Covenant Reunions and Cold Cities

This weekend was a whirlwind of wonderful things.  Friday afternoon I flew to London and met up with some Covenant friends! It was so crazy to be in London with Covenant people that were here for spring break and Covenant people who are studying at Oxford and in Paris... definitely a little mind-blowing. And oh so wonderful!

I was in London for less than 24 hours, but managed to see and do a ton! I ate fish and chips in a pub, and walked a lot around the city. I walked out of the Westminster underground station and the first thing you see is Big Ben and the House of Parliament... so incredible! I saw a celebration for the unveiling of a statue of Gandhi and Westminster Abbey, I saw Buckingham Palace and walked through St. James' Park.  I got to go in the Globe Theater and into St. Paul's Cathedral, and of course saw the Tower of London! Then it was off to Dublin!

Dublin (and Ireland) is a place that I absolutely want to return to! In my time there we walked around a lot, went to the Temple Bar area, and went to the Guinness Storehouse, and in the future I would love to get to explore more of the countryside!

As fun as this busy weekend was, there is always something sweet about coming home to Sevilla and the streets that I know and love. This weekend will be pretty relaxed school-wise as this Friday we have a trip to Ronda, Spain!

Myself (Spain), Henry (Paris), Conrad (Lookout Mtn), John Christian (Oxford), and Michael (Lookout Mtn) 

View of Buckingham Palace from St. James' Park

Buckingham Palace

Awkward cold photo in front of St Paul's Cathedral. I've now been to 2 of the 3 largest cathedrals in the world!

Shakespeare's Globe Theater

Church in Dublin

Me and the Guinness turtle

Basically nothing can stop me now.

Fish n chips & Bangers n Mash & flights of Dublin-brewed beers

Susanna, Henry, myself, and our perfectly poured pints!

Sevilla sorts of things

Today I got to go to the Cathedral of Sevilla with my art class!  We have been studying gothic architecture, especially cathedrals, and so it was really cool to get to apply the things I've learned.  Also it's incredible how huge it is.  It's the third largest cathedral in the world and the largest gothic cathedral! Also part of Christopher Columbus' remains are there (they really are, they DNA tested them). And this is right down the street from my school! So cool. We also climbed the 35 ramps and 17 steps to the top of the Giralda to see some awesome views of Sevilla.

Also I got a manicure today for 3 euros.  I didn't even know that was possible (aside from in China)!

An interesting thing about Sevilla is that SEVILLA HAS MADE ROLLERBLADING COOL AGAIN. Go Sevilla.  There are always people rollerblading around and also at night some kids hang out in a plaza and do tricks on their rollerblades. Also so many people bike here, so that's pretty cool too.  And everyone who doesn't rollerblade or bike walks everywhere, which is something I'm definitely going to miss when I go back to the States!

Anyways, here are some photos from the Cathedral! And my next blog post will be all about my adventures in London and Dublin!

One of the organs in the Cathedral

Christopher Colombus' remains

View from the top of the Giralda

View from the Giralda of the top of the Cathedral

The Vision of St. Anthony by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Part of this painting (the monk) was cut out and stolen in the early 1900's and returned about 20 years later when it was being auctioned in New York City and was recognized

Let the adventuring continue!

Happy Monday morning world! And happy spring break to all you Covenant students! This morning (12:30ish) finds me at The Good Burger, enjoying some ice cream while reflecting on that past week. I arrived at school this morning to find out that my professor would not be in today, and just like that my morning became free! This afternoon I'll be going to our amazing receptionist, Ana Bello's house to learn how to cook paella and croquetas.  Both classic Spanish foods!

This week was a full one! I kayaked (Monday & Wednesday), drank cafe con leche (every day), turned 21 (Thursday), explored Toledo (Thursday & Friday), and experienced Madrid (Friday - Sunday)!

The Toledo trip was with the Semester in Spain program, and we got to go to La Iglesia de San Tomé, which houses El Greco's Entierra del Señor de Orgaz. I've been studying El Greco in my history of Spanish art class, and so it was incredible to see that in person. We also got to go to the Cathedral of Toledo, which is considered the most Spanish of the gothic cathedrals in Spain, and also is home to Greco's Expolio. On our way to Toledo we made a stop at some windmills, which appear pretty normal but are actually the ones from Don Quixote! I spent my birthday night exploring the winding streets of Toledo and eating delicious food with good friends, and Friday afternoon I caught a bus with some other students to Madrid!

El Explio

Wow, Madrid. Everyone should go! There is so much to do and it is such a fun city, and this was also a spur of the moment trip for me (I decided Thursday to go)! My friends and I stayed at a hostel called Way Hostel, and walked a ton.  Saturday morning we went to San Gines, which opened in 1894 and is the oldest and best place to find churros con chocolate! After that we went to Plaza Mayor and then to the Mercado de San Miguel, which was full of delicious-looking fruits, veggies, meats, seafood, and wine. We met up with some other students from Semester in Spain at the Palacio Real to do a tour (student discounts are great) and got to see the armory and first floor of the palace! On our way to lunch at El Tigre we stopped at the Puerta del Sol to see the famous bear statue, then continued up to Gran Via to find El Tigre. Guys, that little bar was incredible- if you're ever in Madrid, go! We grabbed lunch there then went to take a little rest by the Prado before we took in some art, which consisted in laying on a grassy hill listening to the sounds of a guitar. The Museo del Prado is HUGE. We spent around two hours there which was not nearly enough, (got in for free-student discount) but had time to see Las Meninas by Velazquez. There are no words to describe how amazing it is to stand before such a magnificent work of art! I also got the see The Third of May, by Goya and many many other masterpieces. After the Prado we went over to Reina Sofia to see the Guernica by Picasso which was obviously incredible. We also visited the Parque del Retiro and did some shopping on Gran Via! Madrid is definitely one of my favorite cities, but after our six hour bus ride back to Sevilla, it felt great to be home!

San Gines- Churros con chocolate

El Mercado de San Miguel

Palacio Real

The bear!

Sunny with a high of 75!

And so begins week 7! This past weekend I went to a little town in Portugal called Olhao, which was incredibly beautiful and relaxing! I was also serenaded in front of a crowd in Portuguese. Didn't know that was on my bucket list, but we'll check it off anyways! I went with four friends and we rented an apartment and thus had the opportunity to use a kitchen. We made good use of this by preparing homemade mac & cheese and garlic bread and eating ice cream. Simply marvelous. And very American! It was definitely interesting to be in a place where they don't speak either of my two languages!

This week is full of school (well, until Wednesday), kayaking, and sun! The weather here in Sevilla is gorgeous and I love it. Curiously enough, the Spaniards still wear coats and scarves and everything! It's like the weather hasn't changed since we arrived, when actually it has gotten about 30 degrees warmer already! Thursday and Friday my school travels to Toledo, the old capital of Spain, and Thursday is my 21st birthday! I'll be waking up at 5 something and spending around 7 hours on a bus... but it should be a good time! I'm still loving kayaking, and am actually about to go do that now! But before I go, here are a few photos from the past week!

Jamee, Shawna, and myself on one of the islands off the southern coast of Portugal!

Serenaded in Portuguese! *no he did not propose (as far as I know)

Rafa (kayaking instructor), Lauren, myself, and Brian at the Club de Piragüismo de Triana!