Sevilla: Day 2

We began our second day in Sevilla by going to Casa de Pilatos, which is basically a mansion. It was really cool architecture though. I loved the ceilings. Every room had a different ceiling.

The courtyard

An ornate ceiling

That afternoon my parents tried churros con chocolate for the first time.

And that evening we attended a flamenco show in the Flamenco Dance Museum.

My parents come to visit!

My last day of class was Friday, May 17 and the next day my parents were flying into Madrid. So, Saturday at 6:30 a.m., I caught the bus to Madrid to meet them at the airport. Everyone arrived safely, and they found our meeting point, so it was all good. Now, it was time to go to Sevilla! We took the fast train to Sevilla so it only took 2 1/2 hours. The first night we basically just got settled in and found supper and that was it.

The next day, we went to the Cathedral in Sevilla. This is where Christopher Columbus is buried. Part of the Cathedral, called La Giralda, used to be a minaret, but was converted to a bell tower for the cathedral. The majority of the way up was a ramp and then there were a few stairs to the top.

Christopher Columbus' tomb

The view of Sevilla from the top of La Giralda

A courtyard of orange trees in the cathedral

After lunch, we headed towards the Plaza de España. A scene for Star Wars Episode I was shot here. I thought it was so beautiful, and it was probably my favorite thing in Sevilla. It is just so pretty!

You could rent row boats in the little canal.

There were mosaic depictions of all the major cities,
and here I am posing in front of Oviedo's mosaic.

Nathan Comes to Visit!

My friend Nathan who was studying in Salamanca spring semester, finally came to visit me my last weekend in Oviedo after I visited him in February. :) You can read his account of the weekend here. He picked a good weekend to visit because, not only did it barely rain all weekend, the Feria de la Ascención was going on as well.

Nathan arrived Friday evening. I helped get him settled in to his hostel, and then we walked around my university campus and then met some of my fellow UNI students to go out.

The next morning, I met Nathan at his hostel so we could hike the El Christo. We were really lucky that it wasn't rainy that weekend, because Oviedo isn't a super big tourist destination. The hike took about 4 hours to go up and back down.

There are a couple of really old churches on the route up the mountain.

The view of Oviedo from the top.

I didn't notice the first time, but there are a bunch of locks on the fence around El Cristo.

That afternoon we check out the Feria a little. It was basically a huge market with one plaza filled with booths selling crafts and one plaza filled with booths selling cheeses, sausages, honey, and other types of food. We also ducked into the cathedral to take a peek, and that night met up with our UNI friends again so that Nathan could try sidra (cider), an Asturian specialty. And then, on Sunday, Nathan headed back to Salamanca.

The Final Weeks in Oviedo

I apologize for the long delay in blogging. Everything's just been kind of crazy with coming back home and working all the time. BUT, I am determined to get all caught up this week. So, here we go!

As some of you may know, I gave English lessons throughout the semester. There was a group of two 9 year-olds, a group of three 8 year-olds, including my host sister, and one 5 year-old girl. They all lived on my block and my host mom was the one who hooked me up with the gig. I really enjoyed the opportunity to put my teaching skills into action!

My last week of English lessons was my second-to-last week in Oviedo. I made sure to take pictures with all the girls before I left.

One of my 9 year-olds. The other girl couldn't come that day.

My 5 year-old.

2 of my 8 year-olds and one of their little sisters.

All of my 8 year-olds with the little sister.

Me and my host sister.