Just in case I had any previous doubts: Life is good :-)
The weather in Sevilla has taken a turn this week and I'm loving it. The Sevillans, on the other hand, are not loving it so much. Yesterday I don't think it got about 16 degrees Celcius, which still is pretty warm, but people were walking around with winter hats and huge jackets like it was going out of style. So cute. I wore my North Face finally - the first time since I've been here! It was a little too warm for me, but hey, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do." Brett and Jenna and I went to El Corte Ingles yesterday to find Brett a nice Real Betis soccer jersey and he said I looked very Spanish all bundled up while he was wearing a short sleeved shirt. But hey, I just want to fit in! Haha. It was really hot in that jacket, though. I don't know how the Sevillans think it's freezing. My señora even left me an extra blanket to cover my bed last night, but I didn't need it. Oh Spaniards.
I think I've finally given up on being nice to my señora's daughter Maria because she is a complete B*tch pretty much all of the time. I don't enjoy her company at all and I love it when she doesn't come home for lunch from work. Is that sad? Haha, my señora is lucky she got an American with so many things that's too lazy to pack all of them up in her suitcase again to move to a different house or to the student dorms, because if I had any kind of motivation I would have done that a while ago. I love my señora, she's really nice and talks to me and we have good conversations. But her daughter. God, what a bitter person. I try to avoid all kinds of contact her and keep our conversations to a "Hola" and then in my mind I think "puta." Haha. I hope they don't find my blog and read it... but it's not like I don't like her just because. I have tried to be amicable to her and start conversations. Like last weekend, her boyfriend was over for the weekend because he lives in Madrid, and so after he left I was just asking her questions about him and how they met and all of that stuff. I'm sorry, if you are really into a guy, you want to talk about him. She gave me one word answers. Earlier this week, Maria and I ate dinner alone because her mom went out, so I started asking her about her school because she actually goes to the same business school here as I do, she just doesn't actually attend classes. She just takes the exams... and she's 26 and not done with school yet, but that's a story for a different day... so I was asking her about her major and how she likes it and stuff. One word answers again, and she doesn't even try to get to know me at all. Usually when you get a question like, "Oh how do you like your major?" and are in a conversation, I feel like it should be two sided. Always one sided. So, during our awkward dinner, I asked her about it and then I was like, "That's really cool, I have liked all of my management classes I've taken (she's a mgmt major...), but I chose accounting as my major and I'm just about done." And then Maria does the head nod and gives me those eyes like, shut up seriously. So then I just finished my dinner in silence and went back to my room so she could be antisocial and watch TV by herself in the living room. Whatever.
Another thing that sucks is like, I got really good news from KPMG, like yay I have a job, and I was SO happy the night I got that email from the partner I interviewed with, and I told my senora and her daughter during dinner, and they were like, oh nice... moving on. I was WTF. Seriously. No congratulations or anything. Whatever, I'm going with Maria is just jealous because all she does is paperwork at a damn horse breeding business. How random is that. I'm working at one of the biggest accounting firms in the world. My friends in the program made my day though because they shared in my joy that I have a life after graduation already and I love that I have friends here. There are definitely a handful of people that I will be keeping in touch with after we get back to the States, and there are already talks of a reunion during Spring Break and summer in Boulder, Philadelphia, and Seattle. :-) I've made a few Spanish friends. I got coffee with my intercambio Juli earlier this week and that was fun, we actually had a conversation for over an hour without awkwardness, and he's just really nice overall.
Anyway, those are just my frusterations. There aren't many updates about Sevilla really. I'm not traveling this weekend and next weekend in hopes of getting a majority of my projects done for my classes for the end of the quarter, especially since I will be gone all weekends after that in this order: Barcelona, Gibraltar/Cordoba, London/Nantes, Paris, and Toledo. I'm excited. I might look for a dress for Peter's ball in Paris, just to say I got a dress in Paris and be really cool like that. Erin is coming on December 9th and I'm really excited for that. I really miss her and after the conversation I had last night with Brett about friendships, I really really just want to be home with my friends that I know are my friends and that I feel comfortable around, like, that I can be myself and not feel judged.
Also, today is Halloween so we're going to go out. I need to stop by the store and buy some butterfly wings after our company visit for marketing - we're going to visit a brewery today where they make Cruzcampo beer for our International Marketing class - which I really don't understand because there isn't anything international about Cruzcampo except for that Heinekken owns it or however you spell it. It's made in Sevilla and only sold in Andalucia, this southern region in Spain. International much? Not so much. But anyway, I'm just going to get butterfly wings after that tour today and wear my yellow dress tonight and call myself a butterfly, whatever. Halloween isn't my favorite holiday and I really don't feel like going out at all. We went out last night for a little while to Buddah and I went just to be social and now my hair smells like smoke and I just wasn't really feeling it last night. Perhaps tonight will be more fun. And anyway, after getting my wings, I'm going to be studying at Starbucks with some friends for our midterms that are next week. Exciting life I lead, I know, I know.
So anyway, the point of this blog began with just mentioning that I love the weather now, but it expanded to be more of a journal entry than a blog with my feelings and all. Woops. Hope you enjoyed anyway. Exactly 7 weeks until I get back to Seattle. I can't wait!!
Cheers,
Olivia
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
A Moroccan Monsoon - ¡FOTOS!
Here are some photos from Morocco:
Kids learning how to draw intricate designs at the artisan school we visited. 
Ceramics at the same school.
Which fish would you like? 
Fruits at the market! Watch out - they will make you sick.
Dinner time! Yum... 
The candle man that came to our rescue when the power went out. 
Inside a mosque we saw - we weren't allowed to go inside. 
We learned how to barter with rugs. This is the one I tried to haggle for. 
Me and Virgina, the program director, and our delicious capps. 
Brett's reaction after Jenni stole his seat next his Seat Buddy (me...)!! 
The tallest building in Tanger... it's the tower of the mosque. 
The business school in Tanger. 
Our new Moroccan friends, Amine and Amina!
CAMELS! 
It was a rough ride to the standing position. 
AMIGOS! 
Me and my bestest buddy at the point where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean. 
A town called Chaouen. 
In Chaouen - a continuation of the Sierra Mts. 
Oh you know, chillin' in front of the Smurfs' house... haha. Hope you enjoyed those - there's plenty more so if you want to see more let's grab a coffee when I get back to Seattle and I'll show you all of them!
Cheers,
Olivia
Monday, October 27, 2008
Adventures in Africa
Hello to all,
I wanted to be sure to write about my trip to Morocco before I forgot about all of the awesomely cool details, so here in my attempt. I have to go to class in a half hour.
