Sevilla, Sevilla, Sevilla!

HOLA!

I know I haven't blogged in awhile, but I've been pretty busy! I MUST blog about this past weekend though because it was my absolute favorite!

This weekend me and three of my friends went to Sevilla, Spain. It is south of Caceres. We left on Friday at about 4:00pm and arrived in Sevilla at about 7:30pm. We then had a little trouble finding our hostel from the bus station, but we asked a nice couple and they pointed us in the right direction. The hostel was only about a 7 minute walk from the station so that was super nice! When we got to the hostel, we checked in, put our stuff in our room and scoped out the hostel. This hostel was super nice and really cheap so it was perfect! We stayed in a room with 10 other people, but it really wasn't that bad. People woke up and went to sleep at different times, but it never seemed to be too big of a problem. There were only two bathrooms for all of us so we did have to wait awhile to use it, but otherwise it was a great experience! They had free breakfast and an awesome terrace on top of the building with a great view and a pool! We sat up there out first night and ate the food our moms had packed us, but unfortunately we got kicked out because it was a restaurant/bar area and you can't bring your own food/drink in. We then decided to explore a little bit. We found a huge white, modern, crazy structure a little ways down the street. I can't even explain it. It was awesome though! The streets began to fill up as the night went on as well. Sevilla is a much bigger city in Caceres so there were way more people out and about! After exploring we went back to the hostel and met a few people. They asked us if we wanted to go out with them because they had been there before and knew the city so we did. We ended up walking about 25 minutes and across the "river" (they had a lot of problems back in the day with this river so they stopped it on both ends and now it is stagnant) to the other side. We met up with a few girls from TCU who are studying abroad in Sevilla and they showed us around. We went to this super American Bar where they had flags of different sports teams on the ceilings and a different shot flavor for every state. It was very cool!

The next day we got up decently early and had our free breakfast (toast and cereal, we are all really cheap so we take all we can get!haha) and then went on the free walking tour provided by our hostel. It was a great tour! I learned a lot of things about the city and got to see some really cool monuments. The tour lasted about 3 hours so after this my legs were quite tired. We then went back to the hostel and had some lunch and relaxed in the sun on the terrace. We decided to leave around 6:00pm in order to buy some jerseys, pick up our tickets, and get to the game early. On our way, we found a sports store so we went in and bought some sweet Sevilla jerseys for a decent price! Then we took the 1 hour trek to the stadium(again, we are too cheap to take the metro...) The walk was very pleasant though! We arrived a little before 8 and when we turned the corner by the stadium, what a sight it was. There was a massive crowd of people chanting and cheering. At first we didn't quite know which team was which since they both were red, but we soon found the dividing line. Some people were lighting of flares and red smoke bombs and all sorts of things. The streets were filled with bottles and bottles of alcohol. At this point, we knew we were in for a treat! As we were walking through the crows to get to the ticket area I could feel everyone staring at us. Three blondes and a red head are kind of noticeable in the crowd. No matter what I wear they always know I'm not a spainiard! We finally got to the ticket counter and got our tickets perfectly as planned and then had some time to kill. We ended up just watching the crowd and cheering and chanting with them for about an hour until we were able to go into the game. The stadium didn't fill up until about 10 minutes before the game. It was a full house! I think it holds about 45,500 people. The "student section" went nuts with huge flags and cheering. It was incredible! Some people from Sweden sat behind us and when we asked them to take a picture (we asked in Spanish) they were like uh, in english please. It was so funny! The game was off to a good start! Until Madrid scored. For awhile there I thought it wasn't going to end well but then we got a goal to make it a tie. When we scored the crowd went crazy! Policemen lined the field in case people were to jump onto the field. In the last 5 minutes of the game, Sevilla scored again, but it didn't count. I think it might have been off-sides. The game ended up in a tie, but it was still a great time! We walked back to our hostel and by the time we got home it was about midnight so we decided to call it a night.

Sunday morning, we woke up and had our free breakfast again and headed out to mass at the World's Largest Cathedral (by dimension). We missed the mass at 10 so we waited and walked around inside until 11:30(there are several chapels). Mass was great! A very traditional Catholic mass. Of course they spoke in Spanish but I understood a decent amount! After this, we went up the 34 flights to the top of the tower. Man was it a treck...but the sight was definitely worth it! You could see everything for miles. It was beautiful. This is the point when I started to contemplate about moving to Spain after graduation. Even on my walks to school there are farms with cows! Its definitely a possibility in my book. After the tower, it was about time to head to the bus station. We grabbed ice cream on our walk home and grabbed our bags from storage at the hostel and walked to the bus station. We left around 4pm. This trip went very smoothly and I couldn't ask for a better time and friends! It was a great, unforgettable experience.

I absolutely love Spain. There is so much to see. A lot of people that we met in the hostels are in their 20's and are just traveling Europe for 6 months. I want to do this so bad! Or teach english somewhere (Costa Rica possibly?) It's such a great opportunity and something a lot of countries need. I have realized that a lot of countries in Europe are required to learn english and another language. They listen to a decent amount of American music here as well! I have learned so many things here. I am so blessed to be able to study abroad and am so grateful that I am here. I am having the time of my life.

I hope to blog more, but I am always on the go! I am heading to Africa in less than 7 hours! I can't even believe it. Besos para todos! <3