Anticipation Week
Just to Note: This post will start from my day trips to Italica and Malaga and then off to Madrid. It will stop before my big trip to Ireland, Netherlands and Germany. Later this week I hope to have that trip posted.
Experimentando Italica (Experiencing Italica)
Saturday, April 27th
Being that I didn't have a huge weekend trip, I decided to explore a bit outside of Sevilla to the Roman ruins site, Italica. After lunch I made my way to the bus station to make a quick solo day trip. The site itself is comprised of remarkable mosaics and a pretty well reserved amphitheatre (notably seen in Game of Thrones). It is just outside of the city of Sevilla in the village of Santiponce, a quick 30 minute bus ride away. The city itself is one of the earliest Roman cities in Spain founded in 206 BC. Walking in it didn't seem like a huge town. The buildings were practically gone but left their outlines of walls only a foot or two high. The amphitheatre was pretty well preserved and had a huge central pit where there used to be animal cages for gladiatorial combats. I walked along the paths admiring the structures and overlooked views of the entirety of Sevilla center from afar. It was a fun way to leave for a day without actually traveling. Sevilla is just surrounded in beauty and cute villages just like Santiponce. I loved walking down the main street of the village seeing locals untouched by tourism just living their true authentic Spanish life. I returned back for dinner and prepped for my Sunday day trip.
Relajante en Málaga (Relaxing in Malaga)
Sunday, April 28th
It continues to get hotter and hotter here in Sevilla, so I decided to do a solo day trip to a beach on Sunday. I wanted to go somewhere new but easy so I chose Malaga, a southern coast city of Spain. I used Blablacar to get there and found myself arriving to the city before 11:30. I got my groundings of the layout of the city and did some exploring before making it to the waves. I found the ferris wheel, cruise ships, alcazaba and various renditions of Pablo Picasso street art. I climbed up a bit of hilltops to get some views of the city and look over the walls of the Alcazaba and the Roman Theatre.
Making it to the beach I found a spot to camp out and layout under the blazing sun. The ocean waves brought in a refreshing breeze and allowed me to stay until lunch time. Getting hungry and not wanting to spend a foot and leg eating on the beach I went into the city to find a tapa place where I could get their well known seafood dishes. On my way I passed by the main cathedral that has yet to be completely built. One of the two towers in the front of the cathedral is unfinished which gives the cathedral the nickname of La Manquita "one armed lady". I ended up eating at La Portada where I got a mix of seafood salad, fried eggplant with honey and a tinto de verano. My server chatted with me quite a bit since I was eating alone and we ended up chatting about all the things to do and see in Malaga and plenty of other Spain cities. He even offered and gave me a complimentary glass of cava (Spanish Champagne).
Now that it was the heat of the day I went over to the Pablo Picasso museum. There I saw some of his most interesting and foundation pieces. He was born in Malaga so they had plenty to showcase. The museum broke down his styles over the years and it was educational and inspiring. After my visit I returned to the beach until sunset. I truly got to relax and enjoy myself. I walked back through some of the sights I missed to my meeting location for my return back to Sevilla. Some of the places I saw were Calle Larios, the main shopping street, Muelle Uno, the waterfront open air mall, Santa Maria de la Victoria, a cathedral holding crypts and various Malaga treasures, Plaza de Toros, the bullfighting ring, and several parks. I returned to Sevilla late that evening so I ate the dinner Teresa saved for me and then went to bed.
Vino, Queso y Trajes de Gitana (Wine, Cheese and Flamenco Dresses)
Monday, April 29th
Monday I realized how much sun I got at the beach. I was red to a crisp. Nothing too eventful happened except for the wonderful and most exciting tasting I had in my Culture of Food and Wine class consisting of wines and cheeses. We ended up trying three vinos and four quesos. Once again my professor is the cutest and sweetest man. I truly enjoyed not only tasting Spain's delites but also learning to describe, explain and distinguish between them. After class, CEA was hosting a MAP session (Making Abroad Purposeful) where we discussed ways we can sell ourselves, this experience and make it count. It let me ponder all the ways I have changed and grown over the last four months. After that I went with my friend Caroline to her casa where her host mom was renting Flamenco dresses for Feria. The first dress I tried on not only looked amazing but fit like a glove. I was sold. I went back to my casa for dinner and then prepped for my week and half long trip starting tomorrow.
