Sevilla: Life as it's Supposed to Be

The contrast between Sevilla and Madrid is unreal.  The streets of Sevilla are lined with orange trees, bright pink bushes grow on porches, and purple trees line the river.  The sky was bright blue and there were beautiful fountains at every corner.

Our visit started wonderfully with our arrival at the hostel.  The reception was bright and sunny, and the walls were decorated with pretty tiles.  After throwing our stuff in the room we went upstairs to check out the roof top terrace.  There were chairs for tanning, a couple of tables, two couches, and a group of hammocks for relaxing.  It was a really fun place to hang out. 

On the day of arrival we spent quite a bit of time on the roof talking with a couple of Canadian guys. They were really proud of Edmonton, their hometown, apparently health-care is completely free, and the taxes are really low.  I’m not really sure how that’s possible, but it was interesting listening to their stories. 

After talking with them for a while, we went out to explore the town.  We walked along the river and were amazed by all the plant life.  It was beautiful.  We also visited Plaza de España where, according to the Canadian guys, Star Wars was filmed.  On the plaza we had fun taking pictures with a collection of parade floats.

The next day we visited the Sevilla Cathedral.  According to Wikipedia it’s the fourth largest cathedral in the world, and I believe it.  It was huge!  There were at least 40 chapels lining the walls of the church, a huge choir area, and two altars.  It was built between 1401 and 1507 on the site of an old mosque.  Interestingly,this is the burial spot of Christopher Columbus.

After the Cathedral we wandered around Barrio de Santa Cruz, the old Jewish quarter.  It was a little area with narrow-winding streets, tapas bars, and lots of tourist shops. 

That night we went to a flamenco bar.  It wasn’t exactly what I expected, but it was lots of fun.  There was only one dancer, and she didn’t have on the full costume, but she was very passionate about the dance.  My favorite part was a cute little girl sitting in the front row.  She had on a flamenco costume, and was totally entranced with the performance.  Every once in a while she would stand up and do a little dance herself.  I’m really glad we were able to watch a flamenco performance.

The next morning we woke up and headed to Alcázar, the palace in Seville.  It was founded in 913 as a Muslim fortress, but has been adapted through the years to be a royal residence.  It was absolutely gorgeous (just like the rest of the city.)  Josh and I were lucky to take a tour of the upper palace.  No one else had signed up for the tour, so it was basically a private viewing.  The rooms were magnificent, and the furniture was beautiful, but the ceilings stole the show.  They were made of wood and had designs carved from them. 

What was even better than the inside of the palace was the outside.  It was like being in a Disney movie.  The trees and plants were so colorful, and they were lots of cool fountains. I could have easily spent half-a-day exploring the gardens.

Next we went to Parque de Maria Luisa.  I felt like I was walking through a tropical forest, I was expecting to see a toucan fly over head.  There were lots of palm trees, other trees, ivy, and colorful flowers. It was a great park.

After the park we decided to partake in a typical Spanish tradition and took a siesta at the hostel.  Most things close in Sevilla between two and five, so there wasn’t much to do anyway. 

After our nap we went to a Moroccan restaurant for dinner.  I’d never had Moroccan food before, and I was a bit skeptical, but it turned out to be delicious.  I’m not sure what it’s called, but my favorite was the first dish, made with chicken in a thin dough and topped with powdered sugar.  The meal was definitely a good ending to our time in Sevilla.  We’re now on the train to Barcelona.  I’m very excited, I visited in March and loved it, so I’m glad I have the chance to return.

The Ring of Terror

Spaniards must be partially crazy.  What other culture kills animals as a public spectacle?  It’s not even a random animal; it’s their national symbol!  What if American’s started shooting Bald Eagles for sport?  I don’t think that’d go over too well.

The bullfight turned out to be much more gory than I expected. It starts out relatively peaceful as the matadors tease the bull with colorful capes.  The bull runs in circles through the pink and yellow fabric, it’s almost pretty.  But then the gore starts. 

A man on a blind horse is brought onto the field.  The bull is directed towards the horse. As the bull jabs the horse with his horns, the man on the horse jabs the bull with a metal point.  During the first round I didn’t realize the bull was getting hurt until I saw the blood oozing down his back. 