We left bright and early on Thursday morning after waiting for about 20 minutes for our program director who was late... she is obviously on Spain time! We hit the road at about 8:15 am and drove down to a town in Spain called Algeciras where we caught a ferry to take us to the continent of Africa... but the place where we docked was still a part of Spain - this city called Ceuta. The ferry ride was about a half hour. The rain was incessant. It would NOT stop at all. I was a little disappointed. When we got into Ceuta, we bolted for the bus so as to not get too wet, but everyone looked like they had just gotten out of the shower anyway. So, there goes my efforts at straightening my hair for the whole weekend - I was devasted! Haha, I didn't bring my hair straightener because I figured I wouldn't need it... darn it! After we boarded we headed for the border and into Morocco. On the border we had a creepy, smelly inspection patroler come on board and check out our passports. He was not messing around.
The city our hotel was in is this city called Tetuan. The hotel was really nice - super fancy. The lights were all motion sensored so as to conserve energy. Thomas Friedman would be proud. I shared a room with Danielle, so it was a precursor to our Paris trip in December! The bathroom was super snazzy - I finally had a shower that had hot hot water and I didn't have to hold the shower head and be cramped in a small bathtub. Superb! After we dropped our things off, we went to visit this artisan school nearby where little kids learn an art that ends up being their bread and butter for the next lifetime. It was really amazing, because the kids were so good at what they did and had a level of concentration I don't think I'd ever seen in a kid at an elementary school in the US. But it was also a weird feeling, because they were already learning a vocation - child labor laws anyone? This is the task that would sustain them for their whole lives and I know it's their lifestyle and tradition to stick with the way they've done things for years and years and years, but a part of me just felt bad because we have so many opportunities in the States and many people just throw them away... and here we are in Tetuan looking at these kids like they were a zoo exhibit, you know? I didn't like that... although I felt like the whole group was like an exhibit when we were walking in Morocco - we got a lot of stares.
After visiting the school, we went and got lunch at a traditional Moroccan restaurant. We got some kind of sweet noodle soup and couscous with veggies as the main meal, and the delicious delicious tea and fruit for dessert. We also got a performance from a crazy old man that balanced a tray of candles and water on his head while doing some dancing and moving around, it was a great show! It was still really windy and rainy outside, so that caused the power to go out for a while in the restaurant, so that's when crazy candle man really came in handy with his candles.
After lunch, we all went with our guide Abdul to visit the Medina in Tetuan - that is to say, the old part of the city. It was still pouring cats and dogs at this point, and unfortunately my umbrella I brought with me was a little broken, but it served it's purpose for the most part. We walked through the market where we were truly a spectacle for all of the locals and we got to see a mosque and a synagogue amongst some other things. It also is normal to see swordfish heads chillin' on tables and live chickens running around next to a stand full of dead, skinned chickens - body still totally intact. Very different from our nicely packaged chicken breasts wrapped in plastic at nice, clean grocery stores. We also learned how to haggle with rugs - they showed us a bunch of gorgeous handmade rugs, and we got to pick the ones we wanted to buy and haggle the price down. I chose a nice hallway rug that would have been cool to have, or maybe for my sister's house, and I haggled the price from 200 euro down to 60 euro, but I didn't buy it, don't worry. It was just for fun.
After touristing in the wind and freezing my butt off, we finally went back to the hotel for dinner... I believe we had some kind of fishy soup and some kind of main course - I don't remember what it was right now. I was really exhausted so Danielle and I went up to our room after dinner and chatted for a while and called it a night.
The next day we traveled to a town called Tanger about an hour and a half away from Tetuan. The streets were totally flooded, though, so we had to take a detour so it took longer to get there. We were supposed to visit a factory where they make clothes for firefighters and fireproof things, but all of the streets leading up to it were flooded and there was no way to get there, so we didn't end up seeing it, which was a bummer... We visited the business school in Tanger, though, and that was really cool. We met a lot of Moroccan students and it was really cool to see a different kind of school than the one previously mentioned. These people were really worldy and knowledgeable and I was really impressed - they had clubs and activities and when they talked about what they wanted to do in the future, they were all bright eyed. I mostly talked with this guy Amine and a girl named Amina (funny that they have the same name, but apparently just a coincidence). They both wanted to get their MBA after graduating.
After visiting the school, we went to get lunch at a restaurant where the food was absolutely delicious, but I know it made several people in our program sick... not me, though, so it's okay :-) It was this tasty fusion of cinnamon, sugar powder, chicken, and peanuts and it was all wrapped in some of the typical bread they make... kind of like a pita, but way better and not as thick bread. After we ate, we visited these Caves of Hercules which was okay... not as cool as I thought it would be, but at least it was sunny and not raining. That made my day. Then, the coolest part of the day... we got to ride camels! That was fun, they were pretty smelly, and it was almost like riding a horse, but a little bumpier ride. After we did that, we went to the place were the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea collide and meet :-) That was really pretty - the sun was setting and the sky was pretty colors.
Afterwards, we went shopping for a bit and I found some pretty cool things to give as gifts for Christmas time. I can't wait for people to open their presents! And it was cool - we had to haggle for a price and I got one guy to go down a fair amount for this one thing :-) Almost my bottom price, but I had to go up 5 euros because he was not budging to go any lower :/ Oh well. I'm really excited for it.
Upon returning to the hotel in Tetuan and eating dinner, we felt really great and so we decided to have a massage party. All of the boys got these awesome suites in the hotel (can we say not fair!! Girls need more room!), so we went down to Brett, Mike, and Matt's room with a bunch of people and watched TV and chatted about serious and not serious topics and got excellent massages.
The next, and last, day, we gathered our things in the morning and were off to a city called Chaouen. This entire city is painted blue and white, I kid you not. Although the main reason is to cool the houses in the summer and heat them in the winter, the blue and white also have symbolic meanings... that is to say, the blue means the love of God, and the white means peace. We got a tour of that city and walked through the Medina there (the old part of town) and I felt like I was in a world that was a cross between Dr. Suess' The Grinch Stole Christmas and The Smurfs... The houses were very quaint and very adorable. After getting a tour, we did some more shopping and haggling and by the end of the two hours we had to do that, I was exhausted and wanted no more haggling. I am so glad that we have set prices in the US. Can you imagine haggling for the price of your bread? No thank you! But I got some more cool things in Chaouen for gifts and I'm pretty much done with Christmas shopping, so yay me!
