A Blessed Experience (Literally)

Sunday morning we set aside for Vatican day – the last Sunday of the month the Vatican is open and free to the public – which we realize is kind of asking for horrible crowds, since there are horrible crowds at the Vatican on a normal day – but we thought doing the Vatican on Palm Sunday for free was hard to beat – so when you have a plan, you do it right. We woke up hella early and got to the Vatican around 7, it opens at 9, we were one of the first groups in line. By the time it had completely opened, the line was wrapped around the building. I’m SO glad we did this, we got into the Vatican so quickly and we were basically in the rooms at the beginning alone – I especially loved the Raphael rooms and the tapestries. Honestly so much stuff is here its kind of dizzying.

I really liked a lot of the modern art we saw – including Dali.

Of course, one of the main reasons to come to the Vatican, is to see the Sistine Chapel. Honestly, it’s a little overwhelming at first, there’s SO much stuff here and all of the paintings you’ve seen picture of seem so small on the ceiling because they’re just surrounded with panels and panels of paintings. But once you realize the progression and patterns of the paitings, its really impressive. The Sistine Chapel is also where they light the fires that tell whether or not the new pope has been elected – signaling the white smoke or the black smoke.

After the Sistine chapel we went to the Pinacoteca where there are some really impressive paintings and molds of statues by Bernini, also here is Raphael’s masterpiece: The transfiguration. I have to say, and I think I’ve mentioned this before, you have to see these paintings in person. The size of them and the depth of the colors on the canvas and the detail that you see when you’re actually looking at it far surpasses a photocopy or a picture. I didn’t think I cared about art one way or the other until I came to Europe and now that I’m taking classes about it and actually going to see it, I can actually have a conversation about it and know some information behind it.

After our long day at the Vatican, we knew that the Pope gave a blessing in St. Peter’s at noon on Sundays, but by the time we got out of the Vatican, it was around noon, and we were starving. So we decided just to duck into a snack bar and buy a Panini (which was delicious, of course, I can’t get over the fresh ingredients here), and just wandered into St. Peter’s.

Well, we wandered it just as the pope was giving his blessing. It was awesome. I’m not Catholic of course but I could really appreciate the enthusiasm and the throngs of people from every nationality and seeing the Pope speak and then everyone responding was really cool.

After his blessing he rode around a bit in the Popemobile while everyone sang and cheered and it was just a great experience.

After this we laid out in the sun waiting for the crowd to dissipate, just marveling at the size of St. Peter’s and the square. We went to a few souvineir shops…saw a woman without any pants or underwear on…and then went to get in line for St. Peter’s, which was quite huge, but moved quickly enough, and was certainly worth it.

I loved the inside of St. Peter’s, it’s HUGE and open and the colors and the gold are fantastic. The chair at the top of the altar is above the tomb of St. Peter’s and only the pope is allowed to sit there. All of the columns are baroque and it’s just overwhelmingly awesome.

I wish I had more pictures, but my camera was completely dead, so I shall be sniping some friends photos.

After this, we were quite exhausted, it had been a LONG day. We got a bit of food to have a picnic outside at our hostel, it was nice to relax and unwind after getting up as early as we did, but it was a long and successful day.

Monday was our last full day in Rome and we had hit all of the major spots, so we had a really chill day that was necessary. We began our morning shopping along the main avenue in all of the incredibly expensive stores, just for fun. We walked into Gucci and Dolci and Gabanna and all the stores that make me kind of angry at society - I picked up sandals that were 750 euros. I mean, really? But still, it was fun to walk in them – I mean, when in Italy, right?

We took our packed lunches to have a picnic in a park, and from there we walked down around the city a bit and ended up back near the Colliseum, where we just sat on a ledge and sat in the wonderful sun, taking a few pictures. Nooot a bad day when you can say you sunbathed by the Coliseum.

Ancient Rome: Not Built In A Day, But Seen In One

Saturday was a day devoted to Ancient Rome

We started out by Piazza Venizzi, climbed to the top, and found a random, gorgeous basilica, and went inside.

