Padres in Sevilla

I must say I was extremely excited to show my parents around Sevilla. To me this city is just so beautiful, and I knew my parents would love it just as much I as do. The apartment they had here was in a great location in the historic center of Sevilla. Although they had to deal with a small kitchen and two twin beds, I think they still loved their apartment. (I once again don't have any pictures to post yet, but I'll post them next week sometime when I get them from my parents!)

After getting settled in, we went to try and find the open air market that Fernando, a non-english speaking but very friendly worker from the rental company, had recommended. I should have known better though because most things close on Sundays in Sevilla. We didn't let this get us down though and decided to stop for a "second lunch" as my mom calls it at this restaurant right along the river. We sat up on the rooftop and had a variety of fried fish and beers (a combination that we enjoyed quite frequently throughout the week). After walking to another closed grocery store, Colleen met up with us and we went out for a beer at one restaurant and then a cafe con leche at another. For dinner we went to a tapas restaurant called Coloniales that 3 different people had recommended to me. We ordered some delicious honey and goat cheese salad, fried cod, fried zucchini, octopus, and the tapa del dia which ended up not being a tapa but was bread with peppers, onions and fried eggs. Delicious all around. Then came the sad part: the UNC game. We watched in at Tex Mex and even though we were tied at half, losing Kendall finally caught up to us in the second half. It wasn't the best way to ring in my mom's birthday, but as I pointed out it wasn't her birthday in America yet when we lost!

On Monday morning, I lugged all of my heavy winter clothes and extra stuff I wanted to send back home with my parents over to their apartment. All that weight combined with having to carry over a cake I bought from a bakery Pilar recommended made for quite the workout. My mom opened (although I don't think I should count putting presents in a plastic bag as wrapping) her birthday presents of a bowl, pashmina scarf and wallet that I had gotten in Morocco. After a very challenging yoga with my mom, we had a site-seeing filled day of walking through the Reales Alcazares (and smelling just about every flower in the gardens--they are all starting to bloom in Sevilla right now and the smell is extraordinary), seeing my University, eating burgers and drinking beers at Cien Montaditos, walking through the always impressive Plaza de Espana and Maria Luisa park, walking along the river and eating some of the most delicious salads and sandwiches I think my mom has ever fixed! Overall I think my mom had a pretty great Spanish style birthday, although the dinner at the Italian restaurant wasn't the best (but it made for great omelets in the morning!) As she put it, if she had been back home my Dad would have been at work for most of the day and she would have had to teach her spin class. Being in Spain and hanging out with me and my dad all day was a pretty good way to celebrate!

On Tuesday, we successfully went to the Triana open air market and picked up some apples, cheddar cheese and strawberries (all the makings for good tapas!) We walked around on the other side of the river for a while  and eventually wound our way back to the house for lunch. I had to go to class at 5 and 6:30, but while I was there my parents went to the top of Las Setas (the waffle-like building in Sevilla) and had beers at the top. They then took the tram (which my dad was very excited about) to meet me over by my apartment. We picked up the essentials for dinner with my spanish family: 6 40s of beer. At 9:00 on the dot, we opened the door up to Pilar's "welcome to Sevilla dinner" that she was kind enough to host for my parents. I think my parents really enjoyed putting a face to all the stories they'd heard about my family. The kids were surprisingly well behaved (even Carmen only shook her butt at my dad once) and Pilar opened the night by pouring my parents beer (in wine glasses of course) and giving them a sort of tour of the apartment--including their own bedroom which even Colleen and I had never been in. It was also very interesting to hear our parents speak English. As you might have read in my early posts, they both studied for multiple summers in Ireland and so they both are very good at English (I'd even venture to say Pilar is fluent). She was so sweet to fix a sort of sampler of typical Spanish foods (although from what I could tell they were all either store bought or made by Chari). My dad was especially impressed with her beer drinking skills and I think by the end of the night they had finished all 6 of the 40s my parents had brought. Then of course Luis brought out lemon cello for my parents which they politely drank. Pilar was so sweet and got my mom a birthday cake! My parents stayed til around 12:30 and we talked about everything from bullfights to spanish marriages and showed pictures of our families to one another. All in all it was very fun (and a much less awkward night than I had originally invisioned). Pilar and Luis both thought my parents were very funny, and I think my parents really loved seeing where I live and meeting my spanish family.