Once the horses are led off the field, the matadors have more work to do; they insert colorful sticks, with pointed tips, into the side of the bull.  The goal is to stab the bull deep enough so that the sticks don’t fall out.  The sticks are red, yellow, and white.  It almost looks like the bull is being decorated for a festival except for the fact that blood is spilling from its side. 

After all of the sticks are successfully inserted, the main matador enters the field.  He uses a red cape and runs the bull in circles.  When the matador decides the bull is thoroughly exhausted he’s handed a sword from the sidelines.  He aligns the sword with the bull’s spine, and in a split second it’s in the bull’s back.  If the sword is inserted properly, the bull will die instantly.  If not, he is stabbed in the head until he falls over dead.

We saw some pretty crazy things at our bullfight.  At one point a matador had to jump over the wall!  After trying to stick the bull with a red and yellow stick, the bull started chasing the guy.  Luckily the guy was really fast, and apparently a high-jumper in high school.  After hopping the wall he stood up and ran back into the field.  It was mind-boggling that he was able to recover so quickly.

He wasn’t the only one able to recover. At another point, a different matador made a mistake with his cape and got caught in the bull’s horns, he was jostled around for a few seconds before escaping.  He had a huge gash in his thigh, but  kept on fighting. 

We also saw a horse get knocked over.  The bull was really getting him with his horns, and the horse lost his balance and fell, the man on the horse was able to escape safely. 

The bullfight was like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and hopefully like nothing I’ll ever see again.  It was a good cultural experience, but a little too intense for my tastes.

The End of Madrid

I’m on a fancy train to Sevilla. There are outlets, a movie playing, and hardwood floors.  We just had a fantastic lunch of blue cheese, mozzarella, and some kind of Spanish meat.   There was also yogurt, bread, drinks, and coffee.  Way better than flying! 

Anyway, the rest of our time in Madrid was basically spent relaxing. We slept in late, spent some time at Starbucks, and had a couple of picnics. I think we probably allowed ourselves a little bit too much time in the city.  Oh well.

On Sunday we went to a huge flea market, El Rastro.  There were stands selling everything from Madrid souvenirs to gas masks.  We also saw a stand that was promoting communism, kind of weird. 

Sunday night we went to the soccer game.  Our seats were in the nosebleeds but we still had a decent view.  Unfortunately, we had a big group of school kids in front of us who were blowing really loud horns. If we had been in America, they would have been kicked out.  We moved at halftime and it was much more peaceful.

Another thing I noticed was that the people don’t eat or drink during the match, they had a couple of food stands but they weren’t being put to much use. 

Sadly, Real Madrid lost the game. The fans started throwing paper airplanes on the field when the team started losing.  Imagine if people did that at an American baseball game, they would probably be arrested.

After the game we went to a Chocolatería.  It seemed that churros and chocolate were the most popular thing on the menu, so that’s what we got.  The chocolate came in a coffee mug, it was pretty much warm Hershey’s syrup.  The churros were a good way to end the night.

Sunday night at the game my camera stopped working.  Luckily it was just my memory card, so we were able to replace it on Monday.  We went to a huge department store, 9 floors of products, and found the electronics section.  It was cool to see where the Spaniards shop. 

Sunday night was the bullfight.  It was a cultural experience to say the least.  I’ll elaborate in my next post.

All in all Madrid was an okay city.  I think we spent way more time there than was necessary.  The city was dirty and sometimes slightly scary.  We saw a drug deal go down in a metro station, and we saw some guys peeing on cars.  I’m glad I was able to see Guernica and I liked the Parque Buen Retiro, but I don’t think Madrid will be on “must go back” list.

It's Like Mexico, but you can Drink the Water

Written Saturday, 5/23/09

Madrid was definitely a shock after coming from Paris.  It’s a lot hotter and it’s nowhere near as pretty.  However, the people are nice.  Everyone is willing to answer your questions, and they speak Spanish instead of switching to English.

Due to lack of availability we had to switch hostels in the middle of our stay.  The first was very clean, very well done, just like a hotel.  We had our own bathroom, and a daily cleaning service.  The hostel we’re in now is more like a bed and breakfast.  The lady who owns it, Señora Alvaro, definitely enjoys her job.  She doesn’t speak any English, but she speaks Spanish very slowly, and it’s easy to understand.  There’s also a really nice kitchen so we’ve been able to make some good dinners.

