Carrying My Cross (over sherry)
Fat Tuesday Done Right: Pączki, Beer Ads, Drinks, Gelato and More Drinks
Tuesday, March 5th
From finding my Polish pastry on Monday, I can say that nothing here can resemble the sweet, light and perfect combination that is a pączki. It may have looked like the donut and had the parts that make up the filling, but the taste was not reciprocal. After my failed attempt at my traditional Fat Tuesday breakfast, I went to my Communications class and then attended the breakfast with the professors. It is such a relaxing and casual time where I have really enjoyed meeting other CEA students and the staff. Once the place cleared out a bit I worked on my blog and researched for what I planned to do during my feria week break. Usually Tuesdays I only have my one morning class, but because my Advertising professor has a two week long trip to Costa Rica to promote the school, I had a remake class that evening. To make the class more engaging and without having the classroom space, we met at Corte Ingles (the main mall here) to find all visible advertisements for beer around the grocery store section in the mall with a group. Afterward we went with our professor out for drinks. I was the only American who stayed after our assignment so it made for interesting conversations and repeated questions from me when they referenced things I had no clue about. Then I walked back with some of the students and compared foods and sizes of meals with Germans from the States to Germany and to here in Spain. After eating dinner, I went with Kate to meet up with our friend Eva at a gelato and ice cream place recommended by my Culture of Food and Wine professor, Las Bolas. I ended up getting the cutest ice cream serving on a petite cone of scoops of café y caramelo salado. Eva and I then met up with several other friends in the Alfalfa area of town for drinks. It was filled with Americans and 1 Liter drinks for cheap. I ended up getting a mojito and piña colada and chatted the night away talking about our carnival experiences and next week plans.
Ashes, Convents and Rain
Wednesday, March 6th
¡Bienvenida Cuaresma! (Welcome Lent) Being in Spain, I knew finding a mass to receive my ashes wasn't going to be difficult. After going to my 8:45 AM class, I met my friend Zoe at my favorite church, Santa Maria la Blanca for mass at 11 AM. At the parish, I not only received my ashes and attended the daily mass, but after getting the ashes I was called to kneel, touch or kiss a book in a line (something I have never seen as apart of the Ash Wednesday routine). It was very different and strange to me; I still can't find anything on the internet to explain what it was. Also different was that the ashes here were sprinkled on my forehead and consisted of fairly dry ashes instead of the normal US black dark and sort of wet ashes. It was raining and grey all day which helped me keep me inside and my ashes pretty protected since they didn't stick too well. During my Culture of Food and Wine class we were to visit the Convents throughout Sevilla and order some sweets from the nuns. Thankfully the rain had calmed down, but due to the earlier storms all the parks (which I normally take as shortcuts everywhere) were all closed for safety purposes by the city. My professor ended up taking us some weird ways but we went to three convents and purchased three different dulces. I was enamored by the delicacy and care put into making the sweets. Two of the convents were cloistered, so we had to collect the sweets at el torno and talk through the spinning structure without seeing the nuns. When you ring the bell you can hear the quaint voice of a nun say, "Ave Maria Purisima" and then you respond "Sin pecado concebida," along with your order. What an experience! We ordered and tried pestiños, sultanas and (I believe) lenguas de almendra chocolate. They were all so sweet and mouth watering. After the class ended at our last convent stop, I walked back to my casa. I am telling you, after you find one street named my hometown, I now continually keep finding bars and places here in Seville with AURORA written all over it. The word translates to dawn, but I am still unsure why I see on so many buildings a places.
Carrying and Getting My Cross
Thursday, March 7th
After my morning class I embarked on my surprise mission. After getting recommendations, researching and visiting different parlors, I had my appointment for getting my tattoo that I have been wanting for over two years. I went to the same place I two of my friends have gotten their tattoos at here; the artist lived in the United States for a bit so I was able to communicate, explain, correct and give detail directions of what I wanted in English to ensure the accuracy and result I wanted. Let me tell you, I am so beyond happy with it! It is a cross that is one continuous line, simple and small of the Spanish word "fe" which means faith. It is on my inner left ankle, very dainty and thin. Its meaning is much more than I could ever explain in a paragraph or so so we will just leave that with that I just adore it and if you want more of an explanation, let me know.