On the way back home, I slept in the autocar most of the way since I was exhausted. We nearly missed our ferry, which was cool, but in the end got back to Sevilla in one piece and with lots of good memories. Morocco wasn't as enchanting as it sounds, but seeing another culture and another lifestyle that is so different from ours was very eye opening and I enjoyed the experience very much... despite the rain and how unprepared we all were for it!
So, that's my trip in a nutshell (a very large nutshell). I'll post pictures later.
Cheers,
Olivia
I wanted to be sure to write about my trip to Morocco before I forgot about all of the awesomely cool details, so here in my attempt. I have to go to class in a half hour.
We left bright and early on Thursday morning after waiting for about 20 minutes for our program director who was late... she is obviously on Spain time! We hit the road at about 8:15 am and drove down to a town in Spain called Algeciras where we caught a ferry to take us to the continent of Africa... but the place where we docked was still a part of Spain - this city called Ceuta. The ferry ride was about a half hour. The rain was incessant. It would NOT stop at all. I was a little disappointed. When we got into Ceuta, we bolted for the bus so as to not get too wet, but everyone looked like they had just gotten out of the shower anyway. So, there goes my efforts at straightening my hair for the whole weekend - I was devasted! Haha, I didn't bring my hair straightener because I figured I wouldn't need it... darn it! After we boarded we headed for the border and into Morocco. On the border we had a creepy, smelly inspection patroler come on board and check out our passports. He was not messing around.
The city our hotel was in is this city called Tetuan. The hotel was really nice - super fancy. The lights were all motion sensored so as to conserve energy. Thomas Friedman would be proud. I shared a room with Danielle, so it was a precursor to our Paris trip in December! The bathroom was super snazzy - I finally had a shower that had hot hot water and I didn't have to hold the shower head and be cramped in a small bathtub. Superb! After we dropped our things off, we went to visit this artisan school nearby where little kids learn an art that ends up being their bread and butter for the next lifetime. It was really amazing, because the kids were so good at what they did and had a level of concentration I don't think I'd ever seen in a kid at an elementary school in the US. But it was also a weird feeling, because they were already learning a vocation - child labor laws anyone? This is the task that would sustain them for their whole lives and I know it's their lifestyle and tradition to stick with the way they've done things for years and years and years, but a part of me just felt bad because we have so many opportunities in the States and many people just throw them away... and here we are in Tetuan looking at these kids like they were a zoo exhibit, you know? I didn't like that... although I felt like the whole group was like an exhibit when we were walking in Morocco - we got a lot of stares.
After visiting the school, we went and got lunch at a traditional Moroccan restaurant. We got some kind of sweet noodle soup and couscous with veggies as the main meal, and the delicious delicious tea and fruit for dessert. We also got a performance from a crazy old man that balanced a tray of candles and water on his head while doing some dancing and moving around, it was a great show! It was still really windy and rainy outside, so that caused the power to go out for a while in the restaurant, so that's when crazy candle man really came in handy with his candles.
After lunch, we all went with our guide Abdul to visit the Medina in Tetuan - that is to say, the old part of the city. It was still pouring cats and dogs at this point, and unfortunately my umbrella I brought with me was a little broken, but it served it's purpose for the most part. We walked through the market where we were truly a spectacle for all of the locals and we got to see a mosque and a synagogue amongst some other things. It also is normal to see swordfish heads chillin' on tables and live chickens running around next to a stand full of dead, skinned chickens - body still totally intact. Very different from our nicely packaged chicken breasts wrapped in plastic at nice, clean grocery stores. We also learned how to haggle with rugs - they showed us a bunch of gorgeous handmade rugs, and we got to pick the ones we wanted to buy and haggle the price down. I chose a nice hallway rug that would have been cool to have, or maybe for my sister's house, and I haggled the price from 200 euro down to 60 euro, but I didn't buy it, don't worry. It was just for fun.
After touristing in the wind and freezing my butt off, we finally went back to the hotel for dinner... I believe we had some kind of fishy soup and some kind of main course - I don't remember what it was right now. I was really exhausted so Danielle and I went up to our room after dinner and chatted for a while and called it a night.
The next day we traveled to a town called Tanger about an hour and a half away from Tetuan. The streets were totally flooded, though, so we had to take a detour so it took longer to get there. We were supposed to visit a factory where they make clothes for firefighters and fireproof things, but all of the streets leading up to it were flooded and there was no way to get there, so we didn't end up seeing it, which was a bummer... We visited the business school in Tanger, though, and that was really cool. We met a lot of Moroccan students and it was really cool to see a different kind of school than the one previously mentioned. These people were really worldy and knowledgeable and I was really impressed - they had clubs and activities and when they talked about what they wanted to do in the future, they were all bright eyed. I mostly talked with this guy Amine and a girl named Amina (funny that they have the same name, but apparently just a coincidence). They both wanted to get their MBA after graduating.
After visiting the school, we went to get lunch at a restaurant where the food was absolutely delicious, but I know it made several people in our program sick... not me, though, so it's okay :-) It was this tasty fusion of cinnamon, sugar powder, chicken, and peanuts and it was all wrapped in some of the typical bread they make... kind of like a pita, but way better and not as thick bread. After we ate, we visited these Caves of Hercules which was okay... not as cool as I thought it would be, but at least it was sunny and not raining. That made my day. Then, the coolest part of the day... we got to ride camels! That was fun, they were pretty smelly, and it was almost like riding a horse, but a little bumpier ride. After we did that, we went to the place were the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea collide and meet :-) That was really pretty - the sun was setting and the sky was pretty colors.
Afterwards, we went shopping for a bit and I found some pretty cool things to give as gifts for Christmas time. I can't wait for people to open their presents! And it was cool - we had to haggle for a price and I got one guy to go down a fair amount for this one thing :-) Almost my bottom price, but I had to go up 5 euros because he was not budging to go any lower :/ Oh well. I'm really excited for it.
Upon returning to the hotel in Tetuan and eating dinner, we felt really great and so we decided to have a massage party. All of the boys got these awesome suites in the hotel (can we say not fair!! Girls need more room!), so we went down to Brett, Mike, and Matt's room with a bunch of people and watched TV and chatted about serious and not serious topics and got excellent massages.
