Rock of Gibraltar

This may have been one of the coolest trips I've ever been on. Getting to see the Rock of Gibraltar was so surreal since it's a place I'd never thought I'd get to go. That's the best thing about this living abroad experience- getting to travel to places like that. I should probably take more advantage of getting to see tons of places in the US when I get back though.

Anyway, Gibraltar was about a 3 hour bus ride away, bu we did have to get out and walk across the border and through the UK customs. Although Gibraltar is a British territory, they drive on the right like in Spain because there are so many Spaniards that were getting confused otherwise. So that was a cool thing to learn. We took a van tour around the island to see different things, and the first place we went was Europa Point, where we could see Spain, Africa, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. It was super windy, and absolutely freezing, but so much fun! I got to share my new knowledge about Ceuta- an autonomous city of Spain that's actually in Africa.

Laura, Lauren, Becca

Rock of Gibraltar!

Europa Point!

Spain, I think.

It really was windy.

Africa!!

Attempting a Titanic moment, but it was too windy.

All the girls in our group.

After our time there, we headed up to the top of Gibraltar to go to St. Michael's Cave. Back in the day, apparently people thought that this cave was a tunnel to Africa because it went down so deep into the rock. The cave now has a small amphitheater in it now, so that was pretty cool to see. I can't imagine what it would be like to watch a show there.

In the cave.

The theater from the stage.

Of course, the highlight of the trip was getting to see the monkeys! Or the apes, I'm not really sure which ones they were. I am actually really, really terrified of big monkeys, so I was both excited about and dreading this part. I really wanted a picture with one, but I wasn't cool with the idea of getting jumped on by a wild monkey. I almost cried when we saw the first group of monkeys outside the cave. There were big ones following people around, and jumping on people, and not getting off. I did love the little baby monkeys, but they were too scared to become friends with people.

monkey family.

As close as I wanted to get at that moment.

Right after it jumped onto my head/shoulder. Note the terror.

Trying to pass it off to another girl. FAIL.

Pulling my hair?

Baby monkey. Ignore the sideways picture please.

After that, we headed down into the city to get some lunch and shop for a bit. We decided to head to a pub for fish and chips. And I got to have a hard cider for the first time in a while. I still love it more than beers since it's not as carbonated and lighter. The fish and chips were delicious, but I like smaller pieces of fish better than one giant piece. We did some shopping, and I got a postcard since I couldn't take much back with me. Then we saw girls with some delicious milkshakes, and Laura and I got our own. Mine was made with a Milky Way bar and it was quite possibly the best thing I've ever had. Dad, can you learn to make it?

Finally, we headed home for a low key night. By the way, to get into, and out of, Gibraltar, you have to drive/walk over the airport runway, which was a weird experience. I felt like a Mythbuster. Overall, I loved this trip, and had the best time with some great friends!

Sevilla,& American Food

I went to Sevilla to spend the weekend with 2 friends. One was my roommate at our homestay, and the other was in my TEFL class before we even came to Spain. I've obviously lived with Laura, but I'd never met Lauren until she met me at the train station. (at midnight too- that's an awesome friend). Since Laura was busy on Friday, Lauren and I took the day to do some touristy things and some shopping. Apparently I've been missing out on some amazingly fun and cool stores. I need to explore Almeria more, but I'm seriously in doubt as to if it can be as awesome as Sevilla. I love that city. We went up on top of the "setas" (mushrooms) to see the view, and it was so cool. The setas are gorgeous and you can even eat in a cafe up there as you look over the city!

Top of the setas.

Sevilla and the side of the setas

Sevilla, te amo!

Lauren y yo.

We found some Roman ruins under the "setas" in the center of Sevilla. It was so cool to get a cool view of modern Sevilla and then go underground and see the beginnings of Sevilla back when it was a Roman city. Getting to explore with someone who also loves history and archeology was so much fun, although we did both decide that the exhibit wasn't very clear, and could be improved on.

Mosaic of a nymph?

Touching history! Yes, I really was that excited.

Looking across the exhibit.

We went to lunch at this awesome bocata (bocadillo, or sandwich in English) place, but sadly, I didn't love my bocata. It was sausage, tortilla de patatas, and a gazpacho like sauce, but wasn't warmed up enough to be delicious. Also, I really just don't like tomatoes that aren't in tomato sauce. So I'd try it again, but I'd also try about a million other options. It was pretty cheap too, which is always wonderful. That night we went to a new NY pizza place that opened and met up with some of Lauren's friend. I got to eat pepperoni for the first time in forever, and it was delicious!!

Saturday was clearly the highlight since it was filled with a trip to Gibraltar, but that deserves its own post since I have SO many pictures. After we got back on Saturday, we decided to finally make the Pilsbury brownie mix that Laura had bought on Friday. There's a new American Sweets store in Sevilla, and she picked up the cake mix and some Skittles!!! It was the best dinner ever- American sweets and hanging out with friends. Although it was terribly cold all weekend since most of the old buildings don't have central heat and the buildings are built to keep the hot out, not in, so we spent the whole time in the kitchen by the oven.

I'll post about our day trip next, and there's even pictures of me with my new best friend.

El Alcazar translates to "most amazing palace ever"

Hola! Estas 23:44 in Sevilla. (Hi! It's 11:44 PM in Sevilla) I am already exhausted from this week, and it's just started. It's been great though- I've made some friends who are all working in Grenada, which isn't that close, but at least I'm not a loner in the corner. Actually, that's not true. I'm in the corner with my friends. We had a tapas party tonight to meet other people in the towns, and we all just took the time to talk and get to know each other. It should be fun to see how we keep in touch and see each other. I guess that means we need to get cell phones soon!

Sevilla is beautiful. I'm staying in an amazing neighborhood, and when I walk to class or orientation, I get to walk past amazing buildings and fountains. If I knew what they all were, and the history, it'd be even cooler, but I'm not complaining. To start my history of Spain learning, I went to the Alcazar with a group of CIEE kids.

It was beyond amazing. The Alcazar was first built in the 9th century AD and it's the oldest royal residence in Europe because Rey Juan Carlos still stays there with his family when he's in Sevilla. It's been added onto and renovated as different powers and rulers lived there, but it has a lot of Moorish influence. Cool fact I learned: the Muslims used the color green to represent God, so there was lots of green in the decorations. I also learned that Sevilla was once the only gateway to the Americas! It's so weird to think about how far things have come. I'm having lots of "I can't believe I'm actually in Spain" moments, so expect to hear about them.

I'm sure you don't actually want to just hear about this place, so here are my favorite pictures from the trip:

The Puerto del Leon, entrance into Alcazar

An original arch from the 9th century Moorish palace.

Walking up to the main rooms. See how every section is different?

View of "los jardines" from a walkway on the wall.

One of the private rooms I believe.

View from courtyard into private rooms.

I love this courtyard! Apparently a Spanish Rey covered it up and turned it into a "salon de baile"

Arches in the private rooms

This is in the part built by the Catholic royalty. I don't think that this was a chapel, but I  could be wrong..

A door in one of the courtyards...

Me and the Alcazar are tight now.

I have 124 pictures from 1 trip, so if you want to see more, I'm sure you can.