Muchos Castillos y la Playa :)

I'm a little behind on my blogging now...uh oh! But I guess that is good, because it means that I am keeping busy doing lots of fun things! This blog is from like three weeks ago, even though it seems like just a couple of days ago...I don't know where the time goes here! Speaking of time, living in Spain for over a month and a half now has given me the chance to appreciate time a little more. In the US I am constantly on the go from when I wake up to when I go to bed. Speed walking from class to meetings, scarfing down meals on the go, and continually thinking about the million and one things I have on my to do list. Spaniards have a very different view of time than in the US. Here everything runs soooo much slower. In the US everything must be done as quickly and as efficiently as possible to pack everyday to the fullest. In Spain they live a lot more in the moment and enjoy life one day, one hour at a time! I have to admit the first few weeks it annoyed the poop out of me. I would get mad at the people walking slow on the streets, tired of my host family eating so slowly, or sick of waiting for my host family to take the time to go buy fresh ingredients for every meal we had, especially when I was in a hurry! But by now I have come to appreciate my relaxing walks to class instead of speed walking by and not appreciating whats around me. I have learned to eat my food slowly and savor the flavor of the fresh, healthy meals. Without my smart phone I am forced to make conversation with people in class. I find I am so much more relaxed and happy when my mind is in the present and what is around me. I'm not constantly stressing out about how I am going to pack everything into one 24 hour day. It makes me sad that society in the US pushes students of all ages to live busy lives, without leaving time to appreciate the people and the world around them. It's been a nice change living like a Spaniard! It will be hard to go back next fall.

The Archaeological Museum 

Last week I visited the archaeological museum with my program. It was a pretty small museum with not much there, but our guide was very informative, which made the visit very interesting!

The museum is beautiful from the outside!

Lots of Roman artifacts in the museum from when the Romans were in Spain!

Boat Ride 

I also took a boat ride on the Guadalquivir River with my interest group, which I cross everyday to get to class. It was beautiful with everything lit up at night! That is the Triana Bridge in the background. 

Trip to Cadiz 

That weekend I took a trip to Cádiz with my program. Cádiz is pretty much the Florida of Spain. All of the Spaniards go there to vacation as it is on the coast with lots of beautiful beaches! It was a very nice day, but unfortunately still not warm enough to swim :(  You can also see the place where the Santa Maria left for the New World, how cool is that!?

The city itself was very pretty too! (Of course so is every other city in Europe!)

You guys are probably all sick of hearing about all of the Cathedrals I have been visiting, but they are always my favorite part! The Cathedral of Cádiz had a very different look than other Cathedrals I have visited.

There were crypts beneath the Cathedral that were pretty cool, but a little creepy! There were even an embalmed body! There were unfortunately a ton of people down there, so it kind of took away from the experience a little.

Here are the empty spaces, just waiting for the important people to die!

One of my favorite parts of Cádiz was visiting the market there. They had meats, fruit, and cheese, but the main attraction was the seafood!! The selection was very unique and so fresh it was practically still flopping around! If you don't want to see some of the highlights just scroll through these pictures :p

Eels

Shark!

I was tempted to try a sea urchin, but instead my guide bought us the fish version of beef jerky. It was SOOO GROSS!!!

Sea Urchins and Clams

I usually hate seafood, but being in Spain eating it is unfortunately inevitable..the good news is that my host family usually fries the fish and takes out the bones when we have it, so I just cover it in mayonnaise and it tastes pretty good! Of course anything fried and covered in mayonnaise would taste good though...I am taking baby steps at least!


The beach was so beautiful there! We ate our packed lunches on the beach and then explored two castles surrounding the beach. They called them castles, but I would call them forts. The first fort had an art exhibit inside, which I thought was a little random! After the castles we explored the ocean. We hopped from rock to rock by the shore, which was so much fun! It was the perfect day :)

Sarah and me :)

The first castle

Inside the first castle

View from the castle of the beach!

The second castle, which needed some up-keeping work! 

Medieval Castles Tour 

That Sunday I took a tour of two medieval castles in tiny, white pueblos near Sevilla, Alcalá de Guadaira and Utrera. The castles again seemed more like forts to me than actual castles. When I think of a castle I think of what Cinderella lives in, but I guess real castles are made more for protecting and not ballroom dancing..

The first castle in Alcalá de Guadaira

View from the first Castle

Me, Sarah, and Beth

By the first castle there was a dragon bridge! This huge dragon lined the bridge, protecting the castle nearby from evil! It was controversial when it was first built in 2007 due to the modern look of it, but now everyone loves it!

I also spotted some nature!! Living in a city here, I miss it so much sometimes!

The castle in Utrera wasn't much, but it had a huge tower with a great view of the town! Utrera is also known for their dulces (sweets). I got a chocolate covered cake filled with cream! Yum :)

The rolling hills in the background made this view amazing!

What a great week! Love and miss everyone lots! Hasta luego!