On Wednesday, I unfortunately had to go to one of my UNC classes, but met up with my parents around 12. Lauren Fetter (a girl who actually lives in my neighborhood back home) wanted to see my parents while they were in town so she and Colleen joined us. Pilar had written a sort of itenerary of bars and restaurants for us to try so we set off on a sort of bar crawl. We started off at a bar called Casablanca and had a beer there. We then moved on to try and an area where she suggested we get a cafe, but seeing as it was a Wednesday and everything was a euro at Cien Montaditos, we naturally ended up there. For 9 euros, we got 5 huge beers for us all, 2 things of nachos, 1 plate of olives, and a hotdog and chips. Walking around after that my dad somehow spotted with his eagle like eyes a place that had 70 cent beers, so naturally that was our next stop on the tour. The place had tapas that you could pick up from little glass doors at the bar. The price varied according to the toothpick size and the concept itself was pretty cool! After that Colleen and Lauren headed back to their homes, but we continued walking around. After picking up a thank-you and happy 14th anniversary card for Pilar and Luis, we went to another bar she had recommended called Esclava. I never realized how many back roads Sevilla has but I'm starting to realize it would be impossible to know this city like the back of your hand. All the places Pilar sent us to were completely new to me and very fun to try!

After a quick siesta, we went back out with wine, beer, cheese, bread and apples to sit and relax by the river. It was lovely just to enjoy the fresh air and really take in the beautiful river. After that we went to another place Pilar had recommended and had some fried fish that turned out to be anchovies--who knew we would like those! From there we went to this flamenco bar called Carboneria. Now that I think about it Pilar was actually the person who first recommend Colleen and I go there back in January! I guess we're lucky to have such a hip mom! The show itself was great although the singer wasn't quite as loud as he should have been if you ask me. But the dancer had just the right amount of emotion. Colleen and my friend Molly met us there, and afterwards we went out to a street called Alfalfa that was kind of "scary" according to my dad. But them coming there was absolutely awesome in my opinion (not to mention my dad bought the 3 of us a round of drinks at carboneria and at alfalfa). Pretty sweet deal if you ask me! Everyone was pretty impressed that they came there...definitely won them the cool parents award (and I'm not just saying that because I know you two are reading this! You really are the coolest parents I know!)

Thursday was a nation wide strike for Spain. I know that sounds like a very crazy event, but apparently they are way more common here. The strike was against a proposed law that would limit workers rights. I'm not going to give a political lesson here, but if you're interested I'm sure you can find some english articles online. Luckily the strike didn't close too many of the things we wanted to see, although the streets by my parents apartment were especially noisy with people chanting and launching firecrackers that sounded like guns in the streets. My parents went inside the cathedral and to the top of the bell tower. Since I forgot my student id at the apartment and the lady wanted me to pay the 9 euro price, I opted to just sit outside and wait for them. I had a great time people watching though. The "gypsies" as the spaniards refer to them always stand outside big tourist attractions trying to trick unsuspecting people into taking somesort of weed from them that they call a "gift". Well of course its far from a gift and as soon as some one takes it from them they say its 2 euros and then insist on reading their palms. Reading both palms apparently costs extra which none of these people realized. A couple people tried just walking away only to find themselves being chased by 6 women yelling at them. Then there were the even unluckier people who only had 10 or 20 euros and once the gypsies saw that they would thank them repeatedly and act as though the didn't have change. Very interesting to watch!

After the cathedral, we went back for another one of my mom's delicious salads and then toured the plaza de toros (bullfighting ring). I was expecting it to be much bigger than it was, but the entire place was beautiful and filled with history. Although I really don't think I will like watching it, I'm definitely going to try and go to a bullfight while I'm here. Hey, when in Spain, right?

My mom and I then did another yoga video before I headed to class. When I got back to their apartment I was pleasantly greated by some tapas my parents had thrown together and a glass of wine. Pretty nice way to end a class if I do say so myself. We sat out on our tiny little balcony and just enjoyed the fresh air and street noise. Unfortunately, we accidently locked ourselves out of the apartment when we left to go to dinner. But after a couple beers at the bar in front of the apartment, Fernando had come to the rescue to let us back in. We had a fancy dinner at a restaurant right next door (I'm telling you we were in a great part of town!). I had some delicious lamb with spinch and pine nuts in a balsamic sauce while my mom had lamb chops and my dad had seafood soup and salmon. All in all it was quite the yummy meal! Afterwards we were so full and I was happy to walk around for a little while. We walked by the waffle building at night and then headed back home.