We walked down from here over to the Roman forum - the Roman ruins in between the Palatine Hill and the Capatoline Hill.

We then we climbed the Palatine hill for an awesome view of the Colliseum and of the Circus Maximus.

Next was the Colisseum, which is ginormous and meets all expectations. I can’t believe a structure like this existed so many years ago - the Romans were an impressive bunch, despite their propensity towards horrible forms of torture...

After this we wandered over to the Pantheon and went inside.

After a quick gelato break (mandatory), we went and people watched for a bit in Piazza Novani, where Bernini's statue of the Four Rivers is, as well as others that I really liked.

After finishing our ice cream we crossed the river into Travestere, a really neat district a little more removed from the typical tourist stuff, I really liked it.

Around 6:30 we made our way over to our chosen restaurant for the evening – Piazzaria Da Baffetto. This place was legit Italian owned by the cutest little Italian guy who pulled us into the restaurant with two other groups of two – since all the tables were full – he just put all 7 of us at a table together!

We decided to order 3: mushroom, zucchini, and tomato. I have to say, the tomato pizza was one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had, I’ve never tasted cherry tomatoes that fresh before. The zucchini was amazing as well. My favorite part was the thin, slightly burnt crust, because you could just taste the wood fire method of cooking – absolutely fantastic.

Roma: Arrival

Oh Rome, you are so epic, and I love you.

We got into Rome at around noon. Thanks to wonderful Ryan Air I managed to pack 10 days worth of clothes in ONE backpack while also wearing about 5 layers in Spring. Ryan Air would also like you to know that babies do not count as carry on.

We had a good 3 hours worth of public transportation to get from the airport to our hostel (this includes buying tickets, waiting for busses, finding trains, and riding them.) Our hostel is about 30 minutes outside of Rome, but it was cheap during Semana Santa, which is what matters. It’s pretty no frills but it works, the thing that matters is Rome itself, which I feel like I thoroughly saw and absolutely loved

Day one we took the metro into Piazza del Popolo (I keep wanting to type everything in Spanish…) and went from there down the main street of Rome, full of all of the stores I could never afford. From this road we pretty much followed the crowds and stumbled upon the Spanish steps, which were very crowded.

We climbed to the top, took some pictures, and then made our way to the Trevi fountain around twilight.

The Trevi Fountain is pretty darn impressive. It wasn’t as open as I was expecting and can get a little overwhelming with the amount of tourists, but its certainly ornate and meets expectations.

We went to nearby San Crispino for the most unique selection of gelato I have ever seen – it’s definitely not the type of flavors I’m used to with chocolate or cookies – they had everything from honey, whiskey, apple sorbet, and grapefruit. I had pistachio gelato and ginger and cinnamon gelato, and I have to say – the ginger and cinnamon flavor might be the best I’ve ever eaten. It was so good.

We took our gelato down to the Trevi fountain as the sun was setting – no big deal and all…

After this, we ended our first day of Rome appreciating an awesome view from a park that we stumbled upon...

Eurotrip...not really.

Wednesday was Dia de San Patricio, and also Sybil’s birthday, a girl in our group – so we all went out that night after dinner. I tried explaining to Ana and Antonio that we were going out for a birthday and St. Patrick’s day, but since no one knows what St. Patricks day here in Spain is (except the students and people who just want to get drunk), Ana and Antonio thought we had a friend named Patricia. That was a funny conversation.

Friday before dinner I went with Candace and Christin to a bar on Mateos Gago to try “Vino de Naranjas,” which is a wine they make from the orange trees here around this time of year. I liked it, it was really sweet, almost syrupy, and it came in a much smaller glass than a normal wine would, which is good, because I think you would just want to taste this and nothing else.

Then, on Saturday, Juliane, the German girl who has been staying with us for the past month, rented a car for the weekend and had an extra spot in the car if I wanted to go to Cadiz. I was glad to get to ride in a car again, I would never want to drive here, but she could rent a car easily and knows the European cars and roadways, so it was a good opportunity.

