Spring Break 2011-Lagos, Portugal

Last weekend I traveled to Lagos, Portugal for a beach weekend organized by Discover Sevilla excursions and in all seriousness it was one of the best weekends of my life! We had fabulous weather and I spent the days relaxing on the beautiful beaches of Portugal with great friends. I arrived by bus Friday morning and went straight to the beach! We took a bus excursion to see the sunset on Cabo San Vincente, the southwesternmost point in Portugal, formerly believed to be the "end of the world". Following the most amazing sunset I've ever seen, we bused into the quaint town of Lagos and enjoyed delicious Indian food then went to the organized party for some dancing. I had a fabulous time with my friends from Sevilla and made lots of new friends too! On Saturday we took a "Sangria Sailboat Cruise" and got to ride on a small motor boat through the impressive grottoes off the coast. It was very hard for me to head back to Sevilla Sunday afternoon after such a blissful vacation. Lagos was so beautiful, I think this excursion is better described through pictures!

Beautiful Lagos! Taking in the views of the beaches right by our hotel.

A group of us at the sunset

Solo shot just before the sunset on Cabo San Vincente

My housemates Paulina, Alex and I on the beach

The "Wolfpack"

A few of us at dinner before the "White Party" on the second night

On the Sangria Sailboat Cruise. Safety first!

Grottoes off the coast-amazing!

Playing on the beach :)

Caitlin and me on the beach!

MADRID

Back in November, shortly after I found out I was accepted to the Sevilla program and confirmed my study abroad plans, a girl from UNC discovered that Taylor Swift was doing a concert in Madrid on her Speak Now European tour. No way I was going to miss an opportunity to see Taylor Swift, in concert in a foreign country, so the first trip I planned outside of Sevilla was our weekend excursion to Madrid.

Alex and I took the bus round trip from Sevilla-Madrid for an economical cost of 35 euros, leaving on Friday morning and returning Sunday. It’s kind of a long bus ride (about 6 hours) but we never have any problems keeping ourselves occupied and mainly caught up on our sleep so we arrived in Madrid rested for the weekend! Nicole’s friend from home, Darlos, is studying in Madrid this semester and he and his roommate were saintly enough to let the four of us girls invade their apartment for the weekend. Alex and I took the metro to Darlos’s apartment and dropped off our stuff then headed to the Puerta del Sol to do some spring shopping! I’ve been lucky enough to tour Madrid while on my past Spain excursions so it was nice to be able to relax on this trip and step out of my typical super-tourist mode. After a successful shopping excursion we headed back to change and get ready for the nighttime festivities. To say the nightlife in Madrid is wild would be an understatement. The guys took us to a sensational bar in an actual cave where the drink special called “Leopard’s milk” (a White Russian knockoff) comes out of the ceiling. Next, we were escorted to a discoteca called Pacha and enjoyed bottle service and phenomenal music! I loved the big city flair of Madrid, and it reminds me of New York a bit because of the unique energy and metropolitan atmosphere.

Cave bar!

The girls and our hosts for the weekend at Pacha!

The "Wolfpack" (nickname that Nicole, Caitlin, Alex and I have adopoted in Sevilla haha) got off to a tardy but tranquil start on Saturday afternoon. First stop on our Madrid agenda: Tate’s. Tate’s is a fabulous burger joint that our resident Madrid companions recommended to us and I must admit, it was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. Our party of four was the first and only in the restaurant and they had to open a bit early for us! Per usual, we befriended the staff of the restaurant and they brought us a free dessert. Burgers and brownie sundaes were a perfect start to the day! We spent the rest of the day exploring Madrid and were lucky enough to have fabulous weather-70 and sunny! We began with a tour of the Royal Palace, subsequently moved on to the Plaza de Oriente and the Opera House, then the Plaza de España and finished our tour at the Templo de Debod.I loved the tour of the Royal Palace; it was so ornate and beautiful and one room was made entirely of porcelain! Even though photography was forbidden, I snuck a few pictures much to the chagrin of the staff. The Templo de Debod, while a bit obscure, was also well worth the visit. This temple, originally constructed along the Nile River in the 2^nd century, was donated to Spain by the Egyptian government in 1968. By the time we finished with the temple it was time to head back to the boys’ apartment to get ready for the Taylor Swift concert!

