Sorry if that was a lame opening phrase, but I'm running out of new ones.
Vale. Voy a empezar.
Did you see that? I said "vale"... basically me he convertido en una sevillana en menos de 24 horas.
(I've turned into a Sevillian in less than 24 hours).
Today we had to be at the ISA office by 10 so we got up around 830 to have our breakfast and coffee and make sure we look fabulous for the day. Remember people estoy buscando el hombre desconocido y feo que se llama "Angelino". Today I'm wearing a maxi skirt... I know I know, I'm super mega guay.
Moving along.
We had tostada for desayuno con two types of jam: peach and strawberry. It was tasty. We also had cafe desayuno (morning coffee... which is normal coffee but that's what they call it). Sadly, it was descafeinado.
(our first Sevillian desayuno)
We arrive at la Plaza Nueva to meet the whole ISA group for a walking tour. This plaza is Sevilla's version of Plaza Mayor and it is beautiful. Our walk begins with MJ showing us the route to the ISA office, which Cassie and I already knew since we live en el centro y por eso toda esta cerca de nuestra casa. We stop at ISA por un ratito and continue our tour throughout the city. Our first stop was at Spain's largest cathedral which is also the 3rd largest cathedral in todo el mundo! Como todas de las catedrales, era muy hermosa. (I just realized that I lost my notes about the cathedral so I will have to go of memory :( )
This cathedral was originally a mosque because Sevilla was once run by the Moors. In 1248, the Catholics reconquered Sevilla and began converting the mosque into a cathedral instead of tearing it down because the mosque was so immense and beautiful. Our guide told us that they wanted this cathedral to be a symbol of the city's wealth and even said "Let us build a church so beautiful and so great that those who see it built will think we were crazy". Hence one massively gorgeous cathedral was built.
More fun facts, Christopher Columbus's tomb is in the cathedral. There was once a large discrepancy over whether the Dominican Republic or Spain had Columbus's remains, so finally in 2004 (yes, 2004, as in very recently with respect to how long he's been dead) they commissioned CSI style investigation on the remains that are in his tomb and compared the DNA to that of the remains of Columbus's son and brother (both are in the cathedral as well). Finally in 2006 (I can't believe this didn't happen until I was in high school) they verified they did indeed have Columbus's remains. HOWEVER, they don't have his entire body, they have various bones and the rest has decomposed. Our tour guide said "Columbus does not rest in peace, but rather in pieces" jajaja.
Therefore, its possible the DR has some of his remains as well. Nonetheless, it is suspicious whether they really do because they wouldn't agree to any DNA testing of their supposed tomb of Columbus. Mind you, I learned all of this from spaniards so naturally they are biased.
After our lovely tour of the cathedral, we had 15 minutes of free time to climb to the top of the Giralda. The Giralda is a famous bell tower and is an iconic landmark in Sevilla. The Giralda is part of the cathedral and was originally built by the moors and has not been changed since. It is the tallest structure in Spain measuring 343 ft tall and no other building in Spain is allowed to be taller than it so that you can always see the whole city from the top of the tower. The view from the top was beauitful and totally worth the 34 flights of ramps that we had to walk. You may have noticed I said ramps and not stairs, thats because the moors constructed ramps instead of stairs so that they could ride their horses to the top of the tower... we didn't have horses today.
We then went home to have our big meal of the day: almuerzo! When we got home Maca and Rafael were both in the kitchen and Rafael was cooking. I told him that I would love for him to teach me how to make authentic Spanish dishes because Julie wants me to teach her the recipes when I get back. Rafael told me that while I'm living with them I should write down the name of each new dish that we eat, take a picture and then rate it on a scale from 1-10. Then, during my last week of the program, he will teach me how to make my favorite dishes. I can't wait. Tonight we ate Pollo Ajillo which is chicken cooked in olive oil that is infused with ajo (garlic) and vino blanco. They also served us a plate of pickled beets and onions in vinegar dressing that was pretty tasty as well. At first I was sort of off put by the HEFTY amount of olive oil the dish had because the chicken was effectively swimming in olive oil. However, they always serve bread with every meal and I just used that to sop it all up and it was DIVINE. Listen to me now: the olive oil in the US is horrible compared to the olive oil here. Here it has SO MUCH SABOR! I love it. I told him that when I try to make this dish at home it probably won't be as good because the main ingredient is the olive oil. He told me I could try to compensate with spices, but naturally he agreed that Spanish olive oil was lo mejor.
