Sevilla

Our plans for today were originally to go to Ronda, but when we woke up it was pouring rain. We slept in a little longer and finally the rain let up around 10. So with our late start, we decided to take a train over to Sevilla, which is about an hour train ride from Jerez. When we arrived, we got taxis and headed over to the Cathedral de Sevilla, the third largest cathedral and the largest gothic cathedral in Europe. We walked around the cathedral for a little over an hour. The altar was made of gold and the treasure room was filled with valuble pieces. Christopher Columbus' tomb is located here as well.
The cathedral was built over a Muslim mosque and the bell tower and outdoors area still show Muslim influence in the architecture. One of the best things about this cathedral was the bell tower, in my opinion. Instead of thirty-four cases of stairs, there were ramps--because back when the bell tower was used by the Muslims, the man that calls the people to prayer would ride a horse all the way up to the top of the bell tower and then call out to the masses to come and pray. He did this 5 times a day. When you reach the top of the tower you can see all of Sevilla.
After our visit to the cathedral, our "monkey with the map" helped us find a restaurant for lunch. It was decorated with stuffed bull heads. The heads were from famous bulls that had fought and died in the local arena.
When we finished our lunch, we strolled around Sevilla shopping a little bit and, not too long after, we made our way back to the train station and back to our apartment.


-Kerri
(yes Mom, I miss you)

Jerez de la Frontera

On our first day in Jerez, we oriented ourselves with the city and looked around the local shops. We found our new favorite bakery and a great new gelato hotspot. In the afternoon, we toured a world famous winery that has a branch that has been open since the 1600's.
Today, we took a train to Italica (an ancient Roman city). We explored the third biggest amphitheatre ever built by the Romans, where Gitaine gave her presentation on the history and uses of it. Following that, we ventured through the location of where the city once stood. The city's buildings were down to their foundations, but many of the mosaics were still intact. After the tour of Italica, we took a bus back to Sevilla, where we walked around the city, in the rain I might add. We ended our walk at the bus station, where we took a taxi to the train station and rode a train back to Jerez.
After returning back to Jerez, we walked into a Semana Santa (Easter) procession for Palm Sunday. During the procession we saw floats with the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ that weighed thousands of pounds, which were carried on the necks of men. After enjoying the procession, we bought some dessert and headed back to the apartments, where we will savor some well-deserved rest.
Eli, Kerri, and Gitaine

Andalucia

If there's one new Spanish word we've learned on this trip, it's huelga: strike. After leaving Barcelona, we arrived in Granada to find that a major labor strike had been planned. It turned out to be worse than expected, and although peaceful, the streets were completely filled with people, blocking most taxis and buses, and the sound of police helicopters overhead was not infrequent.
Unfortunately, this prevented us from seeing the two main attractions in Granada, the huge Moorish castle of Alhambra and the giant cathedral in the center of town.
The good news is that we got some cool pictures and good stories to tell.
Our trip from Granada to Jerez de la Frontera was certainly not uneventful; after finding out that our train was full, we took a three hour bus ride to Seville and a subsequent bus ride to the comfortable little city of Jerez. Though we got into town late, we had a wonderful dinner and are now preparing to get a good night's sleep. More updates to follow!
Gitaine, Chris, and Eli