Enjoying delicious burgers at Tate's

The "Wolfpack" in front of the symbol of Madrid

In front of the Royal Palace

Nicole and I at the Templo de Debod

Before the concert I was not a die-hard fan of T-Swift but she was absolutely incredible live! She had awesome outfits and cool accessories, including a rhinestone guitar! Our seats were general admission or floor seats but we were SO close to the stage and one of the guitarists threw a guitar pick into the crowd and I caught it!!! Taylor was so adorable and seemed really genuine. I can’t believe I’m sharing this but I definitely shed a few tears during some of her more emotional songs. After the concert we stopped for a quick dinner nearby and headed back to meet the boys for another night of dancing and debauchery in a fabulous 7-story discoteca called Capital. This place was incredible—there were acrobats performing, a whole floor for karaoke, and crazy gusts of wind that come out of the floor. We even saw the famous Real Madrid soccer player, Pepe in the VIP box. Alex and I went on a little excursion in search of this VIP section, but without success, and ended up stumbling upon a bachelor party for a while.

So close to the stage!

The guitarist on the right threw a guitar pick and I caught it!

On our last day in Madrid we went to the adorable Mercado de San Miguel, near the Plaza Mayor, to munch on some tapas for lunch prior to catching the bus back to Sevilla. We had fabulous weather and an afternoon in the market was the perfect ending to our trip!

After lunch in the Mercado de San Miguel

Sevilla, Me Encanta.

Where to begin??? I've fallen extremely behind on updates from my resident city so I'll do my best to get caught up on recent happenings in Sevilla. It's finally springtime in Sevilla and the weather has been phenomenal. Sunny and approximately 75 degrees every day so I've been spending a lot of time down by the river reading books and working on my suntan. Spring has also brought the tourists to Sevilla, they are often spotted toting giant cameras and with their faces buried in maps--they're everywhere! I must be blending in fairly well with Spanish culture and style because I've been asked several times for directions in the past few days and I kind of love it...makes me feel like a local! Most people are not as easily fooled though, especially when I partake in traditional American pastimes such as devoutly following college basketball. A group of us gathered around a laptop in Bar Phoenix during the ACC tournament and streamed the games online while cheering aggressively for the Tar Heels. As you can imagine, we drew many perplexed looks and chuckles from the local Spaniards. When March Madness rolled around, I discovered that TexMex (the same bar that showed the Super Bowl) would be showing all of the NCAA Tournament and have specials! All of the UNC students flocked to Texmex to cheer on the Heels from across the pond. We were SO excited to make it to the Elite Eight and bummed when we finally lost. The UNC enthusiasts far outnumbered Kentucky fans in the bar and I think they were a little intimidated because at halftime they migrated to another room in the bar.

Nicole, Caitlin and Michael watching the ACC tournament in our makeshift sports bar!

I finally met with an Interacambio named Simo, who is studying computer science at the University of Sevilla.  We meandered around by the river and talked about cultural norms in the States, his family in Morrocco and life in Sevilla. He's exceedingly nice, though a tiny bit on the dull side. Regardless, it was a great opportunity to practice Spanish, learn some colloquial phrases and get some help with grammar and pronunciation. Hopefully we can rendezvous again soon!

I took this picture while laying out by the river one day. Sevilla is so beautiful in the spring.

Nicole's parents are in town this week and we've had a wonderful time showing them around Sevilla. Her dad, a former professor, has assigned us the task of discovering how and why Spanish people live such long and healthy lives while carrying on the lifestyle that they do. They stay up late, smoke cigarettes, drink a beer with lunch, and still have one of the lowest rates of heart disease. Spanish women eat pastries and McDonalds but are still inexplicably thin. How? Why? I will keep you all posted if and when we discover the answer to this enigma! Anyways, we've had a fabulous time with the Hensel's. They had a group over to their apartment for dinner and it was so nice to get a little taste of home.