We stayed in Cadiz for half of the day. Cadiz is a city on the coast and is possibly the oldest city in Western Europe, it was founded by the Phoenicians in BC. We went to the museum there and saw the famous anthropomorphic sarcophagi. I don’t know if I was supposed to take a picture…but I did.

After the museum we had lunch sitting outside in a plaza. I ordered the menu del dia and enjoyed lentajas (a lentil soup) and paella with some tinto de verano. The meal also came with a dessert and I chose “torta helada con chocolate y nata” (Ice cream cake with whip cream and chocolate. Oh yes.) I also got to try some "salmorejo" a typical Spanish dish. It's a cold, thick soup, kind of like gaspacho. I really liked it.

After lunch we saw the cathedral, walked around the coast, and went along the beach. Around 5 we left Cadiz and stopped in Jerez on the way home. Jerez is where Sherry originates, so there’s tons of “bodegas” where they harvest and make the wine and you can take tours and sample them, but we got into town a little too late to have this as an option, even though I imagine it would have been a little too pricy for me anyways. Regardless, I liked what little time we spent in the city, it had cute streets and was a lot bigger than I was expecting.

Upon returning home, I had another interesting authentic Spanish dish to try. Ana had made the typical dish of Semana Santa - torrijas. It's like french toast made with honey and white wine. Sounds strange, but tasted better than you would think.

A Weekend in Granada: Kebabs, Mountains, and Rampant Immaturity!

Friday morning we left for Granada – our train left at 7 which meant my alarm going off at 5:20, an hour at which most Spaniards are still awake from the night before...

The train to Granada was not an AVE train, which we’ve taken on our previous trips – so the ride was not as smooth, and the interior lighting was somewhat cafeteria-room like. I got maybe an hour worth of bad sleep before arriving in Granada around 10:30. We stopped at a café by the train station to get some coffee and refuel before our hike to the hotel (which was a not-too-shabby four star hotel downtown, I should add)

Granada is a cool city - I love the snow covered mountains in the background. The city itself didn’t have anything too remarkably special, aside from a pretty delicious ice cream place we stopped at and a kebab restaurant I ate at twice (I love those things.)

But, what Granda does have to offer, is the Alhambra, which does not disappoint.

The first night we climbed up to St. Nicholas square in the Albaicin district at sundown where there is a gorgeous view of the Ahlambra and the city. This is the view from which Bill Clinton is quoted as having said this is the best sunset in the world – and I would have to agree with him, it’s quite impressive.

The next morning, after an awesome buffet breakfast at the hotel, we had a guided tour of the Alhambra itself. Muslim palaces are a little different than the typical “palace” you would imagine, so its easy to walk through this and not get the impression of lavishness or royalty - but once you get an understanding of what it used to be and how splendid and ornate everything was decorated – it’s really impressive to walk through. Ignacio, our tour guide, was describing how the inside of the palaces used to look and it really impressed me. That, and the view that it gave of the city and the mountains, made it one of my favorite places I’ve seen in Spain so far.

I’m always really glad to visit these places after I’ve learned all about them in my Spanish Art History class, it just makes both the class and the traveling so much more rewarding. Walking through a Muslim palace and city and recognizing all of the typical architecture and decoration is pretty fun to do. I also love taking this type of class here in Spain. If I learned about horseshoe arches and then saw one in the US I would never think it was authentic, but here - if you see one, it was likely built by Muslims in the 8th-15th century...crazy.

The rest of the day (which wasn’t too much after a really long tour and a relaxed lunch), we walked around and did a little shopping. I was beyond exhausted so a few of us went to a nearby café and sat around and talked until it was time to meet back at the hotel to leave on our train. It was after midnight when we got back to Sevilla, and yet the metro was stuffed and we had to catch the next one to get back home…only in Spain.

A Normal Week....

This week has felt incredibly long, I’m assuming its because we stayed in Sevilla and didn’t travel, which I’m kind of happy about – even though not much happened this weekend, it was nice to take a breath. I had two exams this week and Friday we leave for Granada (The train leaves at 7 in the morning. Which means leaving the house at 6. I will not be having any more train sprints if I can help it.)

