Well it's been a real second since I have written a blog! 1) I really suck at keeping up with this. 2) I have been kinda busy between school and traveling! So, here it goes the last five weeks in and around Spain!
The last Friday in September, ISA arranged a day trip to Gibraltar. Gibraltar is located at the very end of the Iberian Peninsula but is small territory of the UK. Making it a very interesting history to learn about. We did a quick bus tour around the city, saw a light house and dolphins. Then we visited St. Michael's Cave and saw some monkeys! I ended the day with the most amazing Oreo cheesecake I have ever had.
The following weekend I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Morocco. We traveled to four different cities in three days: Tangier, Chefchouaen, Tetuan, and Assilah. By far my favorite part of the trip was doing a camel ride on the beach. We also got to visit Hercules' Cave, eat lunch at the Saada Palace, and take a picturesque tour of each of the cities. It was also loads of fun learning to barter with the local shop keepers. I would just like to state I am a natural negotiator and always got the best bargains!
The second weekend in October was truly a blast as I got to travel to Mallorca, an island off the north of Spain. This trip started off a bit rough when I accidentally booked my flight a whole day earlier than my friends! Oops, I learned my lesson the hard way about booking flights late at night and not double checking! In the end it turned out to be a super fun trip with some great people. I got to spend most of my time by the pool, laying out at the ocean, and getting to know some super fun friends!
Last weekend, we had another group trip planned through ISA to travel to
two very popular cities in Spain, Cordoba and Granada. They were both absolutely beautiful cities that I am so glad I got to visit! Friday we started our trip to Cordoba and visited the Cathedral-Mosque and did a walking tour of the Jewish Quarter. The Cathedral-Mosque was a super interesting building that was once a mosque then added a cathedral to it, making very unique architecture. After we had time to shop and grab a bite to eat before heading onto Granada. Once we got settled into we hiked to the Mirador de San Nicolas, which is a viewpoint that shows a great view of Granada and the Alhambra. It was magnificent! We ended the night with a tradition Flamenco show! Saturday we visited the Alhambra which is a Moorish palace. The huge palace looked plain on the outside but was beautiful on the inside! The rest of the day was spent shopping in the markets and trying shawarma for the first time! Sunday we ended our visit to Granada with a visit to the Royal Chapel to see where Ferdinand and Isabella (famous king and queen of Spain) are buried. We then headed back to Sevilla to finish up mid-terms!
It has been crazy to me how fast time is going here! I am just about two months in and only have one and a half left! The people and friends I have made have been great and really help me to forget about homesickness. I will say I am totally missing Iowa fall and harvest time right now! So, drink some pumpkin spiced things for me and wish me luck on surviving the other half of this semester!
Until next time, Adios! -Amanda