The next, and last, day, we gathered our things in the morning and were off to a city called Chaouen. This entire city is painted blue and white, I kid you not. Although the main reason is to cool the houses in the summer and heat them in the winter, the blue and white also have symbolic meanings... that is to say, the blue means the love of God, and the white means peace. We got a tour of that city and walked through the Medina there (the old part of town) and I felt like I was in a world that was a cross between Dr. Suess' The Grinch Stole Christmas and The Smurfs... The houses were very quaint and very adorable. After getting a tour, we did some more shopping and haggling and by the end of the two hours we had to do that, I was exhausted and wanted no more haggling. I am so glad that we have set prices in the US. Can you imagine haggling for the price of your bread? No thank you! But I got some more cool things in Chaouen for gifts and I'm pretty much done with Christmas shopping, so yay me!
On the way back home, I slept in the autocar most of the way since I was exhausted. We nearly missed our ferry, which was cool, but in the end got back to Sevilla in one piece and with lots of good memories. Morocco wasn't as enchanting as it sounds, but seeing another culture and another lifestyle that is so different from ours was very eye opening and I enjoyed the experience very much... despite the rain and how unprepared we all were for it!
So, that's my trip in a nutshell (a very large nutshell). I'll post pictures later.
Cheers,
Olivia
Monday, October 20, 2008
Granada Weekend!
Hola a todos. It's Monday afternoon. I've been sitting and researching stuff for Marketing and for my Arab studies class all afternoon. Class work is finally starting, thank goodness. It's probably one of my favorite things to do. But we had a nice little break from school this weekend in Granada. There was a group of eight of us that went and we had a blast... for the most part.
We left early on Friday morning on the bus and I was a little tired but Brett and I are seat buddies and we talked the entire time so no nap time. We got into Granada and managed to use the metro system to get to our hostal, which was up on in a cute little alley. The room was great - it was my first hostal experience, and it was a success. The beds were a little shakey, but stable nevertheless. I had to have top bunk and I'm not a fan of that, but oh well, it was fun. We met a few really cool people also - this one couple that just took some time away from work to travel all through Europe. Talk about awesome! And then there was this one guy who was a wreck. He came to Granada to win back his ex-girlfriend's heart or something. She is studying abroad there and apparently he did something stupid and wanted her back. That conversation was a little funny/sad for the guy. The hostal wasn't dirty like I expected it to be, and we had our own bathroom. Our room fit all eight of us, too! Yay for a major sleepover! There was a kitchen as well, so we made some spaghetti the first night we were there and had a lot of fun. We ate it on the roof of the hostal in the breakfast room, and the view was great. We then proceeded to play Never Have I Ever which got interesting... :-)
On Friday we went to the Alhambra - that was absolutely amazing! Talk about intricate architecture. I swear, back then they had less technology and way cooler buildings. The ceilings in some of the rooms were just breathtaking. We walked around there for a few good hours... and afterwards just went and bought ingredients for our dinner and chatted for a long portion of the evening.
On Saturday Laura and Jenni went rock climbing and the rest of us took a bus to this town two hours away called Capileira, nestled in the Sierra Nevada. It was so pretty - on the bus ride there we saw about a gazillion olive trees, which made me crave olives very much. I am excited to buy some before I leave so I can have them at home in Seattle :-) The olives here are to die for. We got up to Capileira and walked around for a bit and then hiked to the town that was next to it called Bubion, which was only about one kilometer but fun nevertheless. We got back in the evening and went swimming at some random hot springs which was definitely interesting in and of itself. I've never been to a hot spring before and I'm probably never going back...
On Sunday, Lolita, Matt, Brett, and I woke up extra early and walked around Granada to explore the streets and found a pretty killer view of the Alhambra from some random neighborhood on a hill. We left around 4:30 in the afternoon, but not before I ate a kebab because it is officially the most delicious food on the planet. Had to indulge before coming back to Sevilla and starvation :-) Just kidding, it isn't as bad as I make it sound sometimes!
We finally started having homework a little, which is cool, but now I have to get used to actually having things to do. Not for long, though, since our finance class is cancelled tomorrow and on Thursday the whole program is going to Morocco until Saturday... so no homework getting done in those few days. I'm a little bummed because today I was going to go to some salsa club for lessons - and the first lesson is FREE (best price!) but we got assigned a presentation today for Marketing that we are presenting on Wednesday, so we have to have a group meeting instead of dancing the night away :-( Oh, school. Getting in the way of life! I am excited, though, because the winter quarter schedule was posted for UW and I can't wait to sign up on November 7th. I just want to be in Balmer!! It's amazing that I actually miss accounting classes - perhaps that's a sign that I'm choosing the right major if I miss it? I'm going to go with yes...
Anyway, not so very exciting entry, but it was a good mellow weekend full of sightseeing.
Cheers, hugs, and kisses,
Olivia
PS. I finally got my ATM card from my mom in the mail. Took long enough! I felt so naked without it - and not many places take credit cards in Spain and banks don't understand the concept of cash advances, so it was definitely a difficult past three weeks without any cash. I also received a fabulous CD from my mom - An Evening in Barcelona... you know, those CDs at Target that you can listen to snippets of if you press the button and it plays super loud and makes everyone you're with really embarrassed to be associated with you? Yes, I have that CD now so thank you mom! I am in love with it! Perfect homework doing music!
We left early on Friday morning on the bus and I was a little tired but Brett and I are seat buddies and we talked the entire time so no nap time. We got into Granada and managed to use the metro system to get to our hostal, which was up on in a cute little alley. The room was great - it was my first hostal experience, and it was a success. The beds were a little shakey, but stable nevertheless. I had to have top bunk and I'm not a fan of that, but oh well, it was fun. We met a few really cool people also - this one couple that just took some time away from work to travel all through Europe. Talk about awesome! And then there was this one guy who was a wreck. He came to Granada to win back his ex-girlfriend's heart or something. She is studying abroad there and apparently he did something stupid and wanted her back. That conversation was a little funny/sad for the guy. The hostal wasn't dirty like I expected it to be, and we had our own bathroom. Our room fit all eight of us, too! Yay for a major sleepover! There was a kitchen as well, so we made some spaghetti the first night we were there and had a lot of fun. We ate it on the roof of the hostal in the breakfast room, and the view was great. We then proceeded to play Never Have I Ever which got interesting... :-)
On Friday we went to the Alhambra - that was absolutely amazing! Talk about intricate architecture. I swear, back then they had less technology and way cooler buildings. The ceilings in some of the rooms were just breathtaking. We walked around there for a few good hours... and afterwards just went and bought ingredients for our dinner and chatted for a long portion of the evening.