Discovering Spain

As much as I love traveling in Europe, I've also done some exploring in my "native" country, Spain. It's been wonderful to experience all of the different parts of such a diverse, multifaceted nation--and much easier because I (more or less) speak the language!

About two weeks ago my friends and I signed up for an evening to the coastal town of Cádiz in southern Spain, on the other side of the Atlantic. Cádiz is notorious for its "carnaval" celebrations that coincide with Mardi Gras. Before arriving in Spain I heard from a friend that carnaval in Cádiz is not something you want to miss, although, I can't say I would agree with them now. I signed up to take a bus leaving Sevilla at 8 pm and returning around 4 am, which for some mysterious reason seemed like a fabulous idea at the time. Upon arrival in Cádiz, I witnessed utter debauchery. The best way I know to describe it is to imagine the infamous Halloween on Franklin St. on steroids and filled with crazy Europeans, who were all undoubtedly three sheets to the wind. For the most part, I'm glad that I went and I definitely enjoyed myself for the first couple of hours or so, but by the time the bus embarked I was thrilled to get the hell out of there!

Alex and I in our "disfraces" or costumes. She's dressed as a baby and I'm posing as a pirate. Arghhh!

Yes, that's a street light. Just a sample of the madness in Cádiz.

For my next excursion in Spain I planned a day trip to another coastal town, Huelva. This small, industrial "pueblo" boasts an interesting museum, replicas of the ships in which Christopher Columbus voyaged to the Americas, and the monastery Santa Maria de la Rábida where Columbus planned his momentous excursion. Before leaving for Huelva it rained for weeks but we lucked out and had amazing weather for our little trip! The museum contained various ancient artifacts from the Phoenician and Roman civilizations, as well as several pieces of modern art. My favorite thing in Huelva was the monastery where I observed letters signed by Columbus himself and scrutinized the office where he dreamed of discovering a distant land. Nicole and I had a delightful lunch at a charming little café outside of the monastery and befriended our waiter and the owner of the restaurant. They brought us delicious strawberries for dessert and the owner gave me his email and phone number, insisting that we return to Huelva and give him a call. Everyone in Spain has been so kind and helpful and really seem to enjoy chatting with American students such as ourselves!

Posing with a Christopher Columbus monument in the "Plaza de Monjas" or Plaza of the Nuns.

Replica of the Pinta. Can you imagine inhabiting this tiny ship out at sea and for months on end?!

Nicole and I in the courtyard of the monastery.

Office and conference room where Christopher met with the king and queen of Spain.

Foodstuffs and Edibles

Since Spanish cuisine is not particularly widespread, I've decided to dedicate a post to pictures and descriptions of the food I'm subjected to on a daily basis. Some of it is positively scrumptious, some is merely palatable, and a select few dishes are a bit unappetizing. I'll keep updating this post periodically with my favorite foods and the most interesting ones!

My señora sets out breakfast before she goes to bed at night. Each morning I drink instant coffee and munch on toast with jam. I find it very strange that Spaniards don't typically "brew" coffee. It's either instant or espresso.

Tapas from "El Grifo" in Ronda. I ordered spinach & shrimp croquettes with roasted red peppers (left) and the house special, ham and quail egg on toast (right). Some of the best tapas I've ever had!

Often times when a group orders a round of drinks, the waiter will bring some sort of tapa to share. In an "International Cerveceria" we sampled the very traditional Spanish dish of anchovies in vinegar on the house! This fare falls under the "unappetizing" category in my opinion.

On our last day in Madrid we snacked in the "Mercado de San Miguel", a quaint little market near the Plaza Mayor. At our first stop I sampled skewers with tomato, mozzarella and pesto and one with ham and fig. I also tried foie gras with cranberries on a small bun. They were all delicious, but I was surprised to find the foie gras was my favorite!

In the same market I discovered a seafood kiosk where each "pincho" was only a euro! Here (from left) I devoured "cod cream", salmon with dill sauce and tuna with lemon. As we say in Spain, "¡Qué rico!"

Some of my local friends told me about this fabulous restaurant in Triana, about a 10 minute walk from my house. I ordered this salmon and mango tartare--one of my favorite tapas of all time!