Madrid aqui Vengo (Madrid Here I Come)
Tuesday, April 30th
After my morning Communication class, I went to the CEA breakfast and got to say goodbye for a while to friends. My second break technically begins on Thursday but because classes were going to be canceled on Wednesday due to the Spanish Labor Day Holiday, I decided to start today. After picking up my bag and a bocadillo that Teresa made me, I went to my pick up spot for my blablacar to Madrid. It was to be a 4 hour car ride plus a pitstop to each lunch and get gas. It saved me quite a bit of money to just be in the car for two more hours than the train.
Arriving in Madrid, I was dropped off at Plaza de Espana (Let me say Sevilla's is much better). I found my way to Nate's apartment and waited outside for him to finish his interview for a summer job and then we decided to start our vacation. He had his last final before I arrived so his program was finished and he was ready to travel. We had our major traveling starting Saturday so we decided to hit the rest of Madrid from Tuesday to Thursday and go to Toledo on Friday. Avenger's just came out and Nate hadn't seen it. We stopped at the theatre to pick up evening tickets and then went to get a late lunch/early dinner at Takos. We split a plate of eight tacos ranging from pork, chicken, beef and cactus and each got our respective drinks, a margarita and a Mexican beer (can you guess who got what?). We strolled through Madrid until it was time to head to the theatre. We got out pretty late so we just went back and went to bed.
Parques
Wednesday, May 1st
We started our morning getting coffee and croissants at Nate's favorite coffee shop, Cafe Carmen. We stopped at Pull & Bear to pick up some new pants for Nate and then attempted to go the archaeological museum. Unfortunately it was closed. Instead we walked through vendors selling books, crafts and trinkets before taking a detour through Retiro park. Getting through the park we made it to Plaza de Colon. We decided to take a metro to Casa de Campo, Spain's largest park. Walking around Nate found gym equipment that he attempted to use (and failed). We found the zoo and main lake overlooking the buildings of Madrid. We walked again back through the park until making it to the cable car machine. We took a ride in them back to the city center and were amazed at the views. Stopping at Aldi, we picked up food for both lunch and dinner and then went back to the apartment to prepare and eat. Watching a bit of Game of Thrones we relaxed before going to eat at a cheap, delicious and easy bar for dinner called El Tigre. There we ordered liter mojitos and got large plates of mixed tapas with our orders. I ended up eating most of the wings. We then went to go find the supposed firework show happening to commemorate Dos de Mayo. Hearing that it was to happen near the palace, we went that way and got drinks at 100 Montaditos to wait and see if they were actually happening. Unfortunately after waiting past midnight, nothing lit up the sky so we went back and headed to bed.
Dos de Mayo
Thursday, May 2nd
Feliz Dos de Mayo! In Madrid they celebrate the rebellion of the people of Madrid against the French occupation so the street surround the Dos de Mayo plaza are covered in people, paper decorations and music. We made our way near the plaza to get breakfast at La Dona where we got a three for two deal pastries along with coffees to start our day right. Entering the plaza we saw people setting up stands to sell drinks, crafts and food along with stages for musical performances. We decided to come back later once the festivities were to actually begin so we walked around the Chueca neighborhood. We found a fancy market, Mercado Municipal San Anton, which had a beautiful rooftop terrace and various vendors selling high quality treats and food concoctions. We were getting a but hungry from walking around so we found a grocery store and picked up chorizo, jamon, a loaf of bread and snacks. After eating the area started to pick up so we returned to the plaza named after the day itself and people watched the crowds enjoying the music and one another. We bought cups made specifically for the event where you could use and get cheaper drinks from all the neighborhood restaurants with them. We found a band playing in another plaza and ran into some of Nate's friends from his program. After getting our share of the festivities we wanted to go find a good spot to watch the sunset. We got pretty far outside of the city to a park filled with tall hills looking towards the mountains. Stopping at a grocery store first we picked up drinks and snacks. It was the first superstore I had seen in my time abroad and reminded me a lot of Walmart. We sat upon the top of the hill overlooking the skyline and enjoying each other's company.
