Last night before American friends head back to the states

After being in Sevilla for a month... I fell in love with the city and was determined to stay for another semester. I ended up pushing Graduation back and became a year-long student.  The semester flew by and it was now time to say good bye to all my friends who were headed back to the states. That entire day was very difficult, I remember sitting at a bar by school having a couple drinks with Claire and Sara and we all began crying!  It was bittersweet. We started out by going to the CIEE going away party, then heading over to Laura's to hang out before going to Buddah Discoteca. My family came in that same day so it was very nice being able to introduce them to all my friends. 

Sara. Claire. Cara & I

Language and Society group

My twin the Party Crasher! :D

@ Laura's for the last time!

Amsterdam!

Amsterdam: 

They weren't lying when they said that Amsterdam was like Disney World for older kids! It is extremely beautiful during the day with all of the canals and gorgeous buildings. But crazy by night with the coffee shops, red light district, and erotic shows. I was going to Amsterdam with my American friends Kayla and Jaime, but before leaving I talked to my spanish friends about the trip and they decided to come along with us!

Vondel Park

Jaime. Ale. Dany. Manolo & I @ Ice Bar Amsterdam.

I AM AMSTERDAM

Thanksgiving en Sevilla!

Thanksgiving: November 2010

This day I was very homesick!! I missed mom not cooking and ordering Luby's then going to watch my Longhorns beat on the Aggies. Or if UT was away being at my grandma's house enjoying her turkey and green spaghetti, while watching my Cowboys play. Although I could not be home I ended up having a great Thanksgiving with all my amazing friends. The friendships I have made in Spain are definitely for a lifetime. Being in a different country is not easy, so you automatically grab on to the people around you who are experiencing the same things. A lot of the girls you will see in these pictures have become like sisters to me. 

CIEE had a pre-party room for us!! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

My girls! :)

She was very hungry! :p

A first for me: Ended my Thanksgiving by going to a discoteca! 

Jerez de La Frontera

Jerez de la Frontera: November 2010

Cara, Claire, and I wanted to check out Bodegas Tio Pepe. We took a train from Sevilla to Jerez de la Frontera. Tio Pepe we thought, was a wine tasting bodega but little to our surprise all they offered was Sherry! If you are a fan of sherry this is the place for you, they have some of the best in the world. The bodega was beautiful, the tour was great, but since I am not a fan of it...the Sherry was "shitty."

Sherry and Tapas.

More from Last Semesters Travels.

 Madrid: Novemeber 2010

Since I got switched into the Liberal Arts program very late in the game I was basically put into whichever interest group had space. It ended up turning out great though because I got to meet Kayla and I loved our leader Abraham! :) So for our interest group trip we went to Madrid!! I personally would not study there... way too big... lots of people... and so crazy! But it is definitely worth visiting for the weekend or even a week. 

(Km. 0) The radial network of  Spanish roads!
Km 0 is at Puerta del Sol one of the best areas in Madrid.

A typical meal or tapa in Madrid is a Bocadillo de calamares.... basically a sandwhich with calamari.
Very delicious and even better very cheap!

I love musicals so going to see Avenue Q was one of my favorite things about the trip. I had been told by a professor here in Spain that usually a very poor job is done when translating movies or musicals from English to Spanish... I ended up pleasantly surprised with Avenue Q! The show had me laughing the entire time. I would like to now see it in english and compare it. 

Avenue Q- Madrid!

Girls before we head out for the night. 

Kapital is a discoteca in Madrid with about 12 stories. Hands down this is the best nightclub I have been to this far in Europe. 

Right when I saw this painting it took me back to my days at Nikki Rowe sitting in  Mrs. Ramirez's AP spanish class.  The Guernica is a great piece by Picasso depicting his feelings toward the Spanish Civil war. I wish I had gotten a better picture but this painting has many intense guards surrounding it. 

We finally found it!!
I love a store called Distroller in Monterrey! So when I found out there was one in Madrid I just had to find it.

