Spain Sightseeing!

Hola a todos!

It has been a busy past few days in Spain but so much fun! It has been sunny, which is a nice change of pace! We finished our first week of class so we only have 17 more to go (WAHOO)! And we did some great sightseeing and have been going out on the town!

Thursday Copeland and I went on a run after class because we are going to do a half marathon in Lisbon, Portugal in March! I definitely have some training to do but it will be get exercise and an awesome experience to finish a half marathon (IN PORTUGAL)! Then we took a tour with the study abroad program led by one of our professors, Fernando. He is really sweet and knows everything about anything historical in Spain! We went to Reales de Alcázares, which is the palace that the royal family still lives in today! It was soo beautiful and we are definitely going back because Fernando told us they have some days were it is free and we will have more time to roam around the grounds and gardens. The style was originally mudéjar, which is muslim but it also has some Roman and other styles as well because many monarchs have added on through the years. All of the ceilings and stone work was so intricate and it was so gorgeous to walk through. After our tour Copeland and I went out to meet our friend Clara and her (and our new friend) Ana. We had a lot of fun first at Flaherty's and then at a bar where Copeland and I were the ONLY americans! Clara talked us into getting "agua tropical," which is NOT water at all haha! It is basically a pitcher of shooters, muy delicioso! After exams are over for the students in Spain we are going to go to tapas together, yum!

On Friday Sarah, Copeland, and I went to Discover Sevilla to ask about some trips they offer. It is owned by a few guys who studied abroad in Spain themselves and loved it so much they came back to live here and started a tour service. They put together trips for college students studying abroad and we really want to go on their trip to the Sahara Desert--it includes camel rides and staying in an Oasis one night with a Berber cooking for us! We also went to churros con chocolate with some friends from the program. YUM, they are sooo good! The churro is fried dough but big fluffy sticks of it not little crunchy ones you would think of from the U.S. And you get "hot chocolate," which is really thick and basically like a melted chocolate bar with cream. You dip the churro in the chocolate and ENJOY! We are definitely going back for more (in a few weeks so we don't get fat)!

On Saturday we woke up--way to early--at 7 am to meet our group for an excursion to Cordoba. It takes about two hours to get there, which was perfect for a nap :) Cordoba was originally a roman city and was later captured by the Berbers. The Mosque was constructed as early as 784 and was later converted to a Cathedral. It is giant inside and contains gorgeous architecture. We also saw the Cordoba synagogue, which dates back to the 14th century and was also very beautiful! We got back to Sevilla around 5 and, of course, got cafe con leche before going out on the town with everyone. We went to a bar for free sangria, which was actually free tinto de verano and then a bar called Long Island. Long Island has a shot for every state of the USA--Cameron and I chose Ohio, EW it is just straight absinthe. I found out at that moment that absinthe taste like black licorice, which I consequently do not like. But we had a fun night and returned home a little early to try and get a normal amount of sleep.

Today is Sunday and we went on a run around Sevilla and are about to explore a bit with Sarah and Caroline!