it only ever rains on the weekends in sevilla...

this past weekend was my last free weekend in sevilla for a long time! from now on out, it's travels and adventures for this girl. because it was my last weekend in sevilla, chelsea and i had grand plans: eating out, live music, exploring new neighborhoods, open-air markets, etc. friday night followed the plan quite well. i had class on friday (boo) in order to make up the class missed on monday (i say, what is the point of declaring a day a holiday if you're just going to make people pay for it later? seriously?). so i ended up stuck in the center, sitting around in class until 9:30. as soon as i got out, chelsea and i took off with our friend, ivana to visit a restaurant we'd discovered earlier in the week. on our way, we walked past the cathedral and ran into a tuna! a tuna is not a fish (as i'm sure you've already figured out). instead, it's a group of men who walk around the city, playing guitars and tamborines and mandolins, singing traditional spanish folk songs. they do all of this wearing medieval garb--including tights! i LOVE the tuna! i remembered them from my first visit to spain, and i was incredibly happy to encounter one on this friday night! we stood around the plaza, listening to them play for a while. they played one of my favorite songs, clavelitos, which made my heart very happy. finally, after a few songs, they headed off to play down another street. it was so great to see a tuna! i was so happy... afterwards, we made our way through barrio de santa cruz, which was totally hopping! we found the restaurant and got a table. the restaurant, called pizzeria de san marco, is located in this old arab bathhouse. it sounds like a strange place for a restaurant, and indeed, it is. however, it was so beautiful inside and the food was KILLER! i had some delicious pasta and a wonderful salad with a big slab of goat cheese on fresh baby greens. oh my goodness, it was wonderful. dessert was a fruit torte with raspberry coulis and a light, fabulous custard. man, i probably ate twice my body weight in food, but it was totally worth it. mom, dad, kevin: we're definitely going out to eat here!

after that amazing dinner, we headed out and met up with some other friends. together, the group of us walked over to a bar called la carboneria. the carboneria is a bar, but it also features live flamenco dancing and flamenco music. best of all: it's free! we slipped into the bar close to midnight and watched the dancing and listened to the music for a while. the bar was packed, but i was still able to see. it was wonderful! i was so impressed, and, as i've already posted before, i absolutely LOVE flamenco dancing. around 12:30, the music ended and the dancers left the stage. we weren't sure if this was just intermission or if it was the end of the show, so we hung out for a while before we decided that they weren't coming back. after a quick goodbye to the rest of the group, chelsea, sophie, and i made our way home. the walk didn't feel too long, which was nice, and we made it home around 2:00 am--which is considered pretty early for a spanish twentysomething. we made plans for the morning and headed to bed!

saturday dawned with lots and lots of rain! boo! it definitely only rains in sevilla on the weekends, which is such a bummer. chelsea and i had made plans to explore the barrio de triana, a beautiful neighborhood in sevilla across the river. triana also has a fabulous market (so we've heard) and we decided to head to the market. however, with the rain, we knew that the market would be closed. we got dress anyways, grabbed our umbrellas, and met up with rachel and sophie. together, we decided to walk over to the barrio alameda (which is north of the school) and visit this gourmet chocolate shop sophie had uncovered. the rest of our morning was spent walking! we seriously walked from 10:00 am until we returned home for lunch at 2:00 pm! so much walking! we stopped by a few neat stores and explored. it was good to go to a new place and see new things. alameda is the hippy/gay district, which means that it has some different stores, including a lot more artesania (native crafts). it was nice to look around and see more of what sevilla has to offer. and the chocolate shop! oh my goodness! i was so wonderful! the whole shop smelled rich and sweet. it was covered with the most beautiful chocolates i have ever seen! each chocolate looked so creamy and delicious--i wanted to buy one of each! however, i limited my spending and purchased a white chocolate almond treat that was so delightful! needless to say, i was happy with our decision to visit the chocolate shop.

finally, around 2:00 pm, chelsea and i arrived home. throughout the entire morning walk, i hadn't been feeling very well. once we arrived home, i felt completely exhausted and sick. i could barely eat anything for lunch and i immediately went to bed afterwards. after waking from a 3 hour nap, chelsea and i debated about going out to another live music bar. because i wasn't feeling well, we decided to opt out, and we spent a lazy evening reading, doing homework, and chatting.

