(Post #15) Spending more time in Spain!

How am I already to post #15? Time needs to slow down!! Hello readers and welcome back to another week of Kalie in Spain 😊 Now that I have been here for three months, Sevilla is really starting to feel like home and there are always exciting things going on.

Speaking of unexciting though, Monday-Thursday of this week (April 18th-21st) were relaxing and the most eventful parts were that my friend Bryna so kindly trimmed my hair and also my roommate accidentally ordered a whole Papa John’s pizza instead of a slice so I enjoyed eating some of that!

(Friday, April 22nd) Moving on to the weekend! After traveling to many new countries over

the past couple of weeks, it was nice to stay more local this weekend but still experiencing new things. This weekend my CEA program took us to Madrid! We took the train there Friday morning and then had free time in the afternoon to wander. I headed to the Crystal Palace in Retiro Park because it was closed last time I came to Madrid in January. It was fun to stop in! My friend and I then stopped by the St. Michael Market and we ate lunch in the Mala Saña neighborhood. I will truly miss the tortilla and croquetas when I leave Spain! But I am not done with them yet.

Our group then did a tour around Madrid for 3 hours in the pouring rain. It was fun to get more context about the city, but my shoes were indeed soaked. For dinner, I ate something new: Korean BBQ. You may be asking why did I have this while in the biggest Spanish city in the country, but I had never had it before and my friend was craving it. All I must say is that it was good, but I need to learn how to use chopsticks because I could not figure them out... which led to me eating everything with a spoon haha.

That night for something a little sweet, I had the best Churros con Chocolate ever. We went to Chocolatería de San Ginés and it is well known as it should be! Sometimes the hot chocolate that the churros are dipped in tastes watered down- but this one sure did not!

(Saturday, April 23rd) Today was a bright and early kinda day as I got up at 5:30am to catch the 12 hour tour Asia and I were taking. We began the tour in Segovia, Spain and I liked it there except it was 35 degrees- I forgot what that feels like! We saw the aqueducts, cathedral, and then we took a tour of the castle. Sharing a fun fact about the castle in Segovia, it served as inspiration for the castle in the original Snow White movie! We then had some free time so as we always do, Asia and I made our way to a pastry shop. I tried a Segovian ponche which is egg yolk, marzapan, and caramel and it was filling but so delicious!

We next had a 2 hour drive to Toledo and during this time I took a wonderful nap. It was great to open my eyes and see the landscape of Toledo- something I love so much. At this point in time, it is hard to completely name my favorite Spanish places, but both Seville and Toledo are definitely high on the list! We went to the great mirador lookout point and then walked through the city. You definitely get your workout in here as everything is hills, hills, and more hills. After walking through the Jewish neighborhood and seeing the Cathedral again, Asia and I wandered. It was fun! We headed back for Madrid around 5:30, but it was a great and full day.

When in Madrid, we made our way to the Reina Sofia Art Museum because something I really wanted to see was Guernica by Pablo Picasso and some of Salvador Dali’s art. We did not have much time but it was so wonderful seeing the art.

For the last activity of the night, I met up with my high school friend Logan again along with

his wonderful girlfriend Katie! If you have read some of my past blogs, I met up with them in Madrid in January and then again in Portugal in February. We went roller-skating which is something I haven’t done in awhile, and I didn’t even fall! Great times. It was Asia’s first time and she only fell twice which is impressive.

(Sunday, April 24th) I had to laugh a little this morning because the weather this weekend was rainy, rainy, rainy but today the sun was shining and the birds were chirping. I enjoyed the Spanish breakfast provided by the hotel and then Asia and I headed to the Royal Palace in Madrid. I was sure glad that I bought my tickets ahead of time because the line was crazyyyy long.

I have now been to a few palaces including the Segovia Castle and palaces in Vienna, Austria, but I may have to say that this palace was my favorite. Everything inside is just so extravagant and it blows you away. I enjoyed doing the audio tour and taking my time to walk around- and we even ran into our tour guide from yesterday! Asia and I sadly did not have time for lunch so we just made our way back to our hotel and then headed on the train ride home. The rest of the evening was quite relaxing except for one tiny little fact. On Saturday night, Seville’s Betis soccer team beat Valencia’s soccer team at home and they won the championship, so Sunday was absolutely crazy in the city center with the color green (color of Betis) everywhere! It was so fun. I love seeing this much spirit in a city- it is truly something special.