After returning to the casa for lunch, I started in my Lenten practice of what I decided to give up, time. Due to studying abroad and wanting to soak in all the traditions, foods and experiences that I can only have once and in specific places, like eating chocolate in Belgium, I didn't want to not try something new because I gave it up. Instead I have decided to give up my time to go to mass which not only enhances my prayer life and spiritual life but also my Spanish. If I can't make the masses when I am traveling I plan to pray a rosary or two in its place. I am increasingly more impressed with my comprehension at mass and really have been able to tune into the readings and homilies. Coincidently, the day I get my cross tattoo is the day the homily is all about carrying your cross and the crosses we bare. Maybe it was sign, maybe it wasn't but I just felt even more at peace about my decision.
That evening I went for drinks at this really "hip" place bici. The place wasn't that easy to find but we got a recommendation to visit it from some locals. You wouldn’t know it was there due to its exterior appearance as it looks like a closed garage door with no windows or lights to show the inside. When getting to the metal doors you can see a small laminated piece of paper taped on the wall saying, “Toca al Timbre” (Ring the Bell). After clicking it, a man opens the door and lets you in. He closes it behind you to mask the music inside from the streets like a club would. Entering you see a beautiful but small space of no more than ten small tables of three to four on both sides of the walls and a path that leads to the bar and DJ booth. Abstract and 3D art covers the walls and you are surrounded by strange, lights and Spanish alternative music. Bikes hang off the walls and ceilings, giving the place it's name, La Bicicletería. It definitely give the "hippy vibe" and was something I have never experienced in my life but reminded me of my friends Caroline and Maddie with their record players and posters similar to the ones found there.
Vino y el Río
Friday, March 8th
Today I got to sleep in and decided to spend my day in Sevilla in one of my favorite ways, resting and relaxing with friends by the river with some tinto. I asked Teresa for a blanket to sit on the grass to soak in the beautiful sunny day. My friends met up with me under some trees and we just got to live like Sevillians. Today was International Women's Day so there was a march happening throughout the city which started right where were camped out at. It was filled with a whirlwind of emotions and tons of people to experience at once yelling, chanting and singing. I had to make my way through the crowds and to some less busy streets to find a daily mass to attend. I ended up going to my usual church and then had some great conversations the rest of the evening with Teresa.
Jerez
Saturday, March 9th
I am going to write today a bit different than normal. I will be immersing pictures in the text, so let's see how it goes (more so because I just have so many photos for one day, haha) .
The morning started off with meeting up with my friend Eva to find our Blablacar to get to Jerez. Before going to the meeting place by the train station, Eva picked us up some Cafes con Leche to wake us up. Blablacar is like Uber but usually for longer distances and is a cheaper alternative than a train or bus. It was easy, fast and such a fun way to meet locals. Our car had the driver, his brother and another app user; they all were around our age or so our conversations were relatable and upbeat. This was my first time traveling to someplace by car. We talked about what we were studying, things to see in both Jerez and Sevilla and the trips we have taken. Sometimes they talked a little too fast and Eva and I had a hard time pronouncing some words. However, they were very sweet and worked with us and corrected us politely and patiently.
We had time to kill before our intended purpose of the trip, so we decided to live out the common motto "no pasa nada".“ It literally translates to “nothing happens” but can really mean hakuna matata, no worries or nothing is the matter. We walked around very casually the small beautiful streets of Jerez and ended up going into several convents, open churches and parks filled with horse statues and carriages. Jerez is known to have beautiful horse ballet shows, but currently since it's still winter, the shows are only two days during the week. We instead arrived at the gorgeous cathedral and tower at the center of the city. It's steps overlooked views of the city and was covered in dramatic gothic architecture.
We went to the Alcazar as the entrance fee was only 1.80 for students. I was reminded of cities we had visited and I got to see many things I have only talked about in my classes. The walls reminded me of the Granada Alhambra and the arches from the Mosque of Cordoba. I got to see an olive oil mill after learning about the process in my class. The views were gorgeous as we got to climb the towers and walls to see all over the city. We ran into some Canadians and chatted about Spain and Seville since they were visiting it soon.