On Saturday Laura and Jenni went rock climbing and the rest of us took a bus to this town two hours away called Capileira, nestled in the Sierra Nevada. It was so pretty - on the bus ride there we saw about a gazillion olive trees, which made me crave olives very much. I am excited to buy some before I leave so I can have them at home in Seattle :-) The olives here are to die for. We got up to Capileira and walked around for a bit and then hiked to the town that was next to it called Bubion, which was only about one kilometer but fun nevertheless. We got back in the evening and went swimming at some random hot springs which was definitely interesting in and of itself. I've never been to a hot spring before and I'm probably never going back...
On Sunday, Lolita, Matt, Brett, and I woke up extra early and walked around Granada to explore the streets and found a pretty killer view of the Alhambra from some random neighborhood on a hill. We left around 4:30 in the afternoon, but not before I ate a kebab because it is officially the most delicious food on the planet. Had to indulge before coming back to Sevilla and starvation :-) Just kidding, it isn't as bad as I make it sound sometimes!
We finally started having homework a little, which is cool, but now I have to get used to actually having things to do. Not for long, though, since our finance class is cancelled tomorrow and on Thursday the whole program is going to Morocco until Saturday... so no homework getting done in those few days. I'm a little bummed because today I was going to go to some salsa club for lessons - and the first lesson is FREE (best price!) but we got assigned a presentation today for Marketing that we are presenting on Wednesday, so we have to have a group meeting instead of dancing the night away :-( Oh, school. Getting in the way of life! I am excited, though, because the winter quarter schedule was posted for UW and I can't wait to sign up on November 7th. I just want to be in Balmer!! It's amazing that I actually miss accounting classes - perhaps that's a sign that I'm choosing the right major if I miss it? I'm going to go with yes...
Anyway, not so very exciting entry, but it was a good mellow weekend full of sightseeing.
Cheers, hugs, and kisses,
Olivia
PS. I finally got my ATM card from my mom in the mail. Took long enough! I felt so naked without it - and not many places take credit cards in Spain and banks don't understand the concept of cash advances, so it was definitely a difficult past three weeks without any cash. I also received a fabulous CD from my mom - An Evening in Barcelona... you know, those CDs at Target that you can listen to snippets of if you press the button and it plays super loud and makes everyone you're with really embarrassed to be associated with you? Yes, I have that CD now so thank you mom! I am in love with it! Perfect homework doing music!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Late night insomnia
I spent the last twenty minutes trying to post some pictures and deleted half of them and none of them wanted to abide by the layout and wouldn't do captions, so I've given up for now. I might add some at the end of this post if I feel up to it.
Jenna, me, Brett, Laura, and Lolita in Jerez
Real Alcazar in Jerez
Real Alcazar
Gardens at the Alcazar
Pretty colored rose :-)
Jerez is known for its wine.
Of course we had to take a tour of a winery!
And try the wine...
We got all dolled up last Saturday to go out!
Oh, just in the middle of a main street.
In Ronda with Laura
Brett, me, and Laura in front of the Puente del Coño!
Oh, just having a picnic with our sandwiches and bottles of water from our señora's. GORGEOUS view. 
Churros. It was our breakfast in Ronda. Really healthy for you... hah.
I can never sleep through the whole night here. I always ALWAYS wake up. But today it doesn't matter too much since I have a 3 hour bus ride ahead of me that I can nap on. I'm going to Granada with a few friends, and I'm very excited for it. This will be my first hostel experience - definitely not my last! Today we are going to see the Alhambra and tomorrow we are hiking in the Sierra Nevadas. Mom, pamietasz te spodnie co od ciebie pozyczylam? Sa luzniejsze!! Wiec wiem ze juz schudlam troszeczke, ale zaloze te spodenki zielone krotkie jutro i tak i tak. Sorry, side note to the parental. We get back on Sunday, and I'm sure I'll have plenty of great stories and photos to relay to you via blogspot.
In other news, life in Sevilla has become fairly routine. Wake up in the morning, way too early for class of course, get ready, eat breakfast with the senora, go to my room, read every article EVER in the Wall Street Journal, go to class, eat lunch, go read some more, go on a walk, starve until dinner time at 10 pm, go to the meeting spot at Corte Ingles, and go to a cafe with friends until about midnightish, and do it all over again the next day. I love Sevilla, it's gorgeous, but once you become a part of the city, it's a different kind of excited that I get to be here. At first, it was like WOW I'm in Spain. Now that I've become accustomed to it, it's life as usual... minus the regularness of life in Seattle. No hard classes at all, although my Arab studies class is immensly thought provoking. I love that class, even though the teacher talks with the BIGGEST Andalucian lisp ever and talks at 100 miles an hour so it's hard to understand him sometimes. I am waiting impatiently for winter quarter schedule to be posted on MyUW, though. I'm ready to be challenged. I sign up for classes on November 7 :-) YAY for first registration day because I'm graduating this year and get priority! That weekend I might be in Madrid, by the way. And it looks like I'm coming home to Seattle a few days earlier (screams of joy for some, I hope) on December 19th. I don't think I could ever live away from Seattle for extended periods of time. If it was for work (like maybe for KPMG's International Rotation program?!!!!) it would be better because I would have more to do. I'm just an anomoly here - I actually want the teachers to give us work so we LEARN more, but I guess it's okay if they don't. I'll learn by myself. Next week I am planning on starting the work on my presentation for finance, my marketing plan for marketing, and a research report for European Economy. That will keep me busy, for sure... although the whole program is going to Morocco next Thursday... I can't wait for that! Shopping, anyone?! :-) Just kidding... well, a little. I'm excited for the bazaars and for the beautiful sights and touristing.
Okay, my insomnia has not gone away yet and I'm not tired still, so here is my attempt to add more pictures. Forgive the ugliness of the layout.
Okay, my insomnia has not gone away yet and I'm not tired still, so here is my attempt to add more pictures. Forgive the ugliness of the layout.
Cheers,
Olivia
Jenna, me, Brett, Laura, and Lolita in Jerez.
Cathedral in Jerez.
Cathedral in Jerez.
Real Alcazar in Jerez.
Real Alcazar
Gardens at the Alcazar
Pretty colored rose :-)
Jerez is known for its wine. 
Of course we had to take a tour of a winery!
And try the wine...
We got all dolled up last Saturday to go out!
Oh, just in the middle of a main street. 
In Ronda with Laura
Brett, me, and Laura in front of the Puente del Coño!
Oh, just having a picnic with our sandwiches and bottles of water from our señora's. GORGEOUS view.