I decided just to sleep at my parents apartment on their last night rather than going home late and coming over early the next morning. Luckily for me my dad surprised me in the morning with a triple chocolate muffin from down the street and a delicious cup of coffee from the french press Fernando taught us to use. If only I could wake up to that every morning! After getting all packed up, we had just enough time to go to this store my mom had seen colorful pants in she liked. We were in and out in twenty minutes and now she has 2 pairs of pants that she'll forever be able to say, "Oh these? Oh my husband got them for me in Spain."

I rode with my parents in the taxi to the train station since I live about 10 minutes from there. I was sad to have to say goodbye to them again. It's funny how quickly you can get used to seeing your parents everyday! I know I will miss them, but I'm so happy they were able to come and visit me! But there is truly no time to be sad because in the morning I leave for Dublin! I'll be there until Tuesday when I'll fly to Amsterdam. On Thursday we'll take the train to Heidelberg, Germany and stay there until Saturday.

I think I'm finally starting to realize why 19 is the age I've always wanted to be!

Barcelona

I can distinctly remember planning out my parents visit with them and thinking how long it would be until I saw them again. But as has been the case since I've been in Spain, time has been flying by and last Thursday night I was reunited with my parents once again! I flew over to Barcelona with Colleen who was planning on meeting up with some of her friends on Friday. When I got off the airport bus and turned the corner I saw my Mom and Dad both standing there looking for me. I skipped with joy over to them and was surprised when they both just stood still as statues looking at me. I stop in front of them when I realized they were trying to make me choose my "favorite" parent to hug first. It reminded me of something my grandmother "G" would have done, and I did not appreciate having to choose between the two of them! Needless to say my dad made comments for the rest of the trip about me hugging my mom first. But, really, could I have possibly won?

From there we walked to my parents' apartment which was in a fantastic location right of La Rambla in Barcelona. It was huge with tons of space to do yoga as my mom put it. We had dinner at a restaurant right across the street from my parents apartment and then walked around La Rambla for a while. Barcelona's night life is much more lively than Sevilla's. Even when we went to catch our train at 7:30 on Sunday morning there were still people out partying. My parents and I got a really big kick out of these men who walked the streets of Barcelona trying to sell individual beers to drunk people. Good business plan I guess.

It was so nice to be served real breakfasts while my parents were here. I have been salivating thinking about my mom's steel cut oatmeal with apples, walnuts, and cinnamon and let me just tell you I was not disappointed! On Friday after sleeping in and getting a delicious breakfast, we went and explored Montjuiic. We ended up walking up the majority of the mountain but eventually found the cable cars that took us to the top of the mountain. We explored the "castle" which was really more like a fort if you ask me and then took the metro back to our house. For lunch we went back to a restaurant my parents had already been to that had been recommended to them by their landlord. I ordered the "frijoles" (black beans, rice, fried egg, and a fried banana) which was enough food (and carbs) for an entire day.

My dad and mom both took very quickly to the Spanish idea of siestas. I think we ended up fitting one into our schedule just about every day. My dad says that, along with beer on tap at fast food restaurants, is one of the things he is going to try to bring back to America. It's certainly a different way of living, but I think it's one of the main reasons Spaniards are the 3rd happiest people in the world.

One of my favorite things about Barcelona was their open air market called la Boqueria. It was filled with the most beautiful fruit, vegetables, seafood and candy I've ever seen! I would love to have one of those back in Chapel Hill although I suppose the Carborro market is the closest thing we'll ever get.

