Rockstar Life.

Well. Just finished mid-terms. Its crazy to think that I’m half way down with my experience here in Granada. It’s been such a whirlwind, but an experience that has influenced my life greatly.

 This past weekend was pretty busy. My roommate Ashley and I were invited by our friends to go to Madrid to see a concert of a group that they absolutely love. So we hopped on a bus to Madrid, went to the concert, and hopped back on a bus after. 10 hours of bus rides, a little more than 20 hours. So worth it though!

On the Bus.

At the Concert: (from left to right): Sergio, Ashley, Antonio, Me, and Andres

When Ashley and I got home, we had about an hour and a half and then hopped on another bus of three hours with our program and headed to Sevilla, which by far is my favorite city after Granada. The city is huge, but doesn’t have the same metropolitan feel that Madrid has. It’s more relaxed, with more feminine buildings, a river, and tons of horses and carriages.

             Before we actually got to Sevilla, our program visited the Roman ruins of Italica. It was a city founded in 206 BC for soldiers wounded in the Battle of Ilipa. We roamed the streets of the city; saw some rumble of houses, marketplaces, and baños. Also in Italica is an amphitheater that seats 25,000 spectators, although the city’s population is estimated to only 8,000.  

One of the coblestone streets

Ruins of Italica

The Amphitheater

After Italica, our group drove into Sevilla. We were given free time to roam the city and see some of the sights. My friend Ben and I decided to go explore. We ended up finding Plaza de Espana, which was my favorite sight of Sevilla. (For you Star War fans, it was one of the sights of Star Wars II-can you figure out which scene?) All around the Plaza were mosaics of every city in Spain, as well as really cool decorated lampposts, balconies, and benches.

Sevilla

Plaza de Espana

Plaza de Espana

Sevilla is also known for its river Guadalquivir, which is connected straight to the Atlantic Ocean. Thus meaning, Sevilla was the capital of imported goods and trade, especially after Columbus’ exploration of America. We all loved the river; an actual river unlike in Granada.

The second day we visited Sevilla’s two main attractions: the Cathedral and Alcazar of Sevilla.

            The Alcazar is a royal palace known for its Mudejar architecture. Surprisingly, the Alcazar was decorated exactly like another great attraction I have visited in the past: La Alhambra. After asking my professor, I found out that the same people who designed and decorated the Alhambra in Granada were the artists for this Alcazar as well.

        The Cathedral of Sevilla was built starting in 1401 after the Reconquista. It’s one of the largest cathedrals in terms of both volume and area. It holds the grave site of Christopher Columbus. Also in the Cathedral is the bell tower, which we had the opportunity to climb up and look around the city. This was my second favorite thing we did in Sevilla. The views were incredible and really put into proportion how large the city actually is. Looking out, all you can see is a sea of white.



Christopher Columbus's tomb.

My trip to Sevilla was somewhat rushed; we only had two days there which isn’t enough time to see everything. However, from what I did see I really enjoyed the city. And I would love to head back there again. This whole weekend I felt like a rockstar: traveling to Madrid, seeing a concert, traveling back to Granada, hopping on another bus to Sevilla, spending two days there and then back to Granada again. The whole rush of it all! I got to see so much in so little time, but it was definitely worth it.