The first night we went out to eat (it was my birthday dinner from Josh) at a really fantastic restaurant.  It was a recommendation from our guidebook, and it turned out to be a great deal.  The restaurant had white tablecloths, fast service, and a wonderful atmosphere.  We were able to get a bottle of wine, an appetizer, two main dishes (lamb and chicken), and dessert for only 37 euros, quite the deal (at least compared to Paris.)  Everything in Madrid is quite cheap, which is good for our budget.

Even the museums are reasonably priced; the Prado was only 4 euros a person.  The Prado is really well done; it was easy to find the famous paintings.  I was really happy to have read, History and Art for the Traveler by Rick Steves, because I knew what I wanted to see.  My favorite was the Garden of Delights by Bosch (just like Dad said it would be.)  You can look at it here.  The Rick Steves book is also helpful because it gives a description of the painting, and explains the important parts.

Today we saw Guernica, by Picasso, at the Reina Sofia.  It was a great exhibit.  Before entering the room with the actual painting, there’s a room of Picasso’s studies, which are cool to see.  There’s also a wall of photographs that show the evolution of the painting. 

Overall the museums have been great, except for the fact that you can’t take pictures of the artwork. 

We also visited the Palacio Real, which was modeled after Versailles.  Surprisingly, I liked the one here better. All of the rooms have a different décor; there is a room where all the walls are made of porcelain and another where the walls are tiled.

Near the palace we also visited the Cathedral de Nuestra Señora de la Almudena, which was very cool, different than any church I’ve ever seen.  It is a combination of many different types of art styles.  I really enjoyed it.

Despite the fact that Madrid’s architecture isn’t very pretty, and the main roads don’t have any landscaping, there are a couple of really pretty parks.  The first day we visited the botanical gardens, which have a wide range of plants.  It was a good place to sit in the shade.  Today we visited the Buen Retiro park, which was very green and lush.  We had a picnic on a park bench, and then wandered down the paths.  We ran into some soccer fields, a lake, a glass palace, and an exhibit of really cool sculptures.  I think this may have been my favorite place in Madrid so far.

The nightlife here is very lively.  The first night, after our amazing dinner, we went to Viva Madrid  (also a guidebook recommendation) and had some flavorful mojitos.  Thursday night we went on a pub-crawl with the company New Europe.  It was really fun.  We went to three bars and a seven-story nightclub. We met a guy, Richard, from an island in the English channel, Claus from Germany, a girl from somewhere in Spain who only spoke Spanish, and Phil from Iowa.  Interestingly, Phil’s been living in Minneapolis for the last 3 years.  It was fun to talk to him about things from home.  At the nightclub we also met a group of kids from the University of Illinois.   I talked to them about the Cards and Cubs (one of them was a Cards fan!).  Here’s a picture of the group:

Madrid has been fun so far and it should only get better.  Sunday we’re going to a Real Madrid Soccer game and Monday we’re going to a bullfight.

More soon!

Traveling with the Stars

Last Tuesday night Josh and I left Paris destined for Madrid (791 km), on a Trainhotel.  It was a 13.5 hour trip!  Luckily we had a private compartment with two beds that folded out of the wall. Our little room (about 4x6) had an outlet, so we were able to watch a movie before going to bed. I wasn't able to sleep very well on the train; it was noisy, and I fell like I was going to roll out of bed (I didn't!)  Breakfast was included with our ticket, so when we woke up in the morning we had some toast, coffee, and juice.  Eating at the train bar, we met some guys from Florida.  It's always nice to talk to fellow Americans.  When we arrived in Madrid, it was really easy to get to our hostel because the metro station was connected.  We're now safely settled in and exploring the city.

Paris Take 4

Last week was my 3rd time in paris in less than 4 months (and my 4th time in 4 years) and I feel like I have a good grasp on the city.  When Josh and I were on top of the Arc de Triomphe I was able to point out all of the monuments in the distance.  Paris is also easy because the subway system is fool-proof.  

Thanks to the easy transportation we were able to see lots of sites in a short amount of time. We did the obvious -- Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Versailles, and the Champs-Elysées -- and we did a few things out of the ordinary as well.  For example, we visited the catacombs were we walked amongst piles of bones, it was like nothing I've ever seen.