While we were in Barcelona we also went to see the Magic Fountains at night. My dad had heard about the fountain water shows, and they were very impressive! We split some beers and chips (and were offered more beer by the makeshift salesmen every few minutes) while watching the fountain shows set to music. For dinner that night we stumbled across this chinese restaurant that had a special of a beer, 3 entrees and a coffee or dessert for 8.50 a person. We had previously been kicked out of 2 other restaurants for not speaking Catalan and there not being any room to sit down, so we were just happy to have a place to eat. Plus I haven't had chinese food since the night before I left for Spain so it was a nice change-up! At around 1am we went to a bar my Dad found called "Dow Jones" to watch the Carolina game. It was one of the ugliest games of our season, but the bar itself and people there were nice. The prices of the drinks change according to their popularity and every so often there are "crashes" were the prices drop by a euro. Pretty cool concept. The game of course went into overtime, but luckily we pulled out a victory! Oh, and we also met a girl studying there from Raleigh who turned out to be Roy William's niece! Pretty amazing the tarheel fans you'll find around the world!

On Saturday we explored Gaudi's Parc Guell which is covered in the most beautiful mosaics (Aunt Jane, it reminded my mom and me so much of you!). After that we took a bus to see the Sagrada Familia, a cathedral also designed by Gaudi. It was unfortunately closing at 2 for a "private party" so we couldn't go in, but the outside was impressive enough! Later that day we explored other parts of Barcelona, had a cafe con leche and sat out on the port overlooking the ocean for a little while. We then climbed to the top of the Christopher Columbus monument which had some impressive views even though it was quite claustrophobic at the top. For dinner we went to another restaurant right next door to our apartment which we all considered to be a blessing given the amount of walking we had done all day!

The next morning was an early one since Spain went through daylight savings and our train left for Sevilla at 8:30. We luckily had no problems finding our train (with the help of a very friendly Spanish woman) and after 5 and a half hours had arrived in Sevilla! That post will come next and I promise I'll add pictures once my parents send them to me (we took most of them on my Dad's fancy camera). Hopefully I'll be able to finish that entire post before I go to bed tonight, because tomorrow I leave for Dublin! Time just keeps on flying by!

Tetouan and Tangiers, Morocco

Sunday was another early morning with breakfast at the hotel. Before I knew it we had packed up all our stuff and loaded up the bus. We then headed to the Medina of Tetouan. We were given a tour by a man named Abdul who insisted we call him by his celebrity look-a-like Michael Douglas (yes, they looked nothing alike). He was absolutely hilarious though and a very interesting tour guide! He told us a lot about Islamic culture and practices which went hand in hand with what I’ve been learning in my Spain and Islam class. He himself had 3 wives and told us he was looking for a 4^th one who he’d hope would be American. The sites we saw walking through the Medina were unlike anything I’ve ever seen. There were stray cats everywhere, live chickens being sold on the streets and some of the most repulsive smells. The food was all sold along the road with flies swarming around the fruit and breads. I don’t understand how people can live there. I was so glad to have Michael Douglas leading us around (along with our group’s own security guard).

Michael Douglas talking to us

We were surprised yet again on our tour when we were given a snake charming show. The snake charmer was fearless and even kissed his king cobra. I got a picture with a less terrifying snake.

Cobra

We were also given a quick tour of a Moroccan rug store. The rugs themselves were stunning, although I’m fairly positive they wouldn’t have fit in my carryon to take back to the US.

My favorite part of the day was the Moroccan pharmacy which consisted of all sorts of herbs for natural remedies as well as Moroccan spices. The owner explained some of their most popular products which included things like body lotions, massage oils, lip balms, hangover cures and Moroccan teas. It was quite the experience and I ended up buying some goodies to bring home (he had a 3 for the price of 2 deal that was just too good to pass up).

After eating couscous and drinking tea at another really cool Moroccan restaurant, we all headed back to our buses. Our group first went to tour the Caves of Hercules in Tangiers. The caves were very pretty and the view was absolutely spectacular. While there we met this really cool guy from Switzerland who had come to Morocco in his motor home. He was retired and living up life traveling as much as he could. He told us some trips he had taken to Russia and all around Europe. Next year he’s planning on going from Argentina to Los Angeles on a year long tour. Studying abroad has really made me love traveling, and I hope that even as I get older I’m still able to see all different parts of the world. Five months just isn’t long enough!

