Paris, J'taime!

This past weekend a few friends and I jetted off to Paris for 4 days of sightseeing, baguettes, pastries, and French boys. As we flew over the city Thursday night and got our first glimpse of the sparkling Eiffel Tower and the Seine, I knew I was going to love the city! It is easier to understand why people talk about Paris so much and romanticize it. There is just something very special about it that is unlike any other city I've visited.

The French
Of course I went to French knowing the stereotypes that French people hate Americans and won't speak English to you. Thankfully, I found both of these to be entirely false. I found the Parisians to be incredibly friendly and helpful. And with a little "Excusez-moi. Je ne parle pas français. Parlez-vous anglais?" people were more than willing to speak English with us and try to help us out.


Sightseeing
We packed a whole lot of activity into our long weekend, so I will warn you that this will be a long post! You can click the pictures to see a larger version!

The Chocolate Tour
We kicked off the weekend with a chocolate tour run by Paris Walks. They took us to four specialty chocolate and pastry shops, mostly on Rue St. Honore. By the end we had more than enough chocolate. It was a great tour and I would highly recommend it!

Ile-de-Cite & Quartier Latin
Later that afternoon, we walked across the bridge to Notre Dame, and then through the Quartier Latin to Jardins du Luxembourg. I really enjoyed Quartier Latin. It seems like a really cool neighborhood and I wish we had time to explore it more!

Le Tour Eiffel
Our next stop was the Eiffel Tower. We took dozens of pictures from the ground and then climbed up the stairs to the second level. The views were beautiful! And who knew there was an ice skating rink up there?

Arc De Triomphe & Shopping
We started Saturday morning at the Arc de Triomphe and then spent the rest of the morning shopping along the Champs Elysees, Rue Faubourg and Rue St. Honore. We window shopped at Hermes and Cartier, and tried to keep ourselves from spending too much money!

Cemeterie Montmartre
In the afternoon we walked through the neighborhood of Montmartre (where we stayed throughout the weekend at Le Village Hostel - highly recommend it!). We visited the Cemeterie Montmartre, which was actually very interesting to see. The cemetery had a couple of really sad but beautiful statues that you can see below. This cemetery is home of the grave of Alexandre Dumas, among others.

Musee du Louvre
Sunday morning we went straight to the Louvre after breakfast. The museum itself is housed in what was formerly the French royal palace, before the king moved the palace to Versailles. It is absolutely gigantic, and it would be easy to spend hours and hours in there if you wanted to see everything. We mostly just went for the more famous works since we were short on time. My favorite part of the museum was the atriums filled with sculptures on the first floor. I have always been amazed by the level of detail and realism that sculptors are able to put forth in their pieces. What about the Mona Lisa? Well, I think it's a nice painting, but that's about it. It does not intrigue me nearly so much as it seems to for many people. There are also some rooms in the Louvre that are still decorated as Napoleon III's palace. I also really enjoyed this part of the museum and the incredibly lavish and ornate furnishings in the apartments. After a few hours in the Louvre, we were hungry and ready to get back outside.

A Word on Parisian Macarons
Before coming to Paris, I had heard of macarons, but didn't understand what they were. I knew I loved coconut macaroons, and, for some reason, thought the two were related in some way. They aren't. But man oh man are French macarons delicious. According to Wikipedia, a macaron is "a sweet confectionery made with egg whites, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond, and food coloring. The macaron is commonly filled with buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two cookies."

I sampled the macarons at Gosselin and Michel Cluizel and both were incredible. I have to give Gosselin the win though, for having fresh raspberries around the outside!

Cemeterie Pere Lachaise
On our way back to Montmartre, we stopped at another cemetery, Pere Lachaise, to see the famous graves of Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde. I found Oscar Wilde's particularly cool, because people had written some of his famous quotes on it in all different languages. It was interesting to see the worldwide scope of his fans who have been touched by his writings, not just among English speakers.

Basilique Sacre Coeur
Back in Montmartre, we climbed the hill just behind our hostel to go up to the beautiful Sacre Coeur basilica, which is located on the highest point in Paris. You can see the whole city from up there and it is a beautiful view.

Refuge des Fondues
For dinner, we went to Refuge des Fondues, on Rue Trois Freres in Montmartre. Their fixed priced menu includes a charcuterie and cheese plate, baby bottles of wine (yes - served in baby bottles), your choice of cheese or meat fondue, and a dessert. The fondue was yummy and the whole atmosphere of the place was a lot of fun.

