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!

Is it already March?!

Wow, I cannot believe that I've been abroad for almost two months! The weather is starting to get really nice here, on average 70 degrees and sunny every day, and it's making the time just fly by. I felt a little homesick when it was cold and rainy, but Sevilla is gorgeous in the spring and now I never want to leave. Nothing exciting to report on the school front--my classes are going well and my professors are great, for the most part. The professor of my "History of Relations Between the Americas" class is a bit brusque and demeaning but hopefully he'll come around eventually.

The main entrance-way to the University. So beautiful!

My assigned “Intercambio” never contacted me so I’ve really been making an effort to befriend some local students around my age to practice my Spanish with! My friend’s Intercambio invited us over to his friend’s house for dinner the other night, it was so much fun! The two girls that live in the apartment cooked an interesting Italian dish for us comprised of pasta with red sauce and sliced hot dogs, but it was so cute and thoughtful! I told them next time we would come over and cook American food for them, but they didn’t seem to enthusiastic about the idea until I suggested Mexican food instead. I’ve really been craving home made guacamole and cooking for our new Spanish friends gives us an excuse (and kitchen) to make it!  After dinner we went to “botellon” in a nearby parking lot in the Triana neighborhood. Now, what exactly is botellon-ing? It’s essentially picking up a bottle of liquor, a liter of mixer, some cups and ice and taking these supplies to a public place to “pregame”. Since in Spain it is unusual for friends to visit your home at night and many local students live with their parents until they graduate from university students frequently find a park and botellon with friends before heading to bars or discos. The botellon phenomenon is an interesting part of Spanish youth culture—but actually enjoyable and a great way to practice speaking Spanish!

 

I had my last cultural visit with my program to Granada two weeks ago and I had a blast! We left on Saturday morning and returned late Sunday. There was so much to see in Granada! On the first day our group attended guided tours of the Royal Chapel and the Cathedral. Both were beautiful buildings, constructed during the early 16th century in Gothic-style architecture.  I enjoyed the outing to Granada Cathedral immensely. The interior is stunning and features huge white, marble columns, exquisite gold details and a beautiful blue ceiling with gold stars. After the guided tours our group dispersed to enjoy some free time in the city. My friends and I went for “tapas”, and were pleasantly surprised to discover that with the purchase of a drink (cerveza or vino) you receive a free tapa! 

Inside the Cathedral

Taking a break for some tapas!

The next day after a delicious American breakfast buffet our group set off for an expedition to the famous Alhambra. The Alhambra is an ancient city built by the Moors in the mid 14^th century and is comprised of a royal palace and military fortress. The palaces in the Alhambra were built for the last Muslim rulers of Spain and taken over by the Catholic kings after the reconquest in the late 15^th and 16^th centuries. The architecture of the Alhambra was beautiful and the views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains from the top of the fortress were spectacular. The journey to Granada was without a doubt my favorite cultural visit!

On top of the fortress in the Alhambra and overlooking the Sierra Nevadas.