Trying to get settled in my new home...

I haven't had much time to be on the computer since my last post. On Saturday I took two buses and after fourteen hours of travel I finally made it to my destination, Vera!! There were three other teachers traveling with me which was nice. My first impression of Vera was that it is beautiful and the people seemed really nice as well. A woman stopped to help me and took one of my bags several blocks with me to the hotel.

When we arrived the Feria was going on and we could see a parade from our balcony on Sunday which was the last day. We treated ourselves to plenty of fair food and rides.

It seemed like a ghost town out because everyone was attending the fair. It was a great welcoming to my new home.

Out in the distance you can see the statue on the hillside. I haven't had an opportunity to walk up there but hopefully I will find an apartment soon so I can get settled and explore more.

It has been quite the rough week but our visit to the beach helped! This is only 8km from the town center.

There are several beaches but we just happened to walk to Vera Playa which is the largest naturist colony in Spain. This led to be quite the interesting experience.

This picture was in Vera Playa and is also the first olive trees I have seen! I love olives!!! Well off to my school to introduce myself and then meeting someone to look at more pisos (apartments).

The last week in Sevilla!!

This is the view that I wake up to every morning before class. I am really going to be missing all of this. Since this is my last week in Sevilla before I catch a few buses to Vera in two provinces over, I am trying to get out and see everything. My feet have been hating me and swell up real big at night but it is well worth it!!

On Wednesdays everything here is one euro!! The place gets packed and everyone grabs a large jug of beer. Just about the only beer you find any where is the local cruzcampo. I had a four cheese montadito (little sandwich) with blue cheese, and it was amazing!

Earlier in the week we did yoga in the park. So many people stopped to watch and even took pictures. Afterwards my roomie and I headed over to Plaza de España to see what it looks like at night.

It just a few short days I will be leaving this gorgeous city, many many new friends, and my wonderful roommate. I can't wait to start planning trips to visit them all!!

This is Plaza de España during the day. There is a ceramic tile map of every province in Spain.

Here I am next to my new home!!!!

Next to that plaza was the Plaza de America. There were trees of love and then these crazy birds. I bought some bird seed and then was able to feed them or rather be attacked by them! 

Olá Portugal

Lagos, Portugal was absolutely gorgeous! I had the most amazing weekend. My only disappointment is the lack of a stamp in my passport!! On Friday we went to Praia (which means beach in Portuguese) Don Ana, which is like what is on every postcard. Everyone was cliff jumping and enjoying the sunshine. I was a little too chicken to cliff jump which automatically made me the professional photographer but that didn't last long.

My friends convinced me there was no way I came all this way to not go all out. So I decided it was my turn. The water was a little chilly and the rock quite sharp. When I got to the top I was just staring down not sure if I could do it but then they counted down and there was no going back! It was sooooo worth it and I had such a good time!

Here is a picture from above to the gorgeous beach. We returned to this beach on Sunday since we loved it so much. On Sunday was much more relaxing and soaking up the sun. The tide was too low for more cliff jumping that day so good thing I got it in before.

My first bottle of Vino Verde in Portugal!! It was superb!

This is the boat we took out on a Sangria cruise. We went swimming and took a tour through the grottos as well.

As you can see the grottos were gorgeous. Each one has it's own name given by the fisherman. 

On Saturday night we drove out to "the end of the world". This is where centuries ago they thought the world ended. The wind was whipping and it was quite cold. We sat down and enjoyed the sunset. This was definitely a moment that I will never forget. I have some of the best company here and they made every moment so amazing!

Watching the sunset with the crazy wind.

Afterwards we made a delicious dinner together in our gorgeous four star hotel. It was the first time cooking in weeks and I was sooooo excited! Pasta, wine, and salad was incredible. I was sad to leave Portugal but before heading out I got a linguisa sandwich and Portuguese donuts... I have to admit they were not as good as mom's but they were still pretty great.

Just another few days in paradise...

Why did I think of bringing a bottle opener to Spain?? Luckily my roommate, Melody, and I found this gem for one euro at the local supermercado and it is a twist top! This ended up being some pretty fine local wine and was soooo inexpensive. There is much more wine in my future. We decided to meet some friends for drinks and of course brought our own. A kind British woman overheard us and how I have not had olives yet and have been craving them so she kindly offered half of her platter to us and they were wonderful! 

We continued our drinks and watched the sunset. This bridge is the bridge that leads into Triana, my neighborhood. Today Paco, my host father told me that that this was designed by the same architect who designed the Eiffel tower!! 

The next day after class many of us decided to visit the cathedral. With our University of Sevilla ID cards we get in free! It was absolutely gorgeous inside! There was so much to see and visit it could take hours!! Like I said previously Cathedral Santa Maria in Sevilla is the third largest in the world behind Rome and London. The mosque was first build in the twelfth century.

Inside the cathedral is Christopher Columbus' tomb!!!!

We then climbed the tower, La Giralda, which consists of thirty-five ramps and seventeen stairs. The views were phenomenal and worth every step in the over one hundred degree weather! Luckily my host family packed us lunch to take with us and had the air conditioning on and ice cold water waiting upon our return... I even splurged and had some gelato too. 

This is another view from the top of the tower and includes the bull right which I attended this last weekend.

After our picture from the top we headed down for the evening. The schedule is quite different here but I have been adjusting really well. Still seems strange to eat around 11pm and be up all hours of the morning during the weekend but my daily siestas have been quite helpful with that schedule. My Spanish classes are going well and they keep me busy with homework. In this region of Spain the people talk very fast and pronounce many words with what sounds like a lisp. I have been doing really well understanding them but still need a lot of work to produce the language necessary to properly communicate. Tomorrow is my last day of class this week because early on Friday I head to Portugal!

La corrida de los toros

Everyday has been an adventure! Today we came across a band that was enjoying some tapas and decided that we needed a dance. I couldn't stop laughing and we got plenty of pictures to remember the moment.

I have made so many wonderful friends here already! Everyone in the teaching program through CIEE are so nice. Many of us girls have been trying to orient ourselves and have been walking the streets of Sevilla for hours and hours.

Yesterday we went to our first bull fight!!! It was pretty brutal. There are usually six bulls but we only stayed halfway through... I hear that they eat them later and although I am not sure that is true I did try bull's tail and it sure was tasty.

After the bull fight we watched the sunset over the bridge and walked home to get some dinner... which was around ten thirty at night. After that it was time to get some rest in preparation for our first day of school with our Spanish immersion courses at CLIC.

el Alcazar!

There is such rich history here in Sevilla. The alcazar was first constructed in the 10th century!! It is filled with amazing art and architecture as well as gorgeous gardens.

This wall is part of the original construction.

This tower is la Giralda and part of the great cathedral. The cathedral here in Sevilla is the third largest in the world! The internet as been difficult but now that I am settled in with my host family I am hoping to keep up with the blog much better. My host family is so great and very kind. The family consist of my señora and her husband. I also have a roommate from the program. My señora is an amazing cook and spoils us!! They speak no English and I have realized how much learning I have to do but am so excited to start classes tomorrow! My listening and comprehension has already greatly improved.