Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Warm weather

Hola!

I have officially been here for a week and i'm loving it as much as the first day I was here; possibly even more.

I'm starting to notice the smaller things when I'm walking around the city that i didn't when i first arrived, such as -- little shops that hide behind the bigger buildings, and the different architecture on the buildings and quicker streets that I can take home. I no longer am feeling like an American tourist that has no idea where/what they're doing -- besides the fact that people stare at me because i have blonde hair.

The weather here has been incredibly nice--it's weather that rarely drops below 70 degrees at all parts of the day. It is dry heat which makes it a lot more bearable, but you also get sunburnt easier i found (As I got sunburnt for about the second time in my life, and on all parts of my body).  Everyone here wears pants and long sleeves when it is 90 degrees, and i don't understand how they do it. My body is sweating as soon as I walk outside in shorts and a tank top!

Besides that I am enjoying my stay here and i am making awesome memories! Besides that, enjoy this timelapse I made going down the streets of Sevilla!


Sunday, May 28, 2017

First Week in Spain

My first week in Spain was nothing but exciting. I learned and experienced so many different things, met some incredible people and ate some amazing food.

So far I have visited some breathtaking locations in Seville, such as the Lebrija Palace, Real Alcázar de Sevilla and the Cathedral of Sevilla.
Before coming to Spain, I never thought that there would be so many palaces and cathedrals in one city.

The Lebrija Palace was built from floor to ceiling with a wide variety of architectural styles. The statues and mosaics were one of a kind and it was truly a great site to see. Plus, I wouldn't mind living in here either.


This was the plaza for the palace; it let tons of sunlight in while remaining super quite from all the city noise!
The sun room; this was my favorite room as everything complimented each other and was so beautiful
Wishing I could have taken my prom pictures on these stairs; they're absolutely GORGEOUS
Enjoying my favorite wall art, as you can see
Real Alcázar de Sevilla absolutely took my breath away. The creative layout and multiple gardens made me fall in love with this place. The place was so big that I could spend an entire day exploring the palace and I would still have more to see. A part of Game of Thrones was also filmed here, which one can completely see why! To make it even cooler, a part of the palace is still being used today by the royal family, which makes it the oldest official palace to still be used!

There was so much creativity put into every ounce of this place that there was not a single place that wasn't used wisely


Alcázar had a garden that was bigger than the actual palace! 

The "Baths of Lady María de Padilla" -- The queen supposedly bathed in this pool. The pool is filled by grates on the sides that let in rain water. 

Every single ceiling was different

An example of one of the mosaics on the wall




Cathedral of Sevilla took me by surprise, I would definitely say this was one of my favorite stops so far. Walking into the middle of the Cathedral, my jaw dropped as I saw how tall the ceilings were. This cathedral is the largest gothic church in the world and the 3rd largest church in the world! The church has a great mix of the Muslim vs Christian reign of the cathedral, as was initially a mosque until it was conquered by the Christians in 1412. The altar was plated with all gold and the multiple paintings and sculptures along the walls made seeing the place incredible. There is a tower (La Giralda) that is connected to the cathedral, where you have to walk up 35 ramps to get to the top, however, the view was so worth it. I was able to see the entire city of Sevilla, which made me fall in love with this place even more. The cathedral became more special to me as multiple important people are buried here. San Fernando III, the one that took over the cathedral is buried here, and I will also be able to see his mummified body on Tuesday, which is unveiled in the cathedral in honor of San Fernando day. Christopher Colombus is buried here as well, which i thought was extremely cool.
The Tower, La Giralda

Inside the main part of the Cathedral

Parts that were added on after Christians took over the Mosque

The alter

View from the top of the tower

Plenty of flying buttresses!

In all the site seeing I did, I was able to do a couple other cool things in my free time such as watch a Flamenco show and take a trip to the beach to a little town named Rota, which is very close to the city Cadiz in Spain.

Beach view from Rota, Spain!
Flamenco Set up


Overall, my first week here in Spain was an awesome week and I cannot wait to see what the next 5 weeks have in store!





Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Primer viajar a España

Hola!
I have arrived safely in Sevilla and am all nestled into my temporary home with mi Señora (host mom).

However, before reaching Sevilla my brother, his girlfriend, and I landed in Malaga, where there I took a car to Sevilla. The views were gorgeous flying into Spain that I took multiple photos, and i have one pictured below!
View from the plane of flying into Malaga
I spent a night in Malaga where we were able to explore the area for a bit before heading to Sevilla. In malaga, I checked out the coast where it was an incredible view. I definitely cannot wait until I am able to check out more of Malaga in the beginning of July!



View from the beach in Malaga
I will be updating my blog twice a week while in Spain and will be posting on Instagram and my facebook as well. 

Adios!