Blogs from Andalusia, Spain, Europe - page 288

Yesterday (Monday) was another warm one here in Sevilla, the temperature reached as high as 37 degrees and I´ve taken on the same pinkish glow of the city´s buildings courtesy of a trip on the Sevilla Tour, an open deck bus tour that takes you to the most dull areas of Seville. Claims of this tour being airconditioned are farcical and if you ever visit Sevilla, don´t waste your money on catching this bus, no matter how charming the bus tour staff seem. The most interesting parts of Seville are in the old town where there is very little traffic and most streets are pedestrian walkways. The bus skirts around the outside and is a waste of time and money. Last night I had some fantastic tapas at a place called Bar Europa which sits just ... read more

Friday, September 16, 2005 After an early rise, the history of Spanish Art class, along with a bunch of students who just wanted to go, met at the base of the Torre del Oro. We loaded up into a much nicer charter bus than the one I rode from Cuetzalan, Mexico to Puebla, Mexico the summer before last (nobody had to stand up or hold their chickens under their arms), and headed for Córdoba, the Western capital of Islam in the 9th-13th centuries. We went to view the grand Mezquita (mosque) of Córdoba, among other things. This massive construction is currently a Catholic cathedral, built in the middle of a huge Mozarab mosque, on top of a Visigothic church, on top of Roman ruins. Since I got to write an oversized paper on the influence of ... read more

If you find yourself looking for a flamenco show somewhere in Seville, Spain, I highly suggest La Carbonería. Tucked away in the escondido plaza de las Mercenarias, you won’t find La Carbonería in the local hotel guide; and you’ll be lucky to find its microscopic plaza on the street map. As the sound of footsteps echoes down the narrow brick alleys and long ivies from rooftop gardens hang like beaded curtains in front of you, you may find yourself wondering why there are no throngs of tourists or swooning honeymooners. Set in an abandoned coal factory, La Carbonería is one of the cities best-kept secrets. You will know you have found your way when you can see an old, 25 foot tall wooden door, that looks like it belongs on a fortress. One or two people ... read more

Den letzten Tag wollte ich unbedingt am Kite verbringen. Am besten bei mittelkräftigen, konstenten Poniente; sprich einfach ein bißchen "Genußfahren". Doch Mutter Natur und der "Kitegeist" hatten anderes mit dem kleinen Blondschopf vor. Denn es prügelte ein sehr böiger Levante auf uns ein und niemand hat sich raus getraut. Gegen 16 Uhr wurde das Warten zu lange und ich hab nen 6m² Kite startklar gemacht. Am Meer wurde ich von 30-40 Knoten und 5+ Böen ins Gebet genommen. Mit "gute Figur machen" war da nicht viel und eigentlich gab es auch ein Sprungverbot. Eigentlich... Diesen Tag am Wasser sehe ich als meine Kite-Tarifa-Abschlußprüfung an. Ich bin bei Levante gefahren, Höhe gelaufen, gesprungen, hab alles unverletzt überstanden und von Zeit zu Zeit sogar ein bißchen gestylt. Und dabei was gelernt und sicherer geworden. Paßt! Abends bin ich ... read more

Oh my, this is a long one … Happy birthday, mom! I don’t have classes in the afternoons on Tuesdays and Thursdays so those are usually good times for me to go off exploring the city on my own. Last Tuesday (sept. 6th) I decided to go for a haircut. I asked my very hip Phonetics & Pronunciation teacher, Nerea, where she just got her haircut—“Pelo Alternetivo”. When I arrived I tried to explain as best I could what I wanted in Spanish. Sure it was hard to explain what I wanted but they were patient with me. Still, I was given a mullet. My hair ended up being shorter than I wanted it because I had her shorten the back. Then, she had to bleach some parts of my hair because I wanted purple and ... read more