The weather has not been very cooperative, its been rain, rain, and more rain – and everyone loves to remind us that it never rains this much in Andalucia. Buuut the whole world is going crazy right now so I guess Spain is just trying to join in on the fun. The weather has forced me indoors and let me do a bit of studying and planning for trips coming up, and on Sunday I got to Skype with my sister and my grandmother, which really made my weekend.

I think this much rain for Sevillanos is equivalent to snow for those of us in SC – they just don’t know what to do when it happens because it’s so rare, so everything kind of becomes dead.

Thankfully, Tuesday we got a break and the sun came out. It was gorgeous. This city really changes when there’s sunlight – everyone is just outside and by the river and in the parks. I really hope the weather changes soon and we get solid sun like we’re supposed to have. After a long morning of classes and a delicious lunch (with flan), Christin and I went to meet with a bible study made up of American students here in Spain. I’m really glad I went, it was so great to get to meet more students here and spend time reading the Bible and hearing about their lives (In English). I was glad to see a good mixture of students from all parts of the US (and even Australia), but this group is also made up of two Clemson students also here in Sevilla (I thought I was the only one!), which really excites me and I never cease to be amazed at how small the world is.

I’ve been quite boring this week, so sorry I don’t have much to update on. Studying for exams has kept me indoors and fairly busy, and considering my alarm tomorrow will probably be going off around 5:30, I think it’s going to be an early night.

The next post will be about my trip to Granada, so hope everyone has a wonderful weekend – and those of you leaving on the FCA mission trip this Spring Break – all the best, have fun!

An Ode To Flan

Dear Ana's Homemade Flan,

Thank you for being such a delicious conclusion to every single meal (except breakfast, though if you want to show up then, I wouldn't complain). Whether you are square, round, in a bowl, or on a plate, you enhance every meal with your presence. Though you are occasionally stubborn and refuse to come out of the molding, I forgive you. You are so far superior to your store-bought counterparts, there is no debate. You will probably make me fat, but that is okay, I accept you and your caramel and whip cream anyway.

Until tomorrow,

Courtney.

Antonio, por favor!!

We have two new students staying with us, both for about 4 weeks. One is from Germany and arrived on Sunday, the other is from Norway and arrived today just as I was getting home from school.

Antonio is a dirty liar and told me it would be a great day today, so I didn’t bring a rain jacket, and of course it started to rain. I was literally jogging from the metro to the apartment through the rain when I passed him. I stopped to say hello and get under his umbrella when I realized he was walking with someone else. He told me that she speaks English, so I said “Hello” to her and nothing else. I then realized that she was coming into our building, and that she had luggage. This is always when I realize we have new roommates: when they show up to the apartment with luggage or they come into our living room and sit.

This was the girl from Norway, who told us to call her May to avoid having to prounounce her actual name, and she does not know any Spanish. She says she can say “Hola” and “Como estas.” Ana is kind of worried, but I told her I would help. Ana is the sweetest woman in the world and wants everyone to be comfortable here and I know she’s worried about the communication barrier, but I told her I would help, so she’s been asking me to tell her things, even as simple as “Do you like the food?” Ana was explaining last night how if she just keeps a notebook with her and takes notes and learns at least one Spanish word a day she'll be in good shape.

So we had a full table at lunch today, and the energy just seemed more exciting, even though it was still only Sydney, Antonio, Ana, and myself contributing to the conversation. We had flan again for dessert, which is becoming one of my favorite things that Ana cooks for us. It was still in the molding when Antonio brought it to the table, so Ana flipped it on to the plate, but it wouldn’t come out. She kept trying to shake it, and Antonio would lean over to hit it with his knife, and Ana would try to block his arm saying “Antonio, por favor!” and he kept doing it just to mess with her. So freaking funny, I wish I had a video of it. Ana would have it in her hands and he would just lean over and whack it with his knife for no reason and then just sit back and laugh. I want to bring these two back to the states with me, they're just too adorable.