El primer fin de semana =)

holaaa....I've been in Spain for a week now and sometimes I feel like its been a day and sometimes it feels like a month!

I can't believe how much we've managed to pack into just one week. Last Friday we left for Sevilla. For the first time ever I packed for a weekend in a backpack (we had to walk and carry our things, so i downsized...travel baby steps). Suffolk had the entire weekend booked basically down to the minute.

We took a walking tour of Sevilla on Friday afternoon. We went to the largest gothic cathedral in the world. A cathedral is classified as "gothic" when it has pointed arches. Inside the cathedral there were two very different architectural styles, because half the cathedral was built by Muslims and half by Catholics. We walked up a tower that was 35 ramps high. Way back when, a man used to ride a donkey up to the top of the tower five times a day and yell, signifying it was time to pray. The view was absolutely breathtaking. We could see all of Sevilla, including a new bridge that is being built, and the second largest bull ring in the world (the first is in Madrid =) Inside the cathedral was also the grave of Christopher Columbus. The statue was of four soldiers carrying a coffin, and you can actually see the keyhole on the coffin that will open it up. Apparently Columbus has been buried in over three locations, but they kept being reconquered, so he kept being moved all over the world. Not exactly resting in peace, huh? But now he is in Sevilla along with his son and one other relative.

The walking tour took many hours, and we went to tons of cathedrals and landmarks. We visited the cathedral that was the inspiration for the "Macarena" song. Inside the church was the Madonna, which is dressed differently depending on the time of year. At one time the church was burnt to the ground on the inside, so at the entrance way you can see where the rebuilding started and the original frame stands.

We also visited the part of the wall that remains that guarded Sevilla. From here, you can see their first hospital in the distance, outside the city limits. This is because people were basically sent to the hospital to die, and it was actually used for three centuries before another was built (within the limits this time).

Later that night (yes this is all one day) we took Flamenco dancing lessons (i was muy cansado at this point). Our teacher taught us how important the hand movements are. I felt very clumsy during the lesson. However it was pretty funny to see everyone try it.

The next day we went to the Roman ruins that were in the city of Italica. The city was built so Italian soldiers had a place to call home in Spain. There was an amphitheater that housed about 25,000 people. There were also the foundations of many houses that are still visible. The floors of all the houses are mosaics, depicting different scenes or meanings. Of course, this is where my camera died for the weekend....

Next we continued to travel to basically a horse ranch/farm. We were met by flamenco dancers and waiters with drinks and snacks. I tried a lot of food. I'm not totally sure what all (or any) of it was, but I liked it! The food is a bit of a struggle for me, but I'm really trying to try new things with an open mind. After the Flamenco dancers performed, we went into another type of performance. Men came out riding on horses, and women were standing on the ground. They started to dance together! the horses were actually going in circles and twirling with the women, it was very impressive. The horses were actually crossing their legs to walk sideways, which I guess is a very unnatural thing for them to do. It was so crazy to see.

After arriving back at the hotel, I indulged in the "no fiesta sin siesta" rule. Later that night we went to another Flamenco performance at a famous club. Our teachers were actually the ones performing. The part of Sevilla that we were at was where all the bars/night clubs were so we wanted to stay there instead of walking all the way back to our hotel. It was a little early for the bars to be open, so we walked and found a McDonalds that served beer =) (yes, I had to throw this in).

The next day I ended up sleeping in (thanks McDonalds and RioLatina), and met up with the group at a restaurant called La Razza near a park. Inside the park we rented bikes and biked around. The park was very beautiful. It was interesting to see people walking around with their families, kids roller blading or biking. A very leisurely Sunday.

We ended up taking a horse and bugee back to our hotel (whom we talked down from 60 euro to 8 euro). We got a little tour of this part of Sevilla (different museums and former places for princesses, we heard about who had an affair with who).

Through out the weekend it continually hit me that, wow, I'm really in Spain right now. It really is still surreal that this is where I'll be for the next four months.

Classes start tomorrow, I need to be rested!! plenty of siesta time for me =)