Now what did we have for dessert, you ask? Naturally, gazpacho! Maca homemade amazing gazpacho that I rated as a 10 and will most certainly be learning how to cook it on the last week of my stay. It was buenisimo.
Considering I told you that I have already transformed into a Sevillian, I did what any good one would do after el almuerzo and took my first SIESTA!! Damn, I love me some siestas. It was exactly what I needed. We headed back to the ISA office to have our written and oral placement exam tests and to meet our professors and get our syllabi. Then, MJ and Quique took us to a nice "welcome to sevilla" dinner at a fancy restaurant. HOWEVER, it wasn't smooth sailing in the beginning.
When we left the ISA office, we were all following MJ through the city streets to the restaurant until one of my friends realized we were missing someone: Kathryn. Now let me tell you a few things about Kathryn: A) I love her but B) She is always one of two things: late or lost. When we were in Toledo she got lost from the group and wandered around the city for a half hour until she finally ran into us. When we climbed up to the top of the Giralda, she was 10 minutes late getting back down to our meeting point and we almost forgot her. Lolz now we call her "la perdida" (the lost one).
So we go running back to the ISA office to see if maybe she didn't see that everyone had left. We make it back and she isnt there. Now we get lost trying to retrace our steps. We tried to call Quique to get directions, but he doesn't answer his phone. Somehow, as we are trying to be the good friends and find "la perdida" we end up becoming "las perdidas". This was quite frustrating indeed. Eventually we get in contact with Quique and he tells us to walk to the Giralda and that he'd meet us there and then show us the way. There's a phrase that spaniards use all the time and it is: "No pasa nada". Basically a "no big deal" kind of phrase. We decided it must be Kathryn's motto in life and that we also need to adopt it.
We finally make it to the restaurant and sit down at one of two large tables. Dinner was great. They served us an american amount of food for dinner which wasn't really necessary because I had stuffed myself at lunch... thank heavens we walk everywhere... I brought workout clothes to Spain but that has yet to happen. Pero... no pasa nada :)
After dinner, a group of girls and I decide to go to la Plaza de Salvador to have some drinks outside. This was a great choice. There were lots of young people just hanging out at bar top tables outside drinking beer and chatting. We used this time to enjoy some cervezas and continue getting to know each other by telling embarrassing stories about ourselves. I had the most stories... as always. Sadly, I didn't mean my imaginary Angelino but it was still a great night! We left at 11:30pm ish and there were still grandparents walking around and people seated at restaurants for dinner. This is still rather shocking for us.
(official motto of Sevilla "no me ha dejado" which means "you have not abandoned me". it is EVERYWHERE)
I walked home by myself like the miss independent that I am...
Which song just popped into your head? the Kelly Clarkson one or the Ne-Yo one? I thought of the kelly clarkson one, but the ne-yo one is good too.... if this reference doesn't make sense to you, no te preocupes.
I took lots of photos as I was walking around the city tonight. I'm trying super hard to be artsy because I want to have photos printed on canvas when I get back and hung in my room..... My artsy skills are a work in progress.
After having a slight panic attack on the street outside my apartment as I struggled to unlock the door and inadvertently rang the doorbell, I finally made it home safely and called it a night.
Tomorrow I have my first full day of classes.
Hasta Luego,
Raquel
PS
I got another email from "future Rachel". It told me to go to Casa Cuesta (a restaurant) in Sevilla and that although he might not be there it would still lead me in the right direction.... this is getting a little weird now.
If you are the "future Rachel" reveal yourself already! Julie claims she wants to "shake the hand" of this person because she thinks this prank is so impressive. Personally, I think it's evil. #foreveralone
just kidding more like #foreverPARTYINGINSPAIN
This cathedral was originally a mosque because Sevilla was once run by the Moors. In 1248, the Catholics reconquered Sevilla and began converting the mosque into a cathedral instead of tearing it down because the mosque was so immense and beautiful. Our guide told us that they wanted this cathedral to be a symbol of the city's wealth and even said "Let us build a church so beautiful and so great that those who see it built will think we were crazy". Hence one massively gorgeous cathedral was built.