View from inside the Caves of Hercules

Next in our Moroccan adventure came the camel rides that Colleen and I have been looking forward to for over 2 months now. The man who owned the camels literally threw girls onto them while shouting “yehaw” and “oh my god”. When it was finally our turn, I hoped on mine and luckily didn’t have any problems. You could tell the camels were sick of having to get up and down to let people ride them. It broke my heart a little bit. There were also 2 baby camels that were absolutely adorable. The ride itself was only a few minutes, but on a camel that is more than enough time. Needless to say they aren’t the most comfortable things to ride. Luckily we went pretty early because the last group to go had 2 girls on one camel and I guess their weight wasn’t evenly distributed because they fell off. It happened in slow motion and I had time to turn around so I didn’t have to watch. I felt so bad for them! The camels were very high in the air and they essentially fell on rocks. Thankfully neither of them were injured.

Getting ready for the camel to stand up

"Moroccan Christmas Card picture"

After saying goodbye to our camels, it was back to catch the ferry and bus back to Sevilla. Oh and I should mention we got passport stamps for the first time since we’ve been here! I was so mad not to get them in Italy, but apparently anywhere you travel in the EU you don’t get a stamp. It’s nice to now be back in Sevilla where tap water is free and safe to drink. No more brushing my teeth with bottled water! Up next: traveling to Barcelona to meet my parents on Thursday! I’m so excited I can barely stand it!

Chefchouen, Morocco

This weekend marked the third continent I've been to in the last 2 and a half months (and yes, I'm counting North America). We said goodbye to Sevilla on Friday and took off on a bus towards Morocco. As it turns out Morocco is closer to Sevilla than Madrid is! So one 3.5 hour bus ride, 1 hour ferry, and 1 hour bus ride we were safely at our hotel in M'Diq, Morocco (a very swanky area of Morocco).

On the ferry!

We took this trip through a student travel agency called Discover Sevilla, and I must admit that at first I was very skeptical of how it would turn out. After hearing Kevin's stories from his trip to Morocco through We Love Spain, I was expecting the worst. But I ended up having a fantastic time! All of the guides we had were really friendly and genuinely fun to hang out with. Plus our group leader constantly surprised us with special foods (typical Morocco breads, cookies, candy, free drink tokens...) and surprise activities (to be discussed later). They made the whole trip a real vacation from our oh so very stressful Spanish lives! Not having to worry about bus times, where to eat, what to see, etc. was truly worth it.

Anyways, back to the trip. Friday as I said was mostly spent traveling. We got to the hotel and were given a very nice dinner of salad, bread, couscous and ice cream. Throughout the dinner we had surprise entertainers ranging from women modeling Moroccan clothes to a man dancing while holding candles.

Delicious couscous

Sorry it's hard to see. He is balancing a tray of candles on his head while dancing!

On Saturday we woke up early, had breakfast at the hotel and took off on a bus ride to Chefchouen. Practically the entire city is colored in the most gorgeous Carolina blue. It was so fun to walk around and take in the sites. We had a tour guide who lead us through the city's tiny roads and explained the culture and history behind the city.

View at our pit stop on the bus ride

The streets were breathtaking

Our tour group!

After our tour we had lunch at a really cool restaurant. We sat on couches and munched on phenomenal Moroccan bread, the best salad I've had in a long time and some equally delicious Moroccan chicken. With full stomachs we were given a few hours to walk around and take part in the "Moroccan pastime", aka bartering. Dad, you would have absolutely loved this! I put my Barber genes to work for me and got some really cool things for some really great prices! While walking around we found this man named Mohammad who insisted he show us the best places. He lead us down the streets with his hand in the air shouting, "This way please! Number one please!" He was truly such a sweetheart and got us some great deals on Moroccan sandals! When we had to leave to go back he gave us little packs of incense to remember him by.

Lunch place

We had another delicious dinner at the hotel that night and then were given free drink tokens for the hotel bar. We hung out at the hotel and on the beach and had a great night!

I'm going to leave Sunday for a separate post so I can cram as many pictures into this one as I can.

Horses and the house to ourselves, what could be better?

