Espana

Well we made it... Spain has been an amazing visit and one I will not forget... We arrived on Saturday bright and early, I can cross watch sunrise off my bucket list, as we were up pulling into port before the sun was up; after an hour of inspections, the ship began to allow students to disembark, for me and my friends that meant the first train to Seville. After a two hour train ride, we had arrived in Seville.

Seville was an unbelievable city with rich culture and some of Europe's finest nightlife. However, traveling through the streets in 100 degree (Fahrenheit) proved to be our toughest challenge. We walked and walked for what seemed to be two hours and then by some miraculous will of god found our hostel (which turned out to be a 20 minute walk when properly planned). From what i have heard of hostels I was expecting the worse, however our hostel was as nice as a regular hotel at a fraction of the cost (40 euro for three nights) and the best was seeing the seven plus people cram into a room meant for four for three nights. If the "honeymoon" ohase of this trip wasn't over yet, well it was by this point.

In Seville we mostly traveled around looking at the beautiful landmarks, ancient buildings, and where we would later spend our euros at the best bars. (First Spanish fun fact for you, EXCHANGE YOUR US DOLLARS PRIOR TO ARRIVING IN SPAIN!!!! Not a lot of restaurants and bars take Credit Cards and not many banks change over the dollar, as we all found out and were borrowing money from each other left and right, some how it all worked out and we had enough to pay for the necessities including the hostel and the train rides).While Seville had some of the best activities to keep us occupied, it was the dirtiest city (so far) that we visited, with trash everywhere.

Typical Tourist Recommendation: The Bull Fight, yes the Bull Fight is intense, but an important aspect of the culture of Spain to see at least one. We watched three fights where you can wonder will this fight be one I see on "Worst Ways to Die" where the bull wins. The Bull ALWAYS dies something the girls in our group could have been better prepared for, especially animal lover Carly who looked like we made her sit through a marathon of the "Saw Movies" with the distraught look she had on her face. True it was not a natural feeling to pay to watch an animal die, but it was well worth seeing. (Bullfight fun facts; All spectators must remain sitting until the bull is killed, even if you need to go to the bathroom hold it in, it could be seen as a distraction to the bull fight. Second Once the six bulls are killed [yes six bull fights are in one sitting] they take the meat and sell it for cooking needs. So at least it is not completely being wasted.

The next visit was to Cordoba, where we spent the afternoon walking around and visiting the city that is full of both artifacts from Islamic and Christian religions. The Mezquita Mosque is truly one amazing compound to see, one of the most interesting things to see is the Roman artifacts that are blended in with the Islamic Mosque. One of the things you would never expect to see in each other.

Finally we headed back to Cadiz (where the ship is) where I wish we spent more time, however, due to the immense amount of fun we had in Seville it just was not possible. Cadiz is truly beautiful surrounded by multiple piazzas and cathedral (I'm actually writing from the steps of the "La Torre Mas Alta De Cadiz" cathedral which I plan on going in after this blog [gotta love a city with free wifi on the streets]). Last night we headed out to celebrate the big 18 for Mackenzie after spending a day lounging down at the beach (which is topless to our surprise). The Mediterranean Sea is beautiful and all of the nightlife here in Cadiz is right on the beach too. We found a bar that was fun and the perfect place to celebrate the big birthday, Carly became our Sangria connoisseur which is at most places cheaper than water and was a favorite of the groups.

So now, as I finish this entry I will go and buy the present for all you at home and explore for a few more hours in this beautiful city. Tonight we head out for Morocco, which will be amazing, I got a camel trek, and some day trips to look forward to and the fact that I still have no class for another five days.

Enjoy the States, and FYI its not that I don't have picture to put up, the internet makes putting pictures up a three day event, so as son as I can get some good free internet I will put some up!

Ed