Escapades in Paris!

Our journey on the Chunnel ended promptly at 8 am on Saturday morning at the central Paris station Gare du Nord. After groggily collecting our baggage, our motley crew of five UNC students (Caitlin, Nicole and myself accompanied by Emily and one of her roommates, also Caitlin) proceeded to the unpretentious "Relais Bergson Bolivar" hotel in which we reserved two rooms for the remainder of the long weekend. Without wasting any time, we navigated the Paris metro and located our hotel with relative ease, quickly dropped off our luggage and headed out into the city. Our first priority was a quick bite to eat before seeing the sights and we stopped at a local French cafe near our hotel where I tasted my first "Croque-monsieur". The buttery, open faced ham and melted cheese sandwich came atop fresh french bread and smothered with Béchamel sauce. Every bite was heavenly and this mainstream French snack now has a place in my list of favorite foods.

Eiffel tower! Obviously...

And the hike up the stairs begins.

From the left, Emily, me, Caitlin, Nicole and Caitlin in front of the Louvre

 

 

On top of the tower!

Revitalized from our delicious snack, we again boarded the metro and dismounted at the station closest to the Louvre. In essence of time we opted to appreciate the building from outside, but one day I would love to spend a day lost in the massive and magnificent museum. From the Louvre we walked to the Eiffel Tower--it's HUGE! As it was Caitlin's and my first time in Paris, we excitedly bounded up to the ticket counter in hopes of climbing the massive tower. In light of being poor college students and in need of some exercise after the sinful sandwich we consumed, Caitlin and I opted for the more economical route to the top of the tower via the stairs--lots of stairs. After climbing for what seemed like hours (with a few breathers) we finally arrived to the upper level. The Eiffel Tower is quite an experience; I was surprised to find a gift shop, restaurant, and even an ice skating rink! We bounded around the tower, taking in all of the sights and sounds and laughing at the top 40 rap play-list that was the music of choice. The two of us ended up in the lengthy line of similar tourists waiting for the elevator transfer to the pinnacle of the tower. While waiting in line, Caitlin was further exposed to Europeans lack of person space--a gray-haired woman in a shiny maroon coat kept leaning on her in the queue. It was hilarious! We finally made it to the top, took our pictures, and hurried down the tower to meet the rest of our party. It had begun to pour down rain and since our conquest of the tower took much longer than we thought (about 3 hours!) the other girls headed back to the hotel to get ready for the evening. Caitlin and I stopped in a quaint French cafe on our way home for coffee and crepes before making the trek back to our hotel on the obscure green metro line. Long story short--Caitlin and I were lost on the Paris metro for about 3 hours. We took accidental detours on the RER suburban train, headed down the wrong way on a line, and finally missed one of our stops. I finally decided we should exit the metro system and just take a taxi, but the driver said we were too close and wouldn't take us. On the verge of tears, we finally stumbled upon our hotel and I've never been so happy to see a building in my entire life!
Caitlin and I quickly changed (I donned my new "Parisian" outfit from Topshop!) and met the girls at the apartment of Emily's friend Greg, who works in Paris. Greg is adorable and was so excited to have us over and at one point he exclaimed, "I've never had this many lovely American girls in my apartment before!" Somehow Emily always seems to know the right people, and Greg ushered us around the city to an art gallery opening, a birthday party on the Champs-Elysee, and to an exclusive disco. Another successful evening!

Crepes!!!

Shab, Nicole and I in the art gallery

Group photo :)

Day two in Paris was quite a whirlwind! Unable to contain my excitement, I aroused the group around 9 am for our final day of sightseeing. Nicole and I enjoyed a lovely breakfast at the hotel of croissants, coffee, and grapefruit juice and then pestered the reluctant Caitlin to get ready. First stop: the Gothic district, where we saw Fontaine St. Michel and toured Notre Dame. I really enjoyed Notre Dame with the stunning stained glass windows and since it was Sunday we were fortunate to catch a glimpse of the mass service in progress. After a quick break for lunch, we headed back to experience the Champs-Elysee by daylight, behold the impressive Arc de Triomphe, and paused in a cafe for the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted.