So I realize I did not improve on blogging more often, but I'm doing it now so that counts for something! On Friday, Colleen, this guy from our program named Jonathan, and I all went to Donana National Park for a horseback riding tour. My friend Sophie had done it and highly recommended it to me (although with horses in the picture, I didn't need much convincing!). I'm not sure that we booked the same tour Sophie did though, because after the 2 hour long bus ride we got off only to find that after wandering around trying to find the campsite where we were supposed to meet that we were 30 kilometers from where we were supposed to be. Luckily the company we booked through had great customer service and after calling the corporate office, a very friendly british man called me back to tell me it was my "lucky day" and that a black audi would be coming to pick us up in 5 minutes. So even though we had to pay an extra 5 euros for the ride, we still got to do our tour! I think that's one thing I'm continually learning in Europe: if you're ever lost, don't panic because it will all work out in the end! Colleen and I always remind ourselves not to underestimate our ability to get lost, but luckily even though we've gotten lost more times than I care to remember, we've always managed to work it out. Good life lesson.

The tour itself was really great! It was 2 hours through Donana National Park and the sites were beautiful. Although the tour we booked didn't actually get to go on the beach, we got to see some spectacular views! Plus I got some much needed animal interaction with my horse Deseo. 

We came back home and got to watch UNC beat Maryland! Pretty good day all in all!

On Saturday I was very sore from the horseback riding, but luckily Colleen and I got the house to ourselves again this weekend! I don't think many other people ever get the house to ourselves, but their senoras are all older and without kids to entertain. Our family went to the beach for the weekend and we got to decide when and what to eat! Most of the food we made wasn't very exciting (warmed over potato casserole, boxed lasagna, etc). But on Saturday night, we went to town! After spending the day relaxing and reading, I went to the grocery store and picked up a few essentials: a bottle of wine, a bag of our favorite chips, and a few ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies in a cup (from a recipe I found on pintrest). So Colleen and I relaxed and watched the UNC-NC State game while sipping wine and munching on chips. Then afterwards we made scrambled eggs with hamburger meat mixed in (it was the closest thing to sausage we had) and some stir fried veggies. All in all it was pretty delicious. Plus it's just fun and really nice to get to cook for yourself every once in a while. After dinner we made our cookies in a cup, but realized we didn't have measuring cups. We ended up putting in too much flour I think, but it still hit the spot!

My groceries

Dinner!

Cookie in a cup (It tasted way better than it looks I promise!)

After our cooking session, we went out with some friends to watch a futbol game. All in all it was a great day!

The weather out today is perfect, and after having a nice lazy morning and watching The Help, I'm about to go for a nice long run! Then it's back to cheering on my Tar Heels tonight! 

This coming weekend I'm going to Morocco and couldn't be more excited! Then after that is Barcelona with my parents! Time truly is flying by here!

Soaking up the sun in Ronda

As my Dad has recently and not-so-subtlely informed me, I have not been posting nearly as regularly or as often as I was before. My deepest apologies to you, my loyal followers (all ten of you)! I will try my best to post more often!

This week went by super fast since we only had classes on Wednesday and Thursday after getting back from Italy. Then my last class on Thursday ended up being canceled, so I really can't complain! It will certainly be a reality check having to readjust to studying at UNC when I get back. But for now, I am worry free!

Today Colleen and I woke up early (8:45 if you must know--which is before anything opens here and before our parents woke up) to go to Ronda. Oh and I should also mention that we went out last night only to come home at 1 and find our parents still out and Maria still awake watching tv with the babysitter. We felt judged for coming home so early, but we needed our rest! Anyways, Ronda is a city built on cliffs and is supposed to be a 2 hour and 15 minute bus ride. Our bus driver managed to zip through some pretty windy roads though and got us there in an hour and a half. The ride there was absolutely breathtaking, and Ronda itself was one of the most naturally beautiful places I have ever been. We spent the entire day hiking the cliffs and walking around under the bridge (Puente Nueva--which is what you'll see in practically every picture). It was so relaxing to just sit out in the sun and take in the view. We packed ourselves our own homemade bocadillos--which ended up just being tomatoes and lettuce on bread, but was delicious just the same! We were just happy not to be stuck with another pate sandwhich...the sight of which I can't help comparing to wet dog food. We also had oranges, cookies, and a bag of our favorite chips! All in all it was a great and relaxing trip! One which I can't wait to do with my parents when they come in a few weeks!!


I think Ronda will best be explained through pictures. So, enjoy! Oh, and GO HEELS tonight! Looks like Colleen and I will be watching it from our kitchen again. The bar said they wouldn't show it since they close at 2 anyway...but rest assured, we WILL be watching!

Doing warrior! Thought you'd like this one, Mom!