Seville

Tonight we are at another hostel, this time in Seville. I have been impressed and surprised by how sweet hostels are. Colorful, cultural, curvy staircases, open terraces, free internet, interesting people, staff that like to flirt with young American women... Both nights we´ve shared rooms with other travelers from all over. Last night there were two girls from Quebec, a guy from France, and another girl from South Korea. They all spoke Spanish, English, French, and of course atleast one spoke Korean. Needless to say, my lack of language skills was impressed.
So far we are two-for-two on finding sweet tours of free days. Yesterday we hit the palace of the christian kings and today it was the mosque which was built as a muslim mosque but later converted to a Catholic Cathedral. Took lots of pictures but won´t post those til Katrina´s internet is back up and running. Tomorrow we are going to visit the largest gothic structure in Europe - the Cathedral here in Seville. Our hostel is only a block or two away so we´ve seen the outside at night and it is incredible. Can´t wait to see it in the morning. Speaking of which, it´s late here so I´m off. We´re 7 or 9 hours ahead of you, depending on where you´re tuning in from, but no worries, I won´t tell you what happens.

¿Do we look like tourists yet?

Since my internship at the center doesn´t start til June 1, we decided to take advantage of our first three or four free days and we´re doing some traveling around España. This morning Bec, Katrina and I got on a bus (thank God greyhound doesn´t exist here) and went to Cordoba. There is a Spanish fair here, we toured the Palace of the Kings (think: Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand that sent Columbus off to disover America) and ate at a tapas bar tonight. I love European fashion, I think most of it is really fabulous. I just wish I had paid more attention in Spanish class(es) so I would know what was being said around me. The only thing I remember from a semester of 8am religious spanish is "una cerveza!" - you can imagine where that gets me. Anyway. Tonight we´re staying at a colorful little hostel in Cordoba. Our plans for tomorrow include touring a Mosque here and then heading off to Seville in the afternoon. The weather is goreous and the sun is hot - my freckles will be in their full glory in a few days.

And here we are

I´ve arrived in Spain! Bec and I have had one hour of sleep since yesterday morning but we´re starting a new day. I love the landscape, the flowers, the architecture, everything. We´re off to climb a mountain and walk around the city!

Take a Holiday in Spain...

My bags are packed and I'm ready to go.... atleast they were yesterday. I had finally decided to be the girl with the ridiculous suitcase, even if it means packing and pulling a bag that's nearly half my size. But the bag was a mere three pounds under the 50lb limit, so I'm guessing I might have to vote a few sorry tops, accessories, or books off the island. I may love shoes but I refuse to pay extra fees for a heavy bag. Insert disclaimer here: there will only be four pairs of shoes in my bag, and three of those are flipflops, which mean they don't count as real shoes and therefore I am only packing one pair of shoes. Be impressed.
My sister is coming over this afternoon for a glorious Memorial Day bbq that I'm really looking forward to. I'm also planning on taking a portion of her closet with me while making her help me weed out unnecessaries. My other sister is out of town, as she has been the last two or three times I've come home. I'm starting to sense a pattern, but have decided to follow by example and up and leave the country.
Becky and I leave early tomorrow afternoon. More updates to come!