Everyday MRM

Rachel and I had been talking about her visiting me forever, and by forever I mean about 3 weeks before I left, she suddenly emailed me and said "wait a second! you're going to freaking Spain! I should visit!" So that's what she did. And this is what we did.. We explored old Sevillian cobbled streets.. We walked through the Alcazar, originally built in the 10th century but continued into the 14th century. It is a phenomenal example of Mudejar architecture in Spain, but since it has many additions, there are also mixtures of Islamic, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque elements. The Alcazar is best know for its massive gardens. Here's just a peak. On Halloween we toured the Cathedral and the Giralda. The Sevillan Cathedral is Columbus' supposed final resting place, although there is some confusion (argument) over whether he's actually in the DR. One of the very few high spots in Sevilla was atop the Giralda. Here's a view whi...

Going from this.. To this... ... involves a little bit more culture shock than you might think. They are technically both in Europe (I know some Brits who would argue that), and they both come from a Western tradition. However, the Andalusians do things a bit differently than others. First off, ham is big. I cannot stress this enough. Jor and Henry toyed around with the idea of buying a ham leg. Or a ham shoulder. Any ham piece really. But they did not. The idea is daunting. Next, the Andalusians love their wine. Actually, Spain loves wine, it does not matter which region you are in. We discovered a few places that love to serve wine in bowls. Also, the open food markets are pretty interesting. And while not much can beat Guatemala's markets with her live chickens sold next to thirty cent avocados and a copy of a pirated James Bond... Sevilla certainly runs a close second. Finally, from a historical context, Sevilla is part of the Andalusian region which...

After two weeks in sunny Sevilla, Jor and I started to find our footing. Lovely roommie Erin had been to Sevilla many times before and knew all the cool places to check out. Joanna had been travelling Europe for what seemed like five years and was happy to chill out with some Vandy friends. And Coloniales was our home away from home! (Careful - there's music on the load)

We were only in Sevilla for a week when we decided to do a day trip to Cadiz on the Southwestern coast. It was about 2 hours by bus. I didn't know what to expect, so I packed for a beach and hotness. Turns out, this was good thinking. Cadiz is "the second oldest continuously-inhabited city in the Iberian Peninsula and one of the oldest in all southwestern Europe." It's considered a typical Andalusian town with beautiful vistas and preserved historic sites. And like all Spanish towns, at the center was the church. We ordered some food in the square and then trekked up into the duomo. Spectacular vistas of the white town and blue sea. Cadiz is lovely. After walking around the church, we decided to relax on the beach for a bit. No one was really prepared for the intense sun, so we all got a bit toasted. After a few hours on the beach, our bodies were done. We packed it in and decided to explore the town a bit more. Cadiz had been built layer upon laye...

Ryan Air does a good job of scaring travelers into early arrival. Or maybe it was just me. First off, I got our departure time all messed up. I was convinced that our flight left at 1pm. I told this to Joren and our landlady a number of times. Simultaneously, I also thought that our flight arrived at 10pm. I told this to myself and Henry and Erin (my Vanderbilt friend who we were rooming with in Sevilla). At no point did it occur to me that a 9 hour flight was only plausible for overseas travel, and usually not even Atlantic travel at that. It wasn’t until Friday night around 6:30 that I was speaking all the times aloud to Joren that it dawned on me that I might have confused airplane times. It’s usually good to recheck these things. A quick look at the printed tickets showed that yes, indeed I had mistaken the departure And arrival time. Now a 4:30 flight that arrived at 7:30 seemed more plausible. I sent off a quick email to Henry and told him to meet us at 7:30 pm instead of 10pm. I...