Churros. It was our breakfast in Ronda. Really healthy for you... hah.Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Four Day Weekend = Great Success
This weekend we had four days off instead of our regular three... in the words of Brad Paisley, it was time well wasted. Thursday night we went to Buddah again because that disco rocks... but on the way there we became very lost and it tooks us about an hour to get there. But once we got there, the dancing was on! My intercambio friend Juli said he wasn't going to be there but then he showed up so I got to practice my español a little bit as well. He's nice, not a creepy guy, and he works for a trucking company so he understands my interest in DAF :-) But yes, it was a fun night full of dancing.
On Friday, we kept it pretty low in Sevilla. I went with Brett to the Palacio to take care of some business and then we went to see the Real Alcazar. I did just a quick tour because I didn't feel so great - my throat hurt and I had a cough and all. I took a few pictures, but I definitely need to go back there to do some more sightseeing. I spent the rest of the day just doing homework and stuff - not too exciting.
On Saturday I went with a group of people to Jerez, a little town about an hour and a half away from Sevilla by train. That was a fun day minus the first few hours... on the train ride, it was pouring rain and there was lightening lighting up the sky. Very ominous, but luckily it cleared up by the time we arrived to Jerez. The sights were great - I love all the cute plazas and fountains. We went to the Real Alcazar there and to the Cathedral, which was gorgeous. I lit a few prayer candles for some special people in my life there and I took a picture of it as proof :-) Afterwards, we did a wine tour of Tio Pepe, which is a very popular wine I guess here. It was very awesome - there's this room that you could have your wedding reception at that was ready for a party later on in the day. It looked classic... if only I lived in Spain! Haha. Anyway, we tried two types of wine - they were delish, I thought.
Saturday night was another crazy night out dancing.
Sunday... meh.
Monday... Laura, Brett, and I went to this cute town called Ronda about 2 hours away by bus. SO ADORABLE! The side streets looked just like Poland in Warsaw where my grandma lives. It left me feeling pretty nostalgic. We also ate churros which are so horrible for your body, but oh so delicious! Ronda is known for this really cool bridge there that is ridiculously large and I can't imagine how it was built but we explored some awesome trails and got great views of it. I'll post pictures later. So those were my events of the weekend and I loved it.
But, the awkward moments of my weekend: always and forever my senora's daughter. I think she hates me, seriously. I asked her about this town called Rota which is a military base because Bre's boyfriend might be stationed there so we were talking about meeting up, so I just asked Maria where it was and she turned so psycho on me! She sat up and looked at me so weird and was like, "Why do you want to know?" and I thought it was like some bad place that no one should talk about or something. And so I tell her my story and she's like, "It's by Cadiz, we have a friend there but there are two sides there, one Spanish and one US. He is on the Spanish side." And I just didn't even pry further. Awkward.
Another awkward moment: I am a clean person, seriously. I clean my room every morning and every evening so that there isn't a mess, and my bathroom is orderly - in my eyes. My senora walks in today and goes, could you keep your bathroom neater? Your room is your room - you can do whatever you want and keep it messy (MESSY?! Lady, do you not see how orderly everything is... like seriously, I have my laptop and a notebook on my desk, all of my books organized on a shelf, but perhaps she was referring to the cup of coffee I had sitting on my desk. I'm sorry that I like to drink my coffee in my room... ugh). But she goes, the bathroom should be neat just in case someone comes over and needs to use the restroom. (To clarify, there are two bathrooms and I have my own here...). But I just said okay I'll keep it nicer. But seriously, it's not messy. I keep my makeup in a bag. I keep all of my face stuff lined up by the mirror. I had a towel on the floor though, for when I get out of the shower so I don't slip or get the floor wet, so I think she was referring to that. UGH. Piss me off. I'm a neat person, I'm a little offended that she thinks my room and bathroom are messy.
Anyway, I had to vent. Yay for a good weekend. Next weekend I'm going to Granada with a bunch of people, there's eight of us going. On Friday we are going to the Alhambra in Granada, the Real Alcazar of all Alcazar's, and on Saturday we are taking a trip into the Sierra Nevada from Granada since it's super close. Three days of class this week.
I want to be home in Seattle with my crappy weather and delicious coffee and my doggy and mom and friends and comfy mattress and Alki beach and pretty campus :-( And real classes where I actually learn things, not these BS classes. I just want my senora to stop silently criticizing me and her daughter to stop being such a weirdo.
On Friday, we kept it pretty low in Sevilla. I went with Brett to the Palacio to take care of some business and then we went to see the Real Alcazar. I did just a quick tour because I didn't feel so great - my throat hurt and I had a cough and all. I took a few pictures, but I definitely need to go back there to do some more sightseeing. I spent the rest of the day just doing homework and stuff - not too exciting.
On Saturday I went with a group of people to Jerez, a little town about an hour and a half away from Sevilla by train. That was a fun day minus the first few hours... on the train ride, it was pouring rain and there was lightening lighting up the sky. Very ominous, but luckily it cleared up by the time we arrived to Jerez. The sights were great - I love all the cute plazas and fountains. We went to the Real Alcazar there and to the Cathedral, which was gorgeous. I lit a few prayer candles for some special people in my life there and I took a picture of it as proof :-) Afterwards, we did a wine tour of Tio Pepe, which is a very popular wine I guess here. It was very awesome - there's this room that you could have your wedding reception at that was ready for a party later on in the day. It looked classic... if only I lived in Spain! Haha. Anyway, we tried two types of wine - they were delish, I thought.
Saturday night was another crazy night out dancing.
Sunday... meh.
Monday... Laura, Brett, and I went to this cute town called Ronda about 2 hours away by bus. SO ADORABLE! The side streets looked just like Poland in Warsaw where my grandma lives. It left me feeling pretty nostalgic. We also ate churros which are so horrible for your body, but oh so delicious! Ronda is known for this really cool bridge there that is ridiculously large and I can't imagine how it was built but we explored some awesome trails and got great views of it. I'll post pictures later. So those were my events of the weekend and I loved it.
But, the awkward moments of my weekend: always and forever my senora's daughter. I think she hates me, seriously. I asked her about this town called Rota which is a military base because Bre's boyfriend might be stationed there so we were talking about meeting up, so I just asked Maria where it was and she turned so psycho on me! She sat up and looked at me so weird and was like, "Why do you want to know?" and I thought it was like some bad place that no one should talk about or something. And so I tell her my story and she's like, "It's by Cadiz, we have a friend there but there are two sides there, one Spanish and one US. He is on the Spanish side." And I just didn't even pry further. Awkward.
