Being part of CEA’s study abroad program in Madrid is truly a blessing, as they give us so many incredible opportunities to learn and grow in the Spanish culture. This past weekend is a great example: CEA took us to Seville, Spain.
We all met at the Atocha Renfe train station in Madrid, on a Friday morning. We took about a 3 and a half hour train ride to Seville, and once we arrived, we took a coach bus to our hotel. We stayed at a beautiful hotel just 10 minutes walking distance from the main downtown area of Seville and only a block away from the famous Plaza de España. We were able to have a little break time to go eat lunch and walk around before we met up with our program directors and our tour guide. My friends and I found a really awesome National Food Festival that was happening that weekend and decided to eat there. At this food festival, they had every country represented with its specialty foods and drinks. Don’t worry, they included the United States, and we truly were represented well with chicken nuggets, fries, ribs, and burgers. After lunch, we met up with our directors and started our tour of Seville. Our tour guide’s name was Paco, who actually happened to be from Seville, so he was very knowledgeable about the history of the city, as well as other little details you wouldn’t necessarily hear as a tourist.
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| Exploring Seville |
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| Wandering Seville |
We saw several different sites along our tour in Seville and ended at the beautiful cathedral in the center of the city. From there on, we were given free time to explore, grab dinner and experience Seville. My friends and I decided to go shopping and we ended up finding some beautiful pottery made locally. For dinner that night, Paco recommended a fried fish place that my friend and I decided to try.
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| Fried Fish |
The restaurant had all different types of fish, and it was very delicious!
Here are some other pictures of food that I got to try while in Seville:
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| Cannot get enough |
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| Gelato |
The following day, we started with a fantastic breakfast in our hotel featured below. We then left to tour the Royal Palace of Alcazar, which just so happens to be very well known for appearing in Game of Thrones. The Royal Palace of Alcazar was absolutely beautiful and my favorite part of the whole trip! It had gardens, fountains, and flowers, and the architecture was spectacular. After touring the palace, we were given free time, so my friends and I went back to the Cathedral because you could climb all the way up the tower and have an incredible view of the city.
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| Metropol Parasol |
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| Torre del Oro |
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| View of the city |
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| Plaza de España |
The next 24 hours contained various sites and delicious foods. CEA provided us with an incredible opportunity to try new things, see a new place, and explore the world a little bit more. My favorite part was truly getting to spend more time with the people in our program, as they have become like family to me. Being able to share experiences with all of my new friends has been one of the greatest joys in going abroad, being able to learn and grow together. Our trip to Seville was certainly unforgettable and was the perfect time for all of us to relax before our midterms, spend some time in beautiful weather and see the beauty that is Seville.
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| Breakfast |
Lauryn H, is the Fall 2017 MOJO Blogger in Madrid, Spain. She is currently a Senior studying Exercise Science at Belmont University.