sunday morning i woke up feeling absolutely awful! my throat ached and my whole body hurt. i was incredibly disappointed, but i decided to skip our morning plans (mass in the cathedral, a market, and chocolate con churros... deep sigh) to stay in bed. i just felt so terrible! after chelsea left, i fell back asleep and spent the whole morning sleep, reading, and sucking on cough drops. finally, around noon, i pulled myself out bed to shower and get ready for the day. after lunch around 2:30, i was feeling considerable better. after hanging around the house for a while longer, we headed out to meet up with our friend liza, who is traveling to italy with us. we met in bliss (ah, wonderful!) and i had a huge glass of juice and crepe bursting with nutella. the guy working there seemed to like the three of us, and he gave us three large juices (without extra cost) as well as a free fruit smoothie! i later learned that he was from cuba, and he really likes meeting and talking to fellow norteamericanos (north americans). he was really nice, and he gave us a discount card when we left. chelsea and i decided that we need to try and go when he's working--free juice! 

while in bliss, we discussed our plans for italy, and i am seriously so excited! the three of us will fly out on thursday morning, nov. 1, and arrive in florence. in florence, we are staying with a friend of chelsea's. florence (from pictures) looks absolutely amazing, and we are dedicating three days of our trip to florence and florence alone! after hanging out in florence, we're going to hop a train and travel the mediterranean coast to a lovely place called cinque terre. cinque terre consists of five small italian villages built into the cliffs along the mediterranean sea. a hiking past connects all five towns, and we're going to hike across them all (a good 6 hour walk). then, we're going to stay the night in last (and largest) town, catching a bus to milan the next morning. i can't wait for this adventure! i've never been to italy, and i think it's going to be a wonderful experience. however, before i take off for italy, i'm going to travel to barcelona! i leave on thursday (only two days!) and i can't wait! i've been reading up on barcelona, and it sounds like a beautiful and enchanting place, a perfect mish-mash of traditional, gothic structures and gaudi's version of modernity. i really can't wait--i've already made plans to visit so many things!

this week is off to a slow start. chelsea and i wandered around a new park yesterday. it's called the parque de murillo, and it has some of the largest and, i imagine, oldest trees i have ever seen! they are so cool! in the middle of the park, a giant monument to christopher columbus stands. the monument has three boats at the top of a very large obelisk. engraved on the side of the obelisk are the names isabella and fernando, the queen and king who sponsored columbus' voyage. it never ceases to amaze me how enamored the sevillanos are with columbus. their reverence and pride in his accomplishment (which are quite great) it stamped all over the city. incredibly interesting. after exploring the park, we headed over to bliss (again! i'm an addict) to hang out with a friend. we chatted for a while, and then headed home for lunch. after lunch, i stuck around the house for a little while, reading (i'm working my way through the chronicles of narnia right now...) and napping. finally, i dragged myself to the center for my painful evening of classes. sitting in a stuffy classroom and listening to a professor lecture in a foreign language for two hours is difficult, i won't lie. in art history, we had a guest speaker from cuba, who took every opportunity presented to her to rail against the american political system (particularly president bush), which made me irritated and antsy. i don't care if you have strong political opinions: you shouldn't use the platform of a classroom to voice them. especially not when you are in a position of power (such as a teacher or professor). anyways, i left class feeling irritated and then went to my class on franco. this class is incredibly interesting, and the professor is quite an anomaly. he talks for the whole two hours, using no notes or powerpoint. that makes it incredibly hard to take notes, but i try my best. we talked yesterday about franco's personality, and we watched a short piece of propaganda from the 1940's. in the movie, franco speaks, and i was surprised to hear how effeminate his voice was! to imagine this harsh, cruel dictator of spain with a voice so flowery and soft... well, it's quite a contrast!

the rest of my evening including a bus ride home for dinner (yay!) and then homework and sleep. today has been equally exciting. after waking up and having a wonderful hour-long conversation, i got ready to head into town. unfortunately, my plans got changed when everyone bailed on our scheduled museum visit (they all have tests, so i understand). so here i find myself, sitting in my room, enjoying stolen internet (which only works occasionally), facing the choice of whether to spend my morning reading, homeworking, or something else. mmm... spanish life is quite nice!