Another awkward moment: I am a clean person, seriously. I clean my room every morning and every evening so that there isn't a mess, and my bathroom is orderly - in my eyes. My senora walks in today and goes, could you keep your bathroom neater? Your room is your room - you can do whatever you want and keep it messy (MESSY?! Lady, do you not see how orderly everything is... like seriously, I have my laptop and a notebook on my desk, all of my books organized on a shelf, but perhaps she was referring to the cup of coffee I had sitting on my desk. I'm sorry that I like to drink my coffee in my room... ugh). But she goes, the bathroom should be neat just in case someone comes over and needs to use the restroom. (To clarify, there are two bathrooms and I have my own here...). But I just said okay I'll keep it nicer. But seriously, it's not messy. I keep my makeup in a bag. I keep all of my face stuff lined up by the mirror. I had a towel on the floor though, for when I get out of the shower so I don't slip or get the floor wet, so I think she was referring to that. UGH. Piss me off. I'm a neat person, I'm a little offended that she thinks my room and bathroom are messy.
Anyway, I had to vent. Yay for a good weekend. Next weekend I'm going to Granada with a bunch of people, there's eight of us going. On Friday we are going to the Alhambra in Granada, the Real Alcazar of all Alcazar's, and on Saturday we are taking a trip into the Sierra Nevada from Granada since it's super close. Three days of class this week.
I want to be home in Seattle with my crappy weather and delicious coffee and my doggy and mom and friends and comfy mattress and Alki beach and pretty campus :-( And real classes where I actually learn things, not these BS classes. I just want my senora to stop silently criticizing me and her daughter to stop being such a weirdo.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Good < Bad?
Walking down the stairs last night, sprained ankle and all, I straight up bite it and fall down the stairs. My back is killing me. It's got this really nice bruise right around my tailbone. Super nice. I continued to walk to our meeting spot to meet up with Brett and Danielle for drinks. I was a walking target for a mugging, honestly. [aka that's why I called Peter so I wouldn't be ALL alone, haha. Thanks, baby... hah.] It usually takes me 10 minutes to get to the Corte Ingles where we meet. It took me 20 last night. I had a nice glass of white wine to numb the pain. It didn't work. This morning I tried doing some ab workouts... yep, the crunches I canNOT do because it kills my back. So, to summarize: Sprained Ankle + Bruised Back + Being in Spain = Una combinación mala. [But I'm trying to ignore all the bad luck I've been having and I'm still enjoying my time here, haha].
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Breaking slowly.
Well, I don't know what to make of the past few days. There are ups and downs, and I think netted together it's an overal positive outcome... but gosh, those negatives are really major downers.
So, the other day started off on a great foot (no pun intended, as you will soon see...). I got on Skype at 7 am and FINALLY I got to talk to this boy that I like a whole lot and miss very very much. But I was set on jogging before class, so I left to go on a run and well, let's just say I didn't get very far. It was still a little dark in the park I run at so while I was running, I didn't notice a rock that was in my path. A rock that I stepped on. And made me fall. The first thought that ran through my head: "Holy crap, I am getting mugged right now. Bye, bye iPod." Well, I layed there on the ground hurting for a good minute or so waiting for my ankle to stop hurting... but it didn't stop. So I toughed it out and got up and limped home and continued to talk with Peter which made me feel so much better. But my ankle still ached. And still aches, actually. And, if that wasn't a bad enough start to the day, I go to take a shower and there is NO hot water and No water pressure coming out of the shower head. Not happy.
So, that was the beginning of my day. Later in the day, Brett and I have this fabulous class about International Relations and it gets cancelled because essentially the teacher does not want to teach the class because there were only five students in the class. So, that was another downer. But, things turned around. Brett and I went to the Feria to eat some kangaroo and have a Corona because at this point I just really needed something to indulge in. It was delicious. We then spent the next 2 or 3 hours walking around the Plaza de España and Parque de Maria Luisa snapping photos. We walked in on the practice of the military marching band and whole festivities that will be going on on Monday I believe for the Dia de Hispanidad - it's a national holiday here. So, we watched that and took pictures and stuff. I also saw DAF truck number 2, which was cool. The plaza was absolutely beautiful :-) It was built in 1929 for this Exhibition to show off the architecture and technology of Spain and now it's just a governmental building I think. Absolutely stunning.
Yesterday wasn't so bad, but my ankle still hurt... and it still continues to hurt. I have it wrapped in a bandage. My finance teacher was 10 minutes late to class. He then spent the next 20 minutes on his cell phone chatting. He let us out about 15 minutes early. I can't wait to get back home and have real classes. The classes here are jokes, and people actually think they are hard... in addition to boring. Me? I think they are interesting but the material is too easy. Much too basic. But I love school, soooo that puts me in a minority.
Last night I got some hot cocoa with Jenni, Lauren, and Jenna. It was without a doubt the best hot chocolate I have ever had in my entire life. I want to take it with me to Seattle!!! Starbucks has nothing on this little coffee place. Another low point, though, was my señora's granddaughter spent the night last night and cried for about half the night which was super fun to wake up to every few hours. This morning I tried washing my hair. In cold water, again, of course. Horrible water pressure, but doable. I lather my hair with shampoo. Turn the water back on. OH! Of course there is absolutely NO water that comes out save one small little trickle... so I spent the next ten minutes getting the shampoo out of my hair with that one little tricklet of cold water. Seriously, amazing. I hate that bathtub. I have a bruise from slipping in it last week, also. I am quite clumsy. And I'm breaking slowly. My throat has been a ltitle scratchy lately so I have been taking airborne. I caved in to taking Advil the other night to stop my ankle pain. My bruise hurts. I have mosquito bites AND little scars from where they are still healing. I am a wreck!!! Haha.
This weekend will be a lot of fun, though. It's a four day weekend because of that national holiday. On Friday Jenna and I are doing the Real Alcazar. Saturday we are taking a daytrip to a town called Jerez... it's a cute little beach town. On Sunday we are going to the Corrida de Toros... aka the bullfights. And I believe on Monday we will just head down to the Plaza de España to see all of the festivities of the day. I'll post pictures and videos later. This has turned into a novel, I'm sorry.
Cheers, hugs, and kisses,
Olivia
So, the other day started off on a great foot (no pun intended, as you will soon see...). I got on Skype at 7 am and FINALLY I got to talk to this boy that I like a whole lot and miss very very much. But I was set on jogging before class, so I left to go on a run and well, let's just say I didn't get very far. It was still a little dark in the park I run at so while I was running, I didn't notice a rock that was in my path. A rock that I stepped on. And made me fall. The first thought that ran through my head: "Holy crap, I am getting mugged right now. Bye, bye iPod." Well, I layed there on the ground hurting for a good minute or so waiting for my ankle to stop hurting... but it didn't stop. So I toughed it out and got up and limped home and continued to talk with Peter which made me feel so much better. But my ankle still ached. And still aches, actually. And, if that wasn't a bad enough start to the day, I go to take a shower and there is NO hot water and No water pressure coming out of the shower head. Not happy.
