Sevilla!

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I made sure to journal everything about Sevilla right away so I wouldn't forget anything! Now, I'm just copying my journal entry here for you guys to read! There is so much to say about Sevilla, it was absolutely amazing! I have been so excited to come and visit because of Kristy, and the city definitely lived up to my expectations. The city is huge and absolutely beautiful. When we got there yesterday the first thing we did was tour the royal gardens and palace. These were some of the most aesthetically pleasing gardens I have ever been in, everything just flowed so well together. There were all these winding paths and different types of trees scattered throughout. It smelled so much of spring, it made me a bit homesick. The sun was shining perfectly too, and it was in the low to mid 70's. Between the trees and other plants where older buildings and the royal palace, aka the Alacázar, well. The gardens led right to the Alacázar. The cool thing about the palace is that it is based, or situated, around a courtyard. Different parts have been constructed at different times. There was a wall with arches that was built in the 10th century, a Gothic part in the 12th century, and other parts from the 13th & 16th centuries as well. Every portion of the building was designed differently depending on who was in control at the time.
After this tour we had free time for lunch. About six or eight of us found a bench in the sun next to the cathedral to eat our bocadillos. It felt so good to just sit and feel my skin soaking up the sun. Our free time after lunch from then on was devoted to finding an ATM and a Starbucks. As we wondered we found a really cool garden along the way. It had these huge trees where the trunks just wrapped around each other until it was one big trunk. They were so big you could sit in them as well. All I could think about was the movie Fern Gully. After this we did manage to find both an ATM and a starbucks. It felt so weird going into a starbucks - its like my second home. It looks just like a starbucks in the states too, just with a Spanish menu. The guy working was really nice - asking us our names and where we were from. I ordered a grande mocha, nice and simple, plus there wasn't a very big selection like home. They had the caramel and mocha frappiccinos but they had them in a creme base as well! I actually missed working after being there!
Now that we were perfectly content having found coffee, we headed back to the cathedral for another tour. The Cathedral in Sevilla is the third largest in the world and it has remains of Christopher Columbus and his son, Ferdinand. Scientists used the DNA from Ferdinand to determine if the remains sent from the Dominican Republic were the actual remains because both countries were claiming to have the real ones. We also got to climb the giralda tower, which had some amazing views over looking the city. Plus, this is where all the bells are! We had the rest of the afternoon to relax and explore the city. We went out for dinner in a group, but eventually broke into two small groups of like six people. We sat in the back of a restaurant and had one of the best dinners ever! The food itself wasn't that great, but we had 2 liters of Sangria and we just sat there for about two hours. I have never laughed, or had so much food, in my life. Every one was sharing meals, so there were just plates strewn all over the table.
Today has been a wonderful, amazing day as well! We got to sleep in first of all, and have free breakfast at the hotel. It was so nice to have a large selection of food! Usually we just have toast and Cola Cao, but I really have started to like having mean and cheeses for breakfast. Plus we had our own separate room just for ISA, and we basically traded stories from the night before. Then this afternoon, things were really relaxed again. No tour, just walking through Gardens and the Plaza de Espana. The filmed part of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones here!!
Overall I loved Sevilla, and would have liked to stay there longer!! We also went to Gibraltar this past week, so I'm hoping to get that journal up soon too!!!

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