Gabriel ’25 and Elena ’25, describe a busy weekend exploring Sevilla! In an effort to continue a fully immersive language experience, this blog post is written in both Spanish and English.
Después de un desayuno pequeño, Luka, Walker, y Yo abrazamos a nuestra madre, Isabel, y caminamos a la estación de autobús y viajamos a Sevilla. Sevilla es una ciudad muy bonita. Las arquitecturas y los restaurantes son increíbles. Después de que nosotros dejamos nuestras mochilas, viajamos a diferentes plazas y parques. Cuando nosotros en el parque tenemos un picnic y yo tuve un bocadillo con queso y jamòn iberico. After the picnic we went back to our rooms to have siesta which is national downtime to rest and recharge to get ready for the afternoon. I made sure to get enough sleep before going out for phase II of Sevilla. During this session we traveled more of the city and we got more ice cream which i didn’t get but it did look really good. We went to an observation tower and got to have a slice of life in Seville which was pretty nice to have. Right after this we were able to have libre and go into groups and explore the city. Me and the boys went to a mini golf course which was some of the most fun I had on the trip. Walker ended up winning with the best score and I got last and it was by a large margin (yikes). Anyway we did take many photos and even a video of me missing the 18th hole 4 times (yay😐). After losing miserably, we met up with the rest of the group and went out to this very fancy restaurant that had amazing food. I would say that it was easily the best restaurant I have ever eaten at. I got to sit at the head of the table and I felt like a king. Apparently, the other students on the trip saw his majesty and promptly gave him their attention which was nice. Anyway the food itself tiene cangrejo, jamòn iberico, carne, atún, y papas fritas con queso y jamòn. Este día fue muy divertido y no puedo esperar al final del día de Sevilla.
-Gabriel ’25
After spending a long night out in Sevilla, we awoke in our hotel and sleepily ate a delicious continental breakfast. We stuffed ourselves with various pastries, and walked outside into the merciless Sevilla heat. The streets of Sevilla were complex and vast in comparison to the streets of Cádiz, and we tried not to get lost amongst the labyrinth of alleys as we made our way to the Catedral de Sevilla. The cathedral contained a tower which had beautiful views of the city. The glass stained windows, the intricate architecture, and the various sculptures and paintings kept the group entranced. However, the most amusing part of the cathedral was the tomb of Christopher Columbus, in which 4 sculpted men are holding up a coffin with his remains.
Following our exploration of the cathedral, we visited the Real Alcázar de Sevilla, a royal palace in Spain. The palace was colossal and glamorous. The gardens overflowed with vibrant flowers, and the tiling of the walls were equally colorful and patterned. There were many interesting things to see in the palace, but the most memorable was the yard with orange citrus trees and the majestic peacocks that wandered aimlessly around the palace.
Our schedule became less structured once we finished the tour of the palace. We had about three hours of free time to explore the city of Sevilla and grab lunch. We decided to eat as a group, and made our way to a nice quaint restaurant. We ate salad, pasta, pizza, and hamburgers and once satisfied, some of us got ice cream at a Häagan-Dazs. We still had at least one hour and thirty minutes after lunch so Izzy, Luka, Penley, Gabe, and I went to a few stores, and Izzy and I continued strolling around as the rest made their way back to the hotel.
Y para la última y mejor parte del día en Sevilla, el espectáculo de flamenco. Después de hacer una clase de flamenco, el grupo tenía una nueva valoración y respeto por los bailarines de flamenco. El espectáculo era fascinante; los cantantes cantaban con pasión y mantenían ritmos difíciles mientras los bailarines también creaban ritmos con sus manos y piernas. Flamenco no es solamente un baile, es un arte que interconecta música, movimiento, y sentimientos. Se puede ver las caras de los bailarines llena con emociones, y las voces de las cantantes suenan notas de tristeza. Estoy muy agradecido de haber tenido la oportunidad de mirar una de las más antiguas tradiciones del sur de España.
-Elena ’25
