Sevilla, Spain and a Birthday!

**Note: Post date is June 26th, 2009**

“Whoa. That mo-pad came out of no where,” exclaims Erika. The mo-pad was parked. I swear she is either the smartest person I know or the dumbest depending on the time of day. But seriously the vehicles here do come out of no where! I can’t stand it. It is unsafe, a nuisance and just plain rude. There are times where you can find all pf us, stuck against the side of a building waiting for a car to squeeze by us and make it through with just enough room. Becca and I almost had dangerous meetings with cars THREE times. However the best was when we were all standing at the crosswalk waiting for our signal to walk. The light was red for the cars and red for us, so neither one of us were moving. We stood at the cross walk for about 2 minutes and still neither one of us had moved. Mind you: this was a large intersection. We were fed up and decided to just risk it and run. As soon as we stepped foot of that curb, the light changed. Five college students with large travel backpacks probably never ran faster or laughed harder. It was a sight to see. The scary thing is, not to scare any of you parents out there, but if one of us fell the sight wouldn’t have been pretty. But they are ruthless drivers here in Spain and that’s all I’m going to say.

Ok they are rude too. I thought Americans were disrespectful! I had no idea. Mistakes aren’t allowed, nor is being foreign. They just sneer at you, or hurry you along. Of course I’m exaggerating, most of our meals have come with cordial service and there was one man on our way back to Cadiz who, on his own accord, asked us if we needed help. We did! It was such a breath of fresh air. I believe in humanity and he showed some today. Thanks guy.

After that long day, we all woke up exhausted, especially Becca, poor thing. I never drink coffee. Never! I don’t even drink caffeine. I stick to sprite and root beer when drinking soda. But it was an emergency AND I was in Spain. David Giess, our guest lecture, said that coffee was amazing. It was! I gulped it like it was water! It was a life saver for the rest of the day. Erika of course had her Starbucks and also managed, since it was her birthday, to get a chicken sandwich at Mcdonalds.

“How long do you think it takes to dust this place?,” asks Kevin. Our plan for the day was to see the largest gothic Cathedral in the world. It was pretty large, I’d say. We walked 35 flights to the top of the 300 foot Bell tower and overlooked the lovely city of Sevilla which we all loved so much. We didn’t want to leave, but they didn’t have any more rooms available at the Oasis. So we perused the Cathedral for a while, took lots of pictures and were on our way. As leaving, two women approached us with leaves in their hands. They shoved the leaves in our hand, spitted some Spanish at us and then proceeded to demand for money. It was beyond strange. We wiggled ourselves out of that situation but this place is just rude.

And lovely at the same time. We had a wonderful lunch overlooking the Alfonso river. We ordered Tortillas. Not the American tortilla but the Spanish tortilla which is more like a potato and egg Quiche. Along with that we had olives, and a lovely lemon drink. It was a gorgeous day as always but sitting next to the river was the most relaxing afternoon by far here. Just before that we were given a tour of a Bull Fighting Ring, which was exciting just because and disturbing for the gruesome and horrific thought of seeing such a thing. I still don’t understand the purpose of such thing, but I guess it is the equivalent to a boxing match in America. Just plain pointless. Who likes violence, raise their hand?

After lunch it was time to leave Seville. It was a sad departure but our shop-a-holics Anonymous (who are Kate and Becca) had to make some stops along the way. Actually they make stops along every way. We can’t get from point A to Point B without someone wanting to buy something. We might have to break them up. They work as a duo. We also had to stop as a collective to get some more ice cream. We have gotten ice cream at least twice a day since we arrived in Spain. It is so good! Can’t wait for Italy where it is going to be even better. We might have to upgrade to three times a day. What do you think?

Before we boarded the train we went to the grocery store to buy some things including the spice Saffron and Princesca. Saffron is supposedly extremely expensive in the states (I wouldn’t know because I don’t cook) But ATTENTION: If anyone would like any Saffron simply say so on the blog or contact me in some way. I can get you some for like 2 Euros. Princesca is like a cookie and a cracker at the same time. It is so delicious yet strange.

On the train back we all relaxed into our chairs, some took naps, some wrote in their notebooks, others listened to music and we all reflected on our time in Sevilla. We miss it already. Also while on the train we all learned each other’s last name. Bo McDougal, Kevin Lenzen, Rebecca Ney (pronounced Nye), Rachael Cohen, and Kate Schnelker-Parks. My name is Anthony Souza.

“This is an amazing start to a birthday dinner,” Erika says as she bites into her bread. Under her request we all went back to Nino’s for Erika’s birthday celebration. Shannon and Lindsay joined us. It was again such a lovely time. Accept Kate and Becca got eel for dinner. GROSS. No I didn’t try it, I just couldn’t bring myself to. Kevin only had one glass of wine, yet was really feeling it! Slow down Kevin. Of course with a birthday celebration comes a special dessert. This special dessert came with a gigantic 7 inch candle. But the problem was, there was nothing to eat the dessert with. Lindsay was kind to ask for a utensil but I guess lost in translation we received a pair of scissors. How do we eat cake with scissors? Maybe it is a cultural thing. Just kidding. We eventually got a spoon.

We were pooped after the day in Sevilla, so after dinner, even though we were dressed so nicely, went back to the boat. On the way back we saw some adorable Spanish children playing with their parents in the streets at 12:00 am. I don’t know about you, but when I was 6 I wasn’t up that late. But it was pretty sad that they were probably going to be up later than we were. We made yet another stop for ice cream (SO GOOD!) and then on to the boat.

When we got back Kevin, Rachel, Becca and I went to the empty piano bar to play some tunes that we picked up in our years. It was quiet hours but we didn’t seem to care. One of the staff members did, but he was vacuuming so I don’t understand why he can make noise and we can’t. Ours sounded prettier. Then we sat on the back deck talking about embarrassing moments and swapping stories. I think me and Kevin did a couple of kart wheels as well. I’m telling you, that wine went straight through him.

Is there going to be any bad night? Because I have yet to have any.

Today’s Expenses

Breakfast:……. ……….2.00 Euros …$ 2.90 Dollars
Cathedral Tour:………..2.00 Euros…. $2.90 Dollars
Bull Fighting Tour: …….4.00 Euros …..$5.80 Dollars
Lunch ………………..5.00 Euros …..$7.25 Dollars
Train Ticket to Cadiz…10.00 Euros……$14.50 Dollars
Water………………….1.00 Euro……..$1.45 Dollars
Erika’s Bday Dinner…..20.00 Euros $29.00 Dollars
Ice Cream…………….2.00 Euros……..$2.90 Dollars

Total…………………..46.00 Euros…….$66.70 Dollars

Tomorrow is the last day in Spain. Only 7 countries left Ughh!


Explore. Dream. Discover.

~ Michael-Anthony

P.S. Don’t cross the street in Spain