It was SOOO nice having a chance to {basically} relax by staying in Spain for the weekend. Although it was a crazy and packed weekend, I loved having the opportunity to explore a new part of Spain and not feel the need to leave the country. Our school’s program is what booked the trip for us, and it was BUSYYYY!! We had to have our bags packed by Thursday night {which meant me staying up late due to my class and commute}, and then we had to meet outside my apartment by 6:30 in the morning.
Of course, my apartment is full of girls on completely different time schedules, so ultimately we were not all on time, but we did make it to the bus in time for our departure. Being personally honest, the one thing that was the most brutal to me was that I was told to get rid of my avocado toast {which was my breakfast}, and that there was to be absolutely no food or snacks on the bus. Luckily I know how to work around the system, so I search for the nearest trashcan, lifted the top {pretending to throw something away}, and then came back to the bus empty handed, when in actuality, my avocado toast was just wrapped in my blanket… ready for the long drive ahead of me. Megan and I wrap ourselves up in my blanket and passed out, until four hours later we were at some random stop in the middle of nowhere, being told to get out for food. I kid you not, we were taken to a gas station where our options consisted of the following: fried flat ham, french fries, uncooked ham and meat sandwich, cookies, croissants that had been sitting in the open for who knows how long, etc… To say the least, I entered the bus still hungry, for the rest of the two hours that lead up to our first stop.
We arrived at Cordoba, where once again, we were basically dropped off with no clue what the city consisted of, and we were told we had two hours until we were to meet at the buses to take us to one last place. We wandered through the mosque which was actually pretty neat; however, not TOO intriguing where I felt the need to stay for a while, so then everybody broke up into groups in search of food. We were told there was some good food, yet we did not find anything worth writing home about, so Megan and I ended up at Subway {a Spanish delicacy haha}. After walking the entirety of the city, we had no idea what to do to pass the time, and ultimately everybody just hung out where we were going to meet to leave. Getting into the bus was pretty exciting for us considering there was nothing else to do.
We made out way then to Alhambra {which was only an hour away}, and we walked around the Generalife gardens and eventually met up with everybody in our program to go through the cathedral. I’d say it was pretty nice having some free time to stroll along and look at different views throughout Alhambra, and we even got to see some wedding photos get taken. The weather was absolutely perfect, shorts, short sleeved shirts, and tennis shoes were the outfits of choice. Basking in the sun on a bench while others went to find food and drinks was one of my personal best decisions… So relaxing and in such a serene area. Once everybody met up agin, we walked through the Alhambra Palace and eventually met up once more at the bus in order to make it to Seville that evening.
We arrived in Seville a little bit after six, just in time to put our luggage in our rooms and freshen up for our tour that was to begin about ten minutes after our arrival. We were taken all around Seville. We were shown the main buildings, the infamous river that flows through the center of the city, the castle, and my personal favorite La Plaza de España. From the moment I stepped foot in the plaza, I was in love with Seville. There were so many people walking around, there were horse drawn carriages, couples everywhere, and little row boats. It was a dream.
Once our tour had ended, we were on our own, and thank goodness because I was so so excited to see my friends who were studying abroad in Seville {as well as Eva who had flown in that day}. It was my breath of fresh air, having the chance to see people who were so close to me back in the United States. We met up for a late dinner on the other side of the river; me flashing a group of guys as we walked because it was SO windy and my dress could NOT be tamed, and we had some of the best pizza I have ever had {granted I hadn't really eaten it in a long while considering my allergies}. Once we had finished our meal, we decided to walk around and then head to a rooftop bar in which the view was ABSOLUTELY amazing, as was my piña colada. We drank, talked, and laughed for about three hours…
By the time I had made it back to my hotel room, in a little hidden alley way in the center of Seville it was a little bit past two in the morning, and I knew I wanted to get some sleep because I was wanting to explore more of sunny Seville. When Megan and I woke up, we decided to start the day by being basic and grabbing some Starbucks, considering so many other places are closed on a Sunday, and then we just started wandering around. Eventually ending up at La Plaza de España, we decided to rent a row boat for a little bit over an hour and stroll along the little body of water in the park. Honestly, rowing a boat is a LOT harder than it seems… It took us {maybe} about third minutes just to get about fifteen feet from the loading dock. Pro tip: you REALLY need to put your back into it and you REALLY need to dig both paddles in the water {but make sure to do them with the same force or else you're going to end up going in circles}. Also, if you would like to see any videos of how much of a struggle it truly is, feel free to text me because in order to get the cute pictures {posted below}, I set up my phone to record us rowing and we would take breaks to take pictures when the light seemed to work out for us.
When we eventually made it back to the dock, we decided to treat ourselves to a horse drawn carriage ride around Seville. Although our little Spaniard director dude only spoke Spanish, I was able to translate it {for the most part}, and figure out what architecture, locations, and buildings he was truly pointing out. We rode around for about an hour and then when we were brought back to the Plaza, we decided to head to where we were ultimately going to meet the rest of the program, but we planned on meeting up with Bri, Linda, and Eva as well. We sat on the steps waiting and talking and then tried to sneak the three of them into our tour… Honestly, it could've worked cause they made it through the security thing, it was just an issue that our leader knew all of us and not them, so the three of them were sent back out. We walked up about thirty six {or seven} flights of stairs and were provided with the BEST view of Seville. Having a panoramic view of the entire city as we walked around the tallest tower in town. When we were done there, the rest of the group was off to head back to the bus for a seven hour ride home and Megan and I were left with a few more hours to explore, get drinks, and meet up with our friends once more.
We clinked our glasses one last time at a poppin bar along the river and then said our goodbyes. After soaking in the sun for a couple more hours, we were off to the train station in order to head back to Madrid where we were to complete homework for the following day and prepare for the week that was to come… Stay tuned for my update after Dublin… It’s going to be absolutely CRAZY!!
xoxo v