Barcelona, Spain

After our long plane ride, we got to our apartment with few complications. We spent the evening getting settled in and then went to sleep. The next day we got ready and ate at our soon-to-be daily bakery. After breakfast we headed off on the Metro to Las Rambles, where we entertained ourselves with people watching and shopping at the La Boqueria. At the end of the Las Rambles was Port Vell where we walked around a little bit. After a filling lunch of Paella, we ventured into the Columbus Monument where you could take the elevator up to the top and look at the entire city. Following the Columbus Monument, we walked back through Las Rambles and ended back at our apartment. + The next day we took the short walk to Sagrada Familia, it was one of the most amazing Cathedrals any of us had ever seen. After Sagrada Familia, we enjoyed a nice lunch, where we had our first Spanish Flan. After our delicious lunch, we took the long Metro ride to Park Guell, where we saw many great street performers and multiple works of Gaudi. We ended our day with the long walk back to the apartment. + The next day we set out to the Barcelonian Cathedral. The Cathedral had beautiful architecture and thirteen snow-white geese. After enjoying the Cathedral, we watched the native Catalonians do their Sardana dance to display their solidarity. We then took the short walk to the Picasso Museum, it had many great works of art but none of us were necessarily art majors. Then we left the area to take a break back at the apartment and waited to see Sagrada Familia at night. It seemed even more beautiful at night. + The following day, we took a day trip out to Montserrat, which is a monastery, high in the Catalonian Mountains. After a short five minute cable car ride, we were up at the monastery, where we enjoyed a fantastic view and savored our picnic-like lunch. After lunch we had to wait in line to see the Black Virgin Mary, which is said to dish out miracles. The line took at least forty-five minutes to get to Mary, where we got to touch a ball she was holding in her right hand. After that, we stopped at the souvenir shop and then headed down the mountain and set out to return to Barcelona where we participated in a dessert walk and got to try all sorts of sweets.+ The next day, we spent the morning visiting multiple Roman ruins and went through the City History Museum and got to see the actual base of the Roman city of Barcino. For the afternoon, we traveled to the beach, where we enjoyed some well deserved down time. After a relaxing time at the beach, we headed back to the apartment, where we packed up our stuff in preparation for our departure to Granada.+ This morning, we cleaned the apartment and said our last goodbyes to our newfound friends. Then we took a plane out of Barcelona to Granada. After landing in Granada, we found our hotel pretty quickly. We settled in and headed out to Plaza Nueva for exploration and dinner. After a variety of different foods we returned to our hotel, where we into to sleep through the street music. More to follow…+

London on the 4th

Yesterday started with us waking up early, getting ready and eating breakfast. After all that we left for Abbey Road. For all of you who don't know what it is, it is the spot where the Beatles' studio was. Following Abbey Road, we headed back to the flats so Gitaine could get all of her stuff together, because it was her last day here and she needed to have someone go with her to through the tube. After Gitaine was safely through the tube, we took our time going to the British Museum. The museum was amazing, the Rosetta Stone and many other famous artifacts are located there. Following the museum, we left for dinner. We stopped at a amazing place called Wagamama... it was delicious. Everyone had their fill of Japanese food and we headed back. It was a long day but very fun. Not to mention, Eli was an amazing navigator for the day and didn't take one wrong turn.
Sincerely,
Eli

The Past Two Days in London

The past couple of days have been extremely exciting for the Geeks. On Saturday we took a 2 hour train ride to York, where we walked across the Roman city wall, which is still standing and runs through the city even today. We spent all day in York exploring before we headed home late at night. The next day we explored London, rode on the London Eye, went to see Big Ben, Trafalgar Square and Greenwich, and even took a boat tour on the River Thames. At Greenwich we got to stand at the Prime Meridian of the World (longitude 0). Today, we plan on exploring some more of London, but unfortunately this is Gitaine's last day here, so we will all say farewell to her soon.
We will be sure to upload some pictures of the last few days soon.
Sincerely,
Christianson(PEABODY)

First Day of London

Today started early, with us waking up, getting ready, and eating breakfast. We were all very excited, because today we were heading to London. After packing and cleaning our five story house, we headed off to the train station. After a short hour and a half train ride we arrived at London Paddington Train Station. After finding our flats and settling in, we decided to go out in the city and find something interesting. After looking around and taking a ride on The Tube(Subway), we found the Victoria and Albert Museum. We spent two hours going through the exhibits and having a great time! Afterwards we headed off to dessert where we stopped at a great restaurant and enjoyed ourselves. Following all of this, we headed back to the flats and had ourselves some needed rest.
Sincerely,
Eli