Spring!

I'm so happy to finally feel the sun! This city is so beautiful.

Last week, the same day Miranda and I returned from Paris, Maria went to pick up two Italian high school girls to stay with us for a week. Luchia and Martina are from a town near Milan and were very interesting company. The same day they left, we got two more! Virginia and Marta. I have no idea how long it's going to go on haha.

Over the weekend I went on two day trips with CIEE. The first was on Friday to two small towns near Seville named Alcala and Utrera to see "castillos", or castles. In my opinion, they weren't castles at all. We looked at the ancient city walls and the towers where the guards lived. I wasn't disappointed, it was just different. It was cool because there were three guides with us and one was from Alcala and the other two were from Utrera. We had some friendly competition going. At Alcala, there was a really cool dragon bridge. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a very good photo of it.

Unfortunately the tower itself was closed because some jerks stole the guardrails. But we learned more about the importance of the little town. It was known for its exports of water (via aqueduct), bread (via donkey and then train), and sand. Mostly to Seville, but the sand has a special quality to it that makes it perfect for bullrings because it doesn't create dust. It has been exported all over Spain and even to Mexico for bullrings.
Next we went to Utrera. Our first stop was at a church. I forget which Maria it is for, each town has its own Virgin Mary. (Seville's is Virgen de la Macarena). I think our guide told us that this is the only church constructed with a purposeful blend of Christian and Arab styles.

The carved wooden ceiling is distinctly Arab.

Then we went into town for a short break. Our guides recommended we try some of the pastries they have there, so we all split up between three nearby bakeries. I was on my own so I wandered between the three and came to the farthest one by the time everyone was just clearing out. I asked the man behind the counter which one was his favorite and he was so flattered that he picked one out and gave it to me for free! It was so nice of him and it really made my day. The pastry itself i shard to describe. It was made up of many layers of flaky pastry, chocolate, some gooey sugary stuff, and peanut crumbles. It was good!
After our break, we went up in one of the towers overlooking the city. They were setting up for a wedding in the courtyard. What a perfect day for that.

The next day, I went to Cadiz!! I love Cadiz. It's a beautiful city on a peninsula, about an hour and a half from Seville.

The woman in the middle represents Spain. The left side represents agriculture, and the right side, war.

The man in the middle with the two lions is Hercules. Legend says he founded Cadiz. His image is all over the city. And on the flag of Andalusia!

We walked through the market. It reminded me of the market in Florence that we went to before our cooking class.

Caracoles, or snails, are very popular in Spain in the spring.

A scene from James Bond was shot here because it looks similar to Cuba.

My attempt at a selfie with a DSLR.

It was on this trip to Cadiz that I knew for sure that I had to come back to Spain one day. This isn't a vacation. Spain is one of my homes now. :)