Day 2 (Sept 5) ~Seville
So Cadiz the next morning, Kelly, Amanda, and I went to get David at his hotel, even though our ship was docked right next to the train station...so we were sprinting for our train in the end! We made it this time! (foreshadowing). The day before we had bought our tickets at the train station, Kelly and Amanda spoke some Spanish (it drastically improved during our short trip, kudos to them) Despite being pretty tired from the night before, and Kelly not being that tired, I only slept for maybe 10 minutes on the train, and when we got to Seville was I very excited. The four of us took a taxi to David's hotel where David and Amanda were staying. It was AMAZING. Rooftop pool, courtyards everywhere, windy passage ways through gardens and water fountains, all in the middle of the city. The name was literally Houses of Jews, so it was located in the old Jewish section of the city, and blended several buildings together to make this place. It was beautiful. After a quick breakfast on a plaza (toast with this amazing olive oil/tomato spread, mm) we went to get me and Kelly a hostel. Eventually found a pretty cool one and settled in to get ready for the day. We went to the cathedral of Seville, one of the largest in the world. Mass was happening (this was Sunday) so most of it was closed off, but still even being in the area we were in we saw just how huge this building was. So tall, monster columns, it made one feel so small. It was hard to compare it to the Vatican because it was too different styles, but it was very cool. Didn't get to see Christopher Columbus's tomb though :/ Earlier in the day we walked by a monument that was dedicated to Christopher Columbus's discovery of the new world, erected about 500 years ago. How crazy was it that Columbus, Ohio is dedicated to a man who lived 300 years before the city ever existed, yet here I am looking at a monument dedicated to him during his lifetime.
So after the Cathedral we stopped off to get some delicious tapas, Amanda and I ate most since David and Kell were full, but tried the local dishes, and luckily noticed AFTER we ate the paea (spanish rice basically?) that the pigs legs were hanging over and basically dripping into it. Mmm love that extra flavor. The olives in Spain are delicious!!! A lot even had a smoky flavor to them, but it was great to enjoy them with a cold cerveza. So we left this place and headed to the Plaza de Torro, or the bull fighting ring. I've heard since that Seville's was one of the oldest in Spain, and we found out that there was indeed a bull fight that day, so we decided to come back later. In the meantime we went to back to a Palace (name totally escapes me now) that was owned and run by the Medicinili (sp?) family for hundereds of years, and recently given to the public in 1980. A lot of history in it and preserved nicely.
BULLFIGHT! So I was annoying everyone in the group with how amazing and exciting I was to go see a bullfight in Spain. I had no plans to do this but it kind of just came up and we all (except David) decided it was something we needed to see. The actual event though was quite different then what I thought. The stadium was cool to be in, but maybe 20 percent full? And it was mostly tourist. I was hoping for a lot of Spainards to get me excited and angry at the bull, but the fight itself was not a fight at all, and I can't say I'll ever be back to one. However I left my conscious at the door and took it for what it was (Later I learned that bullfights are banned in many areas of Spain). Basically what happens is the bull is brought out, and it is tired out by charging at pink banners, then two men on horses come out (the horses are blindfolded and have heavy padding on the sides) and get the bull to charge at the horse. When it hits the horse, which somehow keeps standing, the stab it a few times with a spear. Next, the horses leave and the people with the pink banners get two large needle like things with longer flags attached to it, and then stab the bull as it charges by them with the flags. Apparently you applaud them if they get both needles to stick in. Finally, the matador comes out, this time with a red banner. The bull charges that a few times, still with about 6 of those needle things sticking into it and bleeding profusely, and eventually the matador uses his sword to stab the bull. This is usually the end, and the bull falls down. I didn't like it, the bull is pretty helpless and the whole process is just to wear it out enough so the matador has the balls to go up and kill it. Pretty one sided but it was what it was.
After the fight we eventually went out, and had trouble finding places open (this is Sunday). However, we knew nightlife in Spain was crazy, most places open around 9 or 10pm, and the party doesnt start until maybe 2 or 3am, with most clubs closing at 8am. Dinner in Spain is around 10-1130, and part of my motivation to stay up each night is that I did NOT want to fall asleep before the 12 year olds!! So we went to a bar and got a beer, a pretty cool, chill place. It was not busy at all however. So we left there, giving up and thinking we were going to go back to the hotel. But all of a sudden on the edge of this park is the club. NOTHING like a club I've ever seen in the states. All outdoors, just a part of this park, with club lighting and furninture everywhere. It seriously reminded me of a place you'd see on a channel E! show highlighting the world's greatest clubs or something. We were about 7 or 8 years younger than anyone else in the club it seemed, so the four of us got our own little spot and drank til at least 4am, so it was still a lot fun.
Day 3-4 (Sept 6-7) ~ Madrid
So we got up, grabbed food, and headed to the train station. We said adios to David (he returned to London) and the three of us got on the high speed train to Madrid. I had been waiting for an "oh shit" moment this whole time, the moment where I realized just how crazy what I'm doing actually was. It happened on this train, blazing at 300 km/h, listeing to classical music, and looking out over the Spanish country side. I was overwhelmed by the whole journey I'm still have in front of me, but it was just amazing to sit and think for a moment how lucky I am and how amazing this trip will still be.
