Rain, Tapas, and Bulls

So I’m into my third week of class in Barcelona and finally I feel like I am getting into a routine. Monday, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays my morning classes end before 11am, so I have begun making friends with the people who work at the nearest café, since I go there after class on these days. I sit at this café and order a café con leche (coffee with milk), and maybe a small sandwich. This is when I like to either write in my journal, get the small amount of homework I have done, maybe read a book, and just take some time to myself before the rest of my classes start again in the early afternoon.

Yet on Thursday last week, Barcelona experienced something it barely ever sees . . . a cold, rainy day!! I kid you not, some teachers cancelled classes because of the terrible, terrible drizzle of rain. Even though this sounds ridiculous, I was positive my class was cancelled after receiving an email from my professor, so I happily slept in a little longer and took my time getting ready for the day, little did I know until about a half hour after my class was over, that I actually DID have class that day and I just read the wrong email for the wrong class. Of course I would do something like that, I wouldn’t expect anything less from myself. But its okay the class is so boring anyway it’s not like I missed much.

So then on Friday after my morning class, I make my way to the airport for my trip to Seville, Spain! I got to Seville at 3:30 in the afternoon, met up with lily at the bus stop, and she immediately took me to city center Seville where we window shopped at all the cute little stores, and I, shamefully admitting, needing help staying awake, ordered a starbucks coffee. Later on we met up with Cara (my roommie and bestie from Wisconsin) and went out to dinner for tapas!

random pretty picture along the river

Difference #1 between Barcelona and Seville: tapas in Seville are cheap, found everywhere, and sooo yummy. Ones in Barcelona are harder to find, not as common, and not as good.

Friday night we went out to a club that was super packed, so we didn’t stay long and just went for late night food instead – typical.

But Saturday is when I really got to see Seville. We walked around for a while trying to find some outside market in the city center, took a tour of the bull fighting stadium, saw placa de espanya, sat and drank coffee by the river, saw the University of Seville buildings which are all around the city, and went out for lily’s 21^st birthday dinner in a cute neighborhood called Triana. It must have been around 50 degrees that day and really windy, they said it was the coldest day of the year! But I mean, I was comfortable. Anyway, Seville is such a beautiful city, so colorful and filled with culture.

placa de espanya (where a scene in star wars was filmed)

Cara and I by the fountain in placa de espanya

Difference #2: Seville felt more like a Spanish Madison (but bigger than Madison of course), where Barcelona feels more like a Spanish NYC.

Difference #3: I didn’t think this was possible, but Seville runs at an even slower pace than Barcelona. People sure know how to take their time.

Difference #4: In Barcelona, when people hear that you don’t speak Spanish, they will slow down their speech and try to make it easier for you to understand. In Seville, people just don’t care and if you can’t understand them, that’s too bad.

Difference #5: There is a bull fighting stadium in Seville. with actual bull head on the walls, from bulls that were actually killed in a bull fight. Enough said.

Lily and me at the bullfighting stadium

Yep, a bull's head on the wall. This one probably died sometime around 1920

Saturday night I didn’t get to bed until 5am, and had to wake up at 6:15 to catch the bus for the airport. I was so tired the entire trip home that I felt like I was in such a daze the whole morning. I was seriously sleep traveling. I got home and didn’t even remember how I get there! So naturally, I took a longgggg siesta and slept until 5pm. But no worries, I still had no trouble going to bed again that night. OH, and I realized this weekend, that Spain does not have bagels, ANYWHERE. All I wanted on Sunday morning, while in my daze, was a bagel, just a simple little bagel. So I propose that my good ole friends who are traveling from New York to Barcelona during the last week in March (you know who you are), bring along with you a New York bagel for your awesome niece :) Muchos Gracias!

Anyway, lots to do this week and then I'll be in Madrid this weekend! Adios for now!