 Granada: November 2010

If I had not come to study in Sevilla, Granada would have been my second choice. A great city with so much to see! I love that for every drink you order you get a free Tapa! 

                A look at the city from the top of the Alambra. 

@ the Alambra gardens with the best tour guide... Angel! :)

We went to a discoteca that was basically a cave... Yes a cave!


Barcelona: October 2010

Barcelona was amazinggggg! I had so much fun Halloween weekend with Sara. We stayed at a Hostel that was pretty far away from the center of the city but very close to the stadium! :D

Close to the Magic Fountain! There was supposed to be a great light show but after we waited 2 hours and nothing happened.. we gave up.   

Had so much fun playing with the lions. 

La Boqueria: BEST market ever! So much awesome food...chocolate... and chucherias.

Chucherias :)

Barcelona vs. Sevilla Soccer game
I was going for Sevilla and Sara for Barce. We made a cute dinner at the hostel then rushed over to the game. Sad news for me.. Sevilla lost by A LOT! :x

@ Espit Chupitos
This bar has over 200 copyrighted chupitos... My favorite by far was the Boy Scout, which is the one I am having in the pic above. Bascially you put the marshmellow in the fire dip it in the shot glass put the marshmellow in your mouth then quickly follow it with the shot. [Just don't let the marshmellow burn to a crisp like I did... I was too busy cheesing it up :p]

One of Gaudi's amazing houses. 

Sagrada Familia
This roman catholic church is one of the most amazing and detailed buildings I have ever seen. Gaudi began working on it in 1883 and now over 100 years later the church is still being worked on. When I went they were preparing the church for the Pope's visit in November... the purpose of his trip was to proclaim it a minor basilica. 

Halloween Night!!
Bounce little kitty Bounce little kitty
Tina wina sent Sara and I these cute cat costumes which ever a hit... except I did not appreciate people constantly pulling my tail off.

A look back at Trips from First semester.

Lagos, Portugal: October, 2010

We all went to Lagos with a company called Discover Sevilla. It basically felt like Spring Break in October. Since  Lagos is a very touristy city pretty much everyone in the town spoke to us in english. The food was very good and our hotel was great! 

Sara and I laying out at the beach

One of the nicest beaches I have been to. 

So we went on a Sangria cruise Saturday morning... since the night before we stayed out really late we ended up missing the bus and had to get in a cab. The cab driver sped to get us there.. we made it just in time, and he even drove us right up to the dock. The cruise was very relaxing we not only got to lay out and drink sangria the whole time but we also got to explore some caves. 

Claire and I about to jump into the freezing water! 

At the end of the World.

Ready for a night out in Portugal.


Italy [Pisa. Florence. Rome]: October, 2010

Leaning Tower of Pisa. We only spent 2 hours in Pisa. Took the pictures we wanted had lunch then jumped on a train headed to Florence. 

Overlooking Florence, my favorite city in Italy. It is so much smaller than Rome and you can appreciate the great food and culture without having to deal with so many people. 

 Here I am at the Colosseum.

With the girls: dinner @ La Sagrestia. ( Located right behind the Patheon) This restaurant had by far the best italian food I have ever had.  

We loved it so much we went back the next night. The waiters were amazing and brought us this heart shaped bread.

With our cute waiter on Night 2. 

Vatican City!

Rumor had it the Pope would be giving mass the second day we were there. Everyone we asked would give us the run around... never giving us a concrete answer. We woke up very early and went over to the Vatican... ended up getting in and got to be at Mass given by the Pope. This has to be one of my favorite experiences of this year. The mass was given in about 10 different languages.

Pope! 

Making my wish @ Trevi Fountain.

The morning before we left we rushed over to the Vatican Museum to see the Sistine Chapel. It was incredible although the guards who work there get a little carried away with security. Pictures are not allowed to be taken... but you know Sara and I were able to get one! ;) I was also able to send many postcards to family and friends from Vatican city with the famous stamps.