Fontaine St. Michel

Arc de Triomphe

The best hot chocolate ever!

Next stop was the Montmartre neighborhood where we meandered around charming, miniature streets, clambered up stairs to the Sacre Coeur to take in some of the most beautiful views of the city, and ended up at the Moulin Rouge. I've never been more exhausted but content in my entire life and we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and grabbed a delightful dinner of Parisian salads at a nearby brasserie.

Moulin Rouge

In front of the Sacre Coeur

Delicious salad with ham, egg, blue cheese and veggies

All of us were worn out from the action-packed weekend so we took it easy on our final night and winded up back in the Gothic district rehashing the memorable moments of the trip over red wine and scrumptious Nutella-and-banana crepes. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to globe-trot while studying abroad and wonderful friends to share my experiences with.

Nutella and banana crepes!

Adventures in London!

The Spanish love their holidays and when I discovered that school was canceled on the first Monday in March for the "Día de Andalucía", I took the opportunity to plan a trip to London and Paris. With Caitlin and Nicole as my sidekicks, we organized a 4-day expedition leaving Sevilla for London on Thursday, taking the "Chunnel" to Paris on Saturday, and returning to Sevilla on Monday. It was an aggressive plan and much to tackle in 4 days but the trip was definitely a success!

My flight landed in the London-Gatwick airport around 3 in the afternoon and then we took the high-speed Gatwick Express train into the London city center. This was my first European train experience and while not quite of the same caliber as the Hogwarts Express (dare to dream!), the train got us quickly and efficiently into London.

Our voyage on the Gatwick Express train

After arriving safely in the city center Nicole, Caitlin and I set off to find my friend Emily's apartment near Russel Square. Emily and I live together in Chapel Hill and she is studying in London for the semester so I was thrilled to see her! After quickly dropping off our luggage, Emily ushered us off to a traditional British pub. The atmosphere was absolutely adorable and we drank cider while catching up and listening to all of the locals chatting with charming British accents! After two rounds of cider and loads of laughs, the four of us made the short trek back to Emily's apartment to freshen up for the evening festivities. Emily took us to a delicious Mexican restaurant and we were seated at the best table in the house! VIP treatment continued throughout the night as we relocated to a nightclub called Maddox where, thanks to Emily's club promoter friends, we enjoyed table service and met Taio Cruz. The nightlife in London completely blew me away because everything from the drinks, to the atmosphere, to the people were so ritzy and posh!

Enjoying ciders outside the pub in London

Champagne courtesy of our friends in the kitchen!

After waking up for a delicious brunch, I spent day two exploring downtown London with Nicole and Caitlin while Emily went to her internship. We walked ALL over the city, starting at Big Ben and Parliament, meandering alongside the Thames past the London Eye to the Tate Modern museum. I really enjoyed the Tate Modern, where I saw one of the paintings from the famous "Water Lilies" series by Claude Monet. Next we crossed the Millennium Footbridge, stopping to take pictures of Shakespeare's Globe, continued on to St. Paul's Cathedral and then back to Westminster Abbey. Finally, we strolled through St. James's Park and ended up at Buckingham Palace.

The walls in Bill's, our breakfast venue, were covered with canned products!

Nicole, Caitlin and me in front of Big Ben and Parliament

The quintessential tourist pose in a red telephone booth

View from the Tate Modern with the Millennium Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral in the background.

I was completely exhausted after a full day of sightseeing but also thrilled that we were able to fit just about everything in. I would have liked to go inside St. Paul's Cathedral and check out the National Portrait Gallery but I guess those will have to wait for next time! In the wake of our vigorous tourist activities, we met Emily for tea time in Soho and drank exotic teas and sampled authentic biscuits. Ultimately, we made our way back to her apartment to get ready for another evening out on the town; this time our terminus was an exclusive club called Ammika. Once more my friends and I was ushered into the VIP lounge with a bunch of Abercrombie & Fitch models, all the while thinking, "Is this real life?!". Our final night in London was a total success, making it hard to motivate myself to get up for our 6:55 am train to Paris!