Sevilla & Valencia.. sorry about the delay..

I'm backkk!! Sorry about the delay.. Things have been crazy around here!

We've been having a lot of fun and doing a lot of traveling.. The most recent trips were to Sevilla, Spain and to Valencia, Spain.

We took the midnight bus from Madrid to Sevilla on a Thursday night.. It was a 6 hour bus ride, which was interesting.. no one got any sleep. We walked to our hostel to drop our bags off there, but we couldn't check in until 2 pm, so we had to wander around the city from 6:30 am until then.. What an interesting adventure that was. The sun rise was beautiful, and I absolutely loved the warm weather and the palm trees.

 We did a lot of site seeing and shopping (there was great shopping in Sevilla)  on Friday during the day, and that night we went out to a tapas bar (a typical Spanish appetizer bar, which originated in Sevilla). After that we went to a flamenco show. The club was crowded but it was so much fun to watch! We were all super tired, so we didn't stay out very late.

Saturday was jam packed with site seeing and adventure. We got to see the Plaza de España, a beautiful park that is centered around a big building.. it's hard to explain but it was beautiful.

 We also had the opportunity to tour the Catedral de Sevilla. All of the cathedrals in Spain are enormous and grand, and Sevilla's was no different. Everything inside is so shiny and huge! We got to climb one of the towers, which was 38 stories.. and from there we could see the entire city- which was huge! Sevilla is so much bigger than Toledo.

Sevilla was a beautiful city and I enjoyed my time there a lot. The 6 hours bus ride home on Sunday was a good time to get homework and studying done, but of course that did not happen. 

Last week was our midterm week here at the Fundacion.. It was a bit stressful but overall the exams here are so much easier than the exams at home. I would much rather have a full week of exams here over any o chem or calc exam back at the U.

So after a busy week we flew out to Valencia, Spain. Its located on the eastern coast of Spain and it's the third largest city in Spain. We arrived Thursday evening, checked into our hostel, ate at a delicious tapas bar and then went out to have some fun!

Friday was an amazing. We walked around Valencia all day. The city is so amazing! In the center there is a huge park that is connected to "la ciudad de arte y ciencia" (the city of art and science). The park was amazing. There were beautiful trees and ponds and play grounds.. Oberve:

(sorry for the awkward picture layout)

The park and the city were unreal! It was so sunny and beautiful out- 75 degrees felt so good! We had such a good time walking around, talking and taking pictures.

After a few hours of walking we reached la ciudad de arte y ciencia, which is a beautiful area with pools, benches, 4 different museums and the largest aquarium in Europe. I LOVED the aquarium. There were so many cool exhibits and there was a dolphin show.. which was a combo of dolphin tricks and divers (SO COOL) .. check it out.

A group of us decided to go into the pools surrounding all of the museums.. the Spaniards looked at us like we were crazy because 75 degrees is cold to them- weird. 

Dolphin show!:

 

We went out Friday night to a huge discoteca. It was so much fun and there were so many people there. There was a girl painting the flags of different countries on peoples faces, so everyone was getting their native country drawn on. Mel and I decided to make up our own flag, for the "pais de las rubias"- the country of the Rubias. That was a fun one to explain.

Saturday we went to the beach. It was literally my dream day. It was only 75 degrees and there were a few clouds but the sun felt amazing and I was so happy to run around the beach and laying in the sand. It was such a perfect day. 

All in all, the last few weeks (actually the last month and a half) have been AMAZING. I never want to leave Spain, ever. The life style is perfect for me. And I love the people (the Spaniards and the people here with me at the school)

This weekend we're heading off the Ibiza, an island off the eastern coast of Spain, in the Mediterranean. It is one of the biggest party spots in the world.. and this weekend is a special occasion called Karnival.. A huge party where people wear costumes and stay out all night. I am so excited.. there's a huge group of us going, and it's going to be unreal.

I'll update with more pictures (and stories)  after we return home!

Love you and miss you all sooo much!!

Chels