the garden area, as well as the architecture. The ceilings of the Mosque were unreal
Hiking in Aracena, Huelva
Today we took an 8 mile hike in the province of Huelva, Spain (which is near Portugal). The coolest thing about the hike was all of the different plants we found. We found peppermint, oregano, rosemary, aloe vera (which we ate), and many more. The bottom left picture is bark from a tree that wine corks are made from, or cork in general. It was pretty barren, it's insane how different the cities are. Still very cool
Spain is fantastic.
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