(In front of la Catedral de Sevilla)
(con mi amiga Sarah)
(La Giralda)
(Left to Right: Sarah, Deonna, me, Kathryn (la perdida))
More fun facts, Christopher Columbus's tomb is in the cathedral. There was once a large discrepancy over whether the Dominican Republic or Spain had Columbus's remains, so finally in 2004 (yes, 2004, as in very recently with respect to how long he's been dead) they commissioned CSI style investigation on the remains that are in his tomb and compared the DNA to that of the remains of Columbus's son and brother (both are in the cathedral as well). Finally in 2006 (I can't believe this didn't happen until I was in high school) they verified they did indeed have Columbus's remains. HOWEVER, they don't have his entire body, they have various bones and the rest has decomposed. Our tour guide said "Columbus does not rest in peace, but rather in pieces" jajaja.
Therefore, its possible the DR has some of his remains as well. Nonetheless, it is suspicious whether they really do because they wouldn't agree to any DNA testing of their supposed tomb of Columbus. Mind you, I learned all of this from spaniards so naturally they are biased.
(Where Christopher Columbus rests in pieces)
(the courtyard outside the cathedral)
After our lovely tour of the cathedral, we had 15 minutes of free time to climb to the top of the Giralda. The Giralda is a famous bell tower and is an iconic landmark in Sevilla. The Giralda is part of the cathedral and was originally built by the moors and has not been changed since. It is the tallest structure in Spain measuring 343 ft tall and no other building in Spain is allowed to be taller than it so that you can always see the whole city from the top of the tower. The view from the top was beauitful and totally worth the 34 flights of ramps that we had to walk. You may have noticed I said ramps and not stairs, thats because the moors constructed ramps instead of stairs so that they could ride their horses to the top of the tower... we didn't have horses today.
(con mi amiga Ana al punto mas alto de Giralda)
We then went home to have our big meal of the day: almuerzo! When we got home Maca and Rafael were both in the kitchen and Rafael was cooking. I told him that I would love for him to teach me how to make authentic Spanish dishes because Julie wants me to teach her the recipes when I get back. Rafael told me that while I'm living with them I should write down the name of each new dish that we eat, take a picture and then rate it on a scale from 1-10. Then, during my last week of the program, he will teach me how to make my favorite dishes. I can't wait. Tonight we ate Pollo Ajillo which is chicken cooked in olive oil that is infused with ajo (garlic) and vino blanco. They also served us a plate of pickled beets and onions in vinegar dressing that was pretty tasty as well. At first I was sort of off put by the HEFTY amount of olive oil the dish had because the chicken was effectively swimming in olive oil. However, they always serve bread with every meal and I just used that to sop it all up and it was DIVINE. Listen to me now: the olive oil in the US is horrible compared to the olive oil here. Here it has SO MUCH SABOR! I love it. I told him that when I try to make this dish at home it probably won't be as good because the main ingredient is the olive oil. He told me I could try to compensate with spices, but naturally he agreed that Spanish olive oil was lo mejor.
Now what did we have for dessert, you ask? Naturally, gazpacho! Maca homemade amazing gazpacho that I rated as a 10 and will most certainly be learning how to cook it on the last week of my stay. It was buenisimo.
Considering I told you that I have already transformed into a Sevillian, I did what any good one would do after el almuerzo and took my first SIESTA!! Damn, I love me some siestas. It was exactly what I needed. We headed back to the ISA office to have our written and oral placement exam tests and to meet our professors and get our syllabi. Then, MJ and Quique took us to a nice "welcome to sevilla" dinner at a fancy restaurant. HOWEVER, it wasn't smooth sailing in the beginning.
When we left the ISA office, we were all following MJ through the city streets to the restaurant until one of my friends realized we were missing someone: Kathryn. Now let me tell you a few things about Kathryn: A) I love her but B) She is always one of two things: late or lost. When we were in Toledo she got lost from the group and wandered around the city for a half hour until she finally ran into us. When we climbed up to the top of the Giralda, she was 10 minutes late getting back down to our meeting point and we almost forgot her. Lolz now we call her "la perdida" (the lost one).