Fuimos a Toledo
Friday, May 3rd
We made our way to Toledo by bus which made for a quick nap session. There Nate, having traveled there in the beginning of his program, knew his way around and we stopped first at the first of seven cathedral/churches throughout the city. The churches are the main attraction in the city so we purchased red wristbands that allow us to enter all seven at more than half the cost. Toledo itself is an ancient city set on tall hills in Central Spain. It is the capital of its region, Castilla-La Mancha and is an outstanding museum city. It is a walled in city and hosts paintings of El Greco along with Arabs, Jewish and Christian monuments. We had to walk through a gateway, the New Bisagra Gate, to actually get into the city.
That first church we stopped at is named Cristo de la Luz which used to be a mosque before it was converted Christian. It had beautiful horseshoe arches that reminded me of Granada. Walking through the streets, many of the city had its turns and winding walkways. The roads were steep and tall. We found a building that used to be a church that has thus changed to be an event space for concerts and band performances. Continuing on our 7 church journey we made our way to Iglesia de la Jesuitas, El Entierro del Señor de Orgaz, Iglesia del Salvador and San Juan de Los Reyes. At the Jesuit church we got beautiful views of the city and the Alcazar from the top of the towers and found huge bells in the bell towers. The church itself was covered in statues depicting various Saints and Apostles. At Iglesia del Salvador we went into the crypts, climbed the tower and found secret back rooms that led to courtyards. At Entierro del Señor de Orgaz we saw the famous Greco painting of the Burial of Count of Orgaz. We weren't allowed to take pictures but I took one from the internet to showcase it below. We found Santa Maria la Blanca Synagogue and it deeply gave me Cordoba vibes from the arches and ceilings. We found the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes where the courtyard and interior of the church resembled Sevilla's cathedral. All the churches we stopped to that had pews, Nate and I took time to pause, kneel and pray. It was a wonderful way to recenter ourselves through traveling. We found the Convent of Santo Domingo el Antiguo which is attached to some university housing. Entering we saw a tomb surrounded by an ornate chapel. The ceilings were tiled and decorated in gold and blue. There even was a throne room. Ending there, we found and made our way to all seven churches in 5 hours. We were quite hungry so we stopped and picked up food at a grocery store to then sit in the main plaza, Plaza de Zocodover, to eat and people watch. Walking around Nate wanted to show me the bridges connecting the city to the surrounding mountains that cross over the river. We found Puente de Alcantara and looked over the river from above. Nate had a call to hear back from the interview he had on Tuesday so we found a spot overlooking the city where it was less busy and easier to hear. He got the job!
We proceeded around the entirety of city walking along the top of the river to try and find the other bridge on the opposite side. We ended up seeing Mirador del Valle and sitting at bench for a bit to admire the views. Someone was shooting off smoke fireworks in the distance which at first startled us from not seeing where it was coming from but just hearing loud booms. We found our way to the other bridge, San Martin, and watched the tourists who were using the zipline either scream or use it in complete silence. We sat and made it in a game guessing from appearances if they were a screamer or an internal reactor. Overall I was impressed and in love with Toledo's beauty and architecture. I loved every minute of soaking in the small city in Spain. Being that we had seen the entirety of the city, we decided it was time to head back to Madrid so we could make dinner and prepare our stuff for our trip leaving the next day. Nate ended up making me a delicious dinner of cooked veggies, pork chops and a salad.
I have decided to cut this blog short (by only one week haha) so I could not only post it but also not make it as long as my last one. I hope to finish my Feria Break trip with Nate throughout the rest of the week. We did quite a bit of traveling from Ireland, Netherland and Germany in a week and I don't want to cut those down because there are so many details to share! So until next time.