With it being lunch time, Eva and I found a place to eat and try new tapas. We ended up at a busy yet high rated restaurant right on a street that was having a parade that we got to watch go by and hear drummers. We ordered some tintos and gazed at a menu filled with foods we have never had before. Our choices ended up being a small skewer of anchovies, olives and chili, two shrimp fritters, Iberian bellota cured pork, pintxo with goat cheese and caramelized onions, honey and walnuts, croquettes with leek prawns and wakame weed, french fries with fried egg and ham and cured goat cheese from the Sierra de Cadiz. My favorite was the Pinxto. After our meal we strolled to the reason we came to Jerez.
Arriving at Bodega Gonzalez Byass we picked up our tickets and awaited our tour. Our guide was this sweet lady who led us through one of their largest cellars on site. There were more than 4,000 barrels filled each with 500 liters of sherry in this specific cellar. Walking down the aisles we went to a curtained seating section where there we watched a 20 minute film describing and demonstrating the process that they do to make the sherry and the history of the winery, owners and producers. Our guide then directed us to a large display area that had a barrel for every country in the world. I successfully found the United States, Spain and the Vatican. After that they took us in a red tram and drove us through the grounds. There are over 30,000 barrels on site. The tour was extensive, descriptive and informative. It was definitely worthwhile by showing us all the beautiful venues and sherry making process. The event planner in me kept thinking how such an amazing and beautiful event space it was for ceremonies, receptions, business groups and corporate events. I stood amazed to see barrels signed by all sorts of famous people, most notably Steven Spielberg. There were gigantic barrels named after the twelve apostles, except Judas, and one in between them all named The Christ at quadruple the size. We saw the famous wine glass that demonstrates the tale of the man who made a mini ladder for a mouse to drink the famous sherry. After seeing that a mouse got to drink the wine, it was my turn.
We were directed to a modern event space with pretty bars and abstract art to now taste the sweet and dry concoctions. The space was covered with different red hat decorations. We sat at table with a couple from Texas traveling to Southern Spain for 10 days. We discussed our experiences and gave recommendations of our beautiful current home since they were headed to Sevilla that evening! Eva and I picked the 4 sherries with tapas option to taste and savor. Surprisingly the sweet sherries were almost too sweet for me and I much more enjoyed the dry pours, especially the Tio Pepe. The four I got to try was Tio Pepe, an old, dry sherry, Alfonso, a dry nutty sherry, Croft, a crisp sweet sherry, and Solera, a creamed sherry. We took our time and enjoyed the tasting (also with knowing that sherry is a bit stronger than traditional wine). Afterward, we walked to the bus station with a no pasa nada attitude and enjoyed each other's company talking about our day.
At the station we met a Scottish girl our age who has been studying abroad in Sevilla since September. We talked the whole way back about the city and our interpretations of the people and things to do. Her program is set up to just be immersed, live in the city and work instead of taking classes. Returning back to the casa I got into some deep conversations with Teresa again about life and living with a positive attitude.
Chiripa y Edith
Sunday, March 10th
In the morning, I was surrounded by Teresa and Lorenzo in conversation over breakfast. I went to mass at Santa Maria la Blanca and then returned to the casa. We all ended up going to lunch at the restaurant where Lorenzo's dad is a chef, his cousin works at and where Teresa makes cakes and pastry for. Chiripa is beautifully located in the heart of Sevilla and is modernly decorated. We met with Teresa's two friends from Mexico and Teresa ordered several raciones of tapas to picar and taste. I tried once again so many new foods; it was divine. After chatting and hanging there for almost two hours, Kate and I walked back until I split off to find a church to pray. I ended up going to mass again at San Jose as it was being said in English and I wanted to check it out before my family visits. It was filled with so many smiling and welcoming people; guiltily, I felt sort of at home as the parish reminded me of my own. I more felt bad because I know I want to go to Spanish masses, but the people at the English mass were just so nice and compassionate. After mass I met an elderly lady named Edith walking out the church who asked if I was from the States in a British accent. Of course I said yes and we got into discussing why I was there and how long I would be in Sevilla. She told me that if and when I come back to the English mass, that they will probably ask me to lector since they love when American's read with their accent (haha). I was in awe of her passion and heart. She is planning on going to Italy for a bit in the near future to learn Italian just because she can. She lives nearby my casa so we walked most of the way back together talking about faith and the churches here in Sevilla. What a nice way to wrap up my weekend.
Until next time!!
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