But anyways we finally arrived here in Madrid (I slept the entire way). Goal one, find a hostel. We found a great one with just enough beds for the three of us, our own bathroom, and free internet on a computer. Pavio? I believe runned the place, and he was great, even though he spoke no English. But here I was in the world city of Madrid! We immediately set out, and Amanda had a list of place her friend Jonathon recommended for us, since he studied in Madrid for a semester or so. GREAT list. We really got to see the city for the next two days, including Plaza Mayor, Plaza del Sol, Parc del Retiro, Prado, Palacio Real Madrid, and soo much more. Plaza Mayor was huge and had some interesting people on it with lots of cafes for tapas! The Plaza de Sol was great, and had a lot of streets leading off of it that were topped with cloths stretched between the two buildings on each side. The girls did some shopping there, and eventually we moved to the Palacio Real de Madrid, or the Royal Palace of Madrid, home to King Juan Carlos. The next day we toured here, and saw so much, including the throne room! It was my first time in anything like that, with so many expensive tastes and priceless works of art. The only thing I could compare it to was the White House, but for whatever reason this seemed more impressive. Also on that same day, we went to the Prado in the morning. The Prado houses Spain's most treasured art works, and I was very happy to go with Amanda, who studied a lot of art. It was funny to see just how happy she was to be in there, and her enthusiasm rubbed off on me and Kelly. (The aduioguide explained a lot as well). Greco, Goya, Velaquez, van Dyck, and so many others. I enjoyed it. (PS - student discounts are everywhere, but I have no student ID, so I hope those football games our worth it Dad!) We also went to the Parc Retiro, a huge park by the Prado, it was beautiful. The three of us rented a canoe in the giant Lake and leisurely rowed through it. The Crystal Palace inside there was cool with its position right next another pond.
We ended the afternoon getting food, accidentally ordering WAY too much fun, and were subsequently made fun of by every Spainard in the restaurant. Oh well. After this we went to an internet cafe, so Amanda could make some phone calls. We left her there for a bit to do some errands, and when we came back she was in an in depth conversation with Antonio, and 72 year old man who spoke Spanish and French, so Amanda had a great time speaking the two languages with him, at times speaking "Franglish" but me and Kelly had a blast listening to the conversation for a half hour. Later that night we went out with another group of SAS students by the Plaza de Sol and had a great time until about 430/5 in the morning.
Next thing I know, Kelly wakes me up saying we have 30 minutes til our train gets there. I rushed through a shower (why I took a shower I have no clue, there was no time). We then hurried our way to our train station, just in enough time to see the end of our train slip out of the station. So we had to wait 2 hours for the next train to Cadiz, but luckily only had to pay 6 euros to change trains. It should of given us about 1.5 hours to get to the boat before "on ship time". However, we stopped for 2 hours right outside of Madrid because another train broke down ahead of us! The people were very polite though, we got free drinks, and a full refund for the price of the train ticket. Imagine if thats how they treated us in the U.S. when our planes were delayed!!! However, the three of us were still late, with 2 others on the same train, so I currently have dock time, which means I'm not allowed to leave the ship until 6 hours after the rest of the students were let off here in Casablanca (3 hours for every 15 minutes your late). Luckily we arrived a day earlier than planned, so this won't interfere with any of my planned trips for here in Morocco. But how can I complain? I'm about to go layout in the sun, overlooking the Hassan II Mosque, 2nd largest mosque in the world, and possible go for a swim in the pool :) I'm not complaining!
A couple of things I know now about Morocco. It was the first country to officially recognize the United States after we declared our independence. It is one of only 11 countries in the world that enjoys a free trade agreement with the U.S., and the U.S. and Morocco have the longest running, unchanged (theres a fancier word for unchanged but I forget it) treaty in the world, from about 1787 to today. Those are the positives.
Negatives: In the Pew surveys on attitudes of the United States, only 16 percent of Moroccans listed their view as favorable. It's an islamic country, and I'm sure I'm going to be ready for a culture shock. The "feit" is also about to begin, commemorating the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. During ramadan, Muslims fast during daylight, and depending on how Morocco's Imman determines the moon tonight, the month will end, so the feit is a time to eat a lot and be with family, so much of Morocco will be closed, like Christmas or Easter in the U.S. We've also heard on the ship about how a lot of concern in the U.S. over this since it may seem like Muslims our celebrating Sept. 11 when in fact they are celebrating the Feit, and the concern now here is that this crazy priest in Florida may create backlash against the U.S. here in Morocco. Supposively it shouldn't be a problem, but it still will have us a bit on edge that day, and we will all be watching the news here in hopes of that guy not being the headline story or anything.
But oh well. I know this is VERY VERY VERY long but hopefully it was enjoyable, I'm kind of doing it so I can remember everything myself as well. I'll have my own journal in the rest of the countries so hopefully they won't be this long! Remember my email is cmgallagher@semesteratsea.net and I love hearing from anyone at home. Go Bucks, kill the 'canes!