 We also went to the Musée Rodin, a place I've never been.  It's a very pretty garden filled with scuptures by Rodin.  We were able to see "The Thinker" and we're shocked by its small size.

Another great thing we did was go to a Sangria bar, recommended by our guide book.  It was a cute little place, and we were able to meet a couple of locals.

We were also lucky in Paris because Nana and Papa and the Nedwicks were there too.  They took Josh and I to a really great dinner of traditional Lyonaise food.   Awfterwards we hit up a jazz club.  It was really fun to watch all the people dance, I think some of them must have been professionals.   Luckily we didn't eat anything at the jazz club because the next day we read in our guide book that the area we were in is known as "Bacteria Alley" by locals.

Nana and Papa also took us to Chartres Cathedral.  It was really pretty and we got a great tour from Malcom Miller, and English man who has been giving tours for over 50 years.  He was really funny and a great story teller, he made the trip to Chartres worth it.

Our hotel in Paris also worked out great.  (I had stayed there before in February.)  It's in a great location, just a few block from Notre Dame.  There was a full kitchen and free laundry. The only problem was the 4 flights of stairs we had to climb to get to our room.

The weather in Paris was quite shocking.  I think it was probably below 60 degrees the whole time we were there.  I had to wear the same outfit several days in a row (gross.)  

Overall, our time in Paris was very sucessful.  I'm glad we'll be ending our trip there in July.

We were Franced!

Last Saturday we spent a beautiful day in Paris making train reservations.  You may be thinking "Train reservations? but I though they had a Eurail pass."  Well you're correct, we do have a Eurail pass, however, it doesn't seem quite as great as it sounds.  According to the Eurail website, reservation fees should be no more than 25 USD.  They lie.  Our reservations fee totaled 360 euros. We were not happy to hear this number especially after working all day to find the answer. 

We left our hotel around 9 am and walked to the nearest train station, Gare Lyon (it was a good 30 minute walk each way.)  When we arrived, we searched for the Eurail Office that was listed in the Eurail book.  Well low and behold, the office doesn't exist.  We asked several different people about the office and we were directed to the ticket booths every time.  

We decided to give the ticket booths a try.  The lady didn't speak English very well, and we weren't sure she understood our request.  When she told us it was going to cost 216 euros to get to Madrid we said "Forget it."

We left Gare Lyon and decided to call the German train office which, according to Eurail, should have been able to make all of our reservations for us over the phone.  It didn't work. The recording said the number was busy and then hung up our call.  We tried several times to no avail.  

We decided to try a second train station.  At Gare du Nord we found all of the ticket counters under construction and no employees.  By this time it was about 2 in the afternoon.  I was very angry that this task was consuming our day, and  I was worried that we were never going to leave Paris.

Our only option was to try a third train station.  We arrived at Saint Lazare hoping for the best. We lucked out!  Our attendant was very nice, she spoke English, and she was able to make all of our reservations. 

In short, the Eurail pass has not been as convenient as I was hoping for.  Oh well, we did what we needed to do, and now we are in Madrid!

More to come soon!

Arrived in Paris

I've arrived in Paris, totally exhausted, but safe.  I'll write about the journey here tomorrow. 

 In the mean time please enjoy a picture of my class from Montpellier:

There are more pictures to be enjoyed on Facebook for those of you who are interested.

I Did It!

Tonight is my last in Montpellier!  I'm quite excited.  My clothes are packed and my walls empty. Although it sometimes feels like I've been here a life time, it's hard to believe it's already been 4 months.   

This past weekend I celebrated my 20th birthday with Nana and Papa in Eygalière, France.  The lilacs and poppies were in bloom making it a very pretty village.  In fact, it's so pretty that Brad and Angelina almost bought a house in the area.  According to our waiter Saturday night, who served the famous couple previously, Brad "isn't as handsome as in the movies" but Angelina is a different story.  

Tomorrow, after two more finals (the one I took today was fairly easy), I will take the train back  to Avignon and meet Nana and Papa. Wednesday we will visit the mental institution of Van Gogh and also the Palace of Popes in Avignon.  Thursday we are driving to Paris, and Friday Josh will arrive!