So we go running back to the ISA office to see if maybe she didn't see that everyone had left. We make it back and she isnt there. Now we get lost trying to retrace our steps. We tried to call Quique to get directions, but he doesn't answer his phone. Somehow, as we are trying to be the good friends and find "la perdida" we end up becoming "las perdidas". This was quite frustrating indeed. Eventually we get in contact with Quique and he tells us to walk to the Giralda and that he'd meet us there and then show us the way. There's a phrase that spaniards use all the time and it is: "No pasa nada". Basically a "no big deal" kind of phrase. We decided it must be Kathryn's motto in life and that we also need to adopt it.
We finally make it to the restaurant and sit down at one of two large tables. Dinner was great. They served us an american amount of food for dinner which wasn't really necessary because I had stuffed myself at lunch... thank heavens we walk everywhere... I brought workout clothes to Spain but that has yet to happen. Pero... no pasa nada :)
After dinner, a group of girls and I decide to go to la Plaza de Salvador to have some drinks outside. This was a great choice. There were lots of young people just hanging out at bar top tables outside drinking beer and chatting. We used this time to enjoy some cervezas and continue getting to know each other by telling embarrassing stories about ourselves. I had the most stories... as always. Sadly, I didn't mean my imaginary Angelino but it was still a great night! We left at 11:30pm ish and there were still grandparents walking around and people seated at restaurants for dinner. This is still rather shocking for us.
(official motto of Sevilla "no me ha dejado" which means "you have not abandoned me". it is EVERYWHERE)
I walked home by myself like the miss independent that I am...
Which song just popped into your head? the Kelly Clarkson one or the Ne-Yo one? I thought of the kelly clarkson one, but the ne-yo one is good too.... if this reference doesn't make sense to you, no te preocupes.
I took lots of photos as I was walking around the city tonight. I'm trying super hard to be artsy because I want to have photos printed on canvas when I get back and hung in my room..... My artsy skills are a work in progress.
(la catedral)
After having a slight panic attack on the street outside my apartment as I struggled to unlock the door and inadvertently rang the doorbell, I finally made it home safely and called it a night.
Tomorrow I have my first full day of classes.
Hasta Luego,
Raquel
PS
I got another email from "future Rachel". It told me to go to Casa Cuesta (a restaurant) in Sevilla and that although he might not be there it would still lead me in the right direction.... this is getting a little weird now.
If you are the "future Rachel" reveal yourself already! Julie claims she wants to "shake the hand" of this person because she thinks this prank is so impressive. Personally, I think it's evil. #foreveralone
just kidding more like #foreverPARTYINGINSPAIN
just kidding more like #foreverPARTYINGINSPAIN
ReplyDeletethis is my fav part of the post, after the maxi skirt of course. YOU ARE WERQIN SPAIN!!! if you go anywhere near Galicia (galithhhhhhia if you want to sound like a Galician) or Calatayud, let me know -- we have wine peeps that'll hook you UP. If you only have time for one, pick Martin Codax in Galicia. It's right on the water and they have Albarino (white wine) just for you!!!it's muy hermosa -- http://www.martincodax.com/
hahahah I don't think I'm going to the north of spain this trip. But you best believe this wont be my last visit to Espana :)
DeleteI hope you are doing whatever you want in that maxi....and also, my fav pic so far is the last one from this post. Love the depth, I think it would make a great canvas print! Get me todos de los recipes Raymond! Not just those with high ratings, I don't trust your palate lol Love the plug that Colleen gave about her albarino...let's all meet up and have some at my house? Deal? Deal!
ReplyDeleteI was also thinking that pic was the best one so far as well. I love pictures with perspective like that. I will get all the recipes, relajate betch
DeleteI am quite fascinated by "future Rachel". :) Have fun girl! And I'm pretty sure it was a Beyonce song that came into my head when I read miss independent.
ReplyDeleteFuture Rachel was cool at first and is now becoming creepy
DeleteGreat blog Ray! The pictures you are taking are really spectacular. Can't wait to taste some of that traditional Spanish cuisine.
DeleteAwesome shots..I like the second to last one!
ReplyDelete