Summer esta aqui!!!

Summer has hit Seville quite suddenly! Yesterday it was hot and the Andalusian sun is back with its incredible intensity. I love it.
Laura was here this weekend. We went to Feria again, then cooked Mexican food, had a typical Spanish night out by leaving the house at midnight. We went to Bar Garlochi, which looks like a church inside (pics to come), where we drank Sangre de Cristo, and then off to Azucar de Cuba for salsa dancing. By the time we walked home it was almost 5. Wow.
Feria ended last night, and today is back to work! I've been studying Spanish in between my classes. Just one more month here!

Some more Feria pics....

Feria

It's Feria madness in Seville at the moment. Luckily it is not in the center as Semana Santa was, but out in Los Remedios. But all the taxis are taken, and half the buses are on strike.

I love walking the streets and seeing the women in their beautiful (and very expensive!) Feria dresses walk by. The people are dressed to the nines and then they go stand that heat in the fairgrounds! They party all night in casetas (like really fancy tents with bars and bathrooms) of which there are 1700, four of which are public, and an assortment of fair rides for the children. At night women dance Sevillana and there are even guards to the casetas! But they are private and you must be invited in. People stay out til 6 or 7 in the morning. Too late for me!

Dad and I popped in one afternoon for a quick view. It's interesting and funny to see all the horses and carriages carting people through town. Oh Seville!

No fridge

My refrigerator started dying just before the Granada trip, making odd sounds. Then it finally bit the dust and I spoke with my landlord, who had two guys come look at it, then said they repairman would come Friday at 1. By 6 PM I gave up and emailed my landlord, stating that the man never came. Obviously no one works on the weekend, so we'll see if/when I get it repaired. Oh Spain.

Dad and I have had a lazy week (other than me working). And Monday night Feria starts, so I only have one work day this week! March and April are crazy times in Seville, with tons of time off! I don't have a Feria dress b/c they are super expensive, but I plan to go out to Los Remedios and watch the festitivites! There should be dancing, music, drinking, eating, games and rides, shows, etc. I'll take some pics and put them up once I go.

The girls are going to Morocco and have asked me to come along several times, but I just don't feel like hitting Africa at the moment. So instead, Laura who is living in Madrid, will come down to spend a few days with me and catch up. I'm excited!

I've also been packing Dad's bags full of my winter clothes so that he can take them home with him. I am trying to find a plane ticket for late May/early June but they are really expensive! So I don't have an exact home-date yet, but it is rapidly approaching! My Spanish is nowhere near where it should be, so I'll have to continue learning in the good old U.S. And start job hunting...ugh.

The weather isn't as warm and sunny here as I'd like (very odd again), but in just over a month it'll be a hot KC summer and I'm looking forward to it! But for now it's tapas, flamenco and Feria!

Granada

I love this walk by the river in between the two hills. And jumping out of the way for traffic!

View of Albaicin and Mirador San Nicolas from Alhambra.

Inside the Alhambra.

View from our hotel room of the old center of Granada.

Greenery! Something I rarely see in Seville!

Do buses really drive there? Oh yes, they do!

Me and Alhambra.


Dad and I did Granada last weekend. We took the train across Andalucia and then walked and walked and walked for days until our feet were aching! There are two main hills (large hills!) in Granada, with tons of greenery! The Albaicin (old white city and Muslim area) with ancient stone roads and walls and a great lookout where you can see for miles and miles (Mirador San Nicolas). The Alhambra is the HUGE fortress, palances and gardens perched atop the other hill. We did that half the day Saturday. Amazing. Also in Granada when you order a drink you get free tapas and they are good! Ohhhh free tapas! I could eat my way through Granada, and had I had more time, I would have. The Spanish call it "el tapeo" or "tapear" to tapa oneself through town. If I ever go back, I'm definitely doing that. Though Dad and I gave it a go!

Overall I loved Granada. Beautiful, tons of history and gorgeous sites, tons of students and tourists (dang a lot!), buses plodding through streets you'd never guess they could drive on, and definitely a different atmosphere from Seville. If only it were closer!

Dad and I had planned to hit Ronda this weekend, but it looks like we will be relaxing in Seville instead. It's Dad's last weekend here, so maybe we'll go back to the Alcazar.

In other news, I am coming home just a bit earlier than planned. Either very late May or early June. Yay!

Things in Spain are good. :)

Plaza de Toros (bull ring)

What the bull ring used to look like!



A very old advertisement.

A famous bull fighter from the past.

Dad inside the bull ring.

Dad on top of a cool restaurant overlooking the river from the Triana side.

Dad at Plaza de Espana.

Dad and I are having a great time! Doing some new things, hanging out, and eating and drinking our way through Seville! :)

Costa del Sol

Dad and I went for a quick mini-vacation during Semana Santa to escape the craziness. We headed down to the Costa del Sol and stayed in a quiet little town by the beach, Rincon de la Victoria. Very beautiful!