So, that was the beginning of my day. Later in the day, Brett and I have this fabulous class about International Relations and it gets cancelled because essentially the teacher does not want to teach the class because there were only five students in the class. So, that was another downer. But, things turned around. Brett and I went to the Feria to eat some kangaroo and have a Corona because at this point I just really needed something to indulge in. It was delicious. We then spent the next 2 or 3 hours walking around the Plaza de España and Parque de Maria Luisa snapping photos. We walked in on the practice of the military marching band and whole festivities that will be going on on Monday I believe for the Dia de Hispanidad - it's a national holiday here. So, we watched that and took pictures and stuff. I also saw DAF truck number 2, which was cool. The plaza was absolutely beautiful :-) It was built in 1929 for this Exhibition to show off the architecture and technology of Spain and now it's just a governmental building I think. Absolutely stunning.
Yesterday wasn't so bad, but my ankle still hurt... and it still continues to hurt. I have it wrapped in a bandage. My finance teacher was 10 minutes late to class. He then spent the next 20 minutes on his cell phone chatting. He let us out about 15 minutes early. I can't wait to get back home and have real classes. The classes here are jokes, and people actually think they are hard... in addition to boring. Me? I think they are interesting but the material is too easy. Much too basic. But I love school, soooo that puts me in a minority.
Last night I got some hot cocoa with Jenni, Lauren, and Jenna. It was without a doubt the best hot chocolate I have ever had in my entire life. I want to take it with me to Seattle!!! Starbucks has nothing on this little coffee place. Another low point, though, was my señora's granddaughter spent the night last night and cried for about half the night which was super fun to wake up to every few hours. This morning I tried washing my hair. In cold water, again, of course. Horrible water pressure, but doable. I lather my hair with shampoo. Turn the water back on. OH! Of course there is absolutely NO water that comes out save one small little trickle... so I spent the next ten minutes getting the shampoo out of my hair with that one little tricklet of cold water. Seriously, amazing. I hate that bathtub. I have a bruise from slipping in it last week, also. I am quite clumsy. And I'm breaking slowly. My throat has been a ltitle scratchy lately so I have been taking airborne. I caved in to taking Advil the other night to stop my ankle pain. My bruise hurts. I have mosquito bites AND little scars from where they are still healing. I am a wreck!!! Haha.
This weekend will be a lot of fun, though. It's a four day weekend because of that national holiday. On Friday Jenna and I are doing the Real Alcazar. Saturday we are taking a daytrip to a town called Jerez... it's a cute little beach town. On Sunday we are going to the Corrida de Toros... aka the bullfights. And I believe on Monday we will just head down to the Plaza de España to see all of the festivities of the day. I'll post pictures and videos later. This has turned into a novel, I'm sorry.
Cheers, hugs, and kisses,
Olivia
Sunday, October 5, 2008
A Sevillan Saturday
Although I spent all of Saturday in Cádiz, I spent Saturday night in Sevilla. And Sunday morning in Sevilla. And between the night and morning time, I slept almost NADA. Why? you may ask. Sevillans are loud. They sleep during the day and come out at night like vampires. And the adults here act just like the teenagers, it's so funny. I was walking home last night from getting a copa with some friends at MIDNIGHT and there were STILL people leaving their respective apartments to go out. There is this whole row of bars that I pass to get to my house, and it was packed with people and the noise level was through the roof - laughing, talking, singing. All adults. All drinking beers... but not getting drunk, if you know what I mean. It's like when I'm at home and I have a cup of tea... well, they opt for the beer variety of drink. But anyway, at 4 in the morning there were still people outside that would not let me go to sleep and techno music blasting through my window. And I can't close my window - it's still pretty warm at night and I don't want to roast myself into a slow death overnight :-)
BUT besides that, Cádiz was absolutely wonderful yesterday. We walked around with a tour guide and one of his friends for a few hours and that was fun because we could practice our Spanish some more. We saw the Cathedral and some plazas and some squares... stalked a few weddings. The brides look absolutely gorgeous here. And did you know Spain is the number one producer of wedding gowns in the world? Awesome. Looks like I'll be flying back here to get mine if my time ever comes.
After our official tour, Jenni, Danielle, and I walked around this castillo that was actually used in the James Bond movie, Die Another Day. But it was really pretty. If I had to do it again, I'd lose the skirt and wear some pants because it was WINDY. Not good for my stress level, haha. Don't want anyone to sneak a peak! But yes, after we touristed the castle, we went and sat at a coffeeshop and had some ice cream and after a while some cafe just because it was a nice day and we thought we'd indulge. It was really nice - those are my favorite times, just sitting and chatting at the street side cafe and taking in all the beautiful sights.
Today I am not doing much - went to church at the Cathedral and they actually used the organs this time. It was a very beautiful mass - longer than usual, though. And I was tired since I got zero sleep. Ay ay ay.
I'll leave you with some photos from the past few days.
Cheers, hugs, and kisses - Olivia.
BUT besides that, Cádiz was absolutely wonderful yesterday. We walked around with a tour guide and one of his friends for a few hours and that was fun because we could practice our Spanish some more. We saw the Cathedral and some plazas and some squares... stalked a few weddings. The brides look absolutely gorgeous here. And did you know Spain is the number one producer of wedding gowns in the world? Awesome. Looks like I'll be flying back here to get mine if my time ever comes.
After our official tour, Jenni, Danielle, and I walked around this castillo that was actually used in the James Bond movie, Die Another Day. But it was really pretty. If I had to do it again, I'd lose the skirt and wear some pants because it was WINDY. Not good for my stress level, haha. Don't want anyone to sneak a peak! But yes, after we touristed the castle, we went and sat at a coffeeshop and had some ice cream and after a while some cafe just because it was a nice day and we thought we'd indulge. It was really nice - those are my favorite times, just sitting and chatting at the street side cafe and taking in all the beautiful sights.
Today I am not doing much - went to church at the Cathedral and they actually used the organs this time. It was a very beautiful mass - longer than usual, though. And I was tired since I got zero sleep. Ay ay ay.
I'll leave you with some photos from the past few days.
Cheers, hugs, and kisses - Olivia.
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