Eiffel Tower at Night
Our last activity of the trip was to go see the Eiffel Tower lit up on Sunday night. For as pretty as it looks during the day, it is so much more special at night time. Every hour on the hour, the lights on the tower sparkle and it is a beautiful sight. It is interesting to think what Paris would be like without its most recognizable symbol!

An afternoon in Jerez

Last Friday, some friends and I took the train to Jerez, a city about an hour south of Sevilla, to go to the Tio Pepe bodega for a tour and tasting.

Tio Pepe is the most famous brand of sherry and is sold in more countries than any other wine. The bodega itself is the not the place where the grapes are grown (the vineyards are outside the city) but where the sherries are made and stored.

It was a really pretty location, but to be honest, we were there more for the tasting than for the tour. Once we finally got to the tasting, we discovered that we all think sherry is pretty gross. But it was a fun day!





Posing with the giant Tio Pepe bottle

Many barrels of sherry have been produced for famous and important people, such as the Spanish royal family, Winston Churchill, Orson Welles, and Picasso (his is shown below). These people autograph the barrels and they are on display in a special room.

A contest was held between local art students to re-imagine the Tio Pepe bottle

Finally tasting some sherry. Won't be having any more any time soon.

It is called "study" abroad...

Believe it or not, I have been spending some time in class since I've been here in Spain. I am taking classes through my program (CIEE) as well as some classes at the Universidad de Sevilla. The university itself is over 500 years old, and the building where I attend classes, La Real Fábrica de Tabacos (Royal Tobacco Factory) has a long and interesting history.

Real Fábrica de Tabacos

Entrance to Universidad de Sevilla at Real Fábrica de Tabacos

As can be guessed by the name, this building originally served as a tobacco factory where cigarreras (the name given to the women who worked here) would sit and roll cigars and cigarettes. It was built in the mid to late 1700s. It is a gigantic building, a rectangle measuring 185 x 147 meters. The only building that covers more land space than La Fábrica de Tabacos in Spain is El Escorial, the royal palace outside Madrid. When you walk through the building, with its archways, open patios, and marble staircases, it is hard to imagine that it served as a factory.

The famous Carmen (of the novel, opera and films) worked here as a cigarrera, and many of the movies were filmed in the building itself. In one of my classes, we study Spanish film, and we watched a version of Carmen from 2003 starring Paz Vega. It was cool to be sitting in the building where the movie was shot and where the story actually took place while we watched it on the screen. Many painters have depicted the Fabrica and its cigarreras, and the paintings really do look similar to the building today.

Las Cigarreras, by Gonzalo Bilbao

My Classes

Over the course of the semester, I am taking 15 credits that will all count towards my Spanish major. For the first two weeks of my program, I took Intensive Advanced Spanish Grammar for 3 credits, so now for the rest of the semester I have four classes (all in Spanish!) that I attend Monday through Thursday.

La imagen de España a través del cine//The image of Spain on the cinema screen
As I mentioned earlier, we are studying Spanish film in this class. Carmen was our first film, and we have many more coming up. I am really enjoying this class so far.

Grupos de poder en España: el papel de los medios de comunicación//Groups of power in Spain: the role of mass media
In this class we study the major media companies in Spain, as well as the structure of mass media and the way it works within Spanish society. This class has also been really interesting and I am enjoying it.

La España actual y las relaciones internacionales//Present-day Spain and International Relations
The title of this class seems a little misleading to me since we are currently learning about Spain in the 1930s, then progressing through Franco's regime, and finally present-day towards the end of the semester. Regardless, I think it will be an interesting course.

Tres Culturas en España: Judios, Cristianos y Musulmanes//Three Cultures in Spain: Jews, Christians and Muslims
In this class we study how these different groups have been a part of Spanish culture throughout its history and today. So far, it seems like this will be my hardest class, but I am enjoying it so far.

A Bird's Eye View of Sevilla

Recently, some photographers broke records by creating this 111 gigapixel photo of the city, making it the biggest photo in the world.

Click here to see the photo

You can zoom in to tremendous detail. Clicking the small square photos at the bottom will bring you to some points of interest. If you click the one that says "Puente Triana", it will take you towards my neighborhood! Put the picture in fullscreen mode and play around with the photo to get a taste of what Sevilla is like!

Some Cultural Differences

Just as in any foreign country, I have noticed a number of cultural differences throughout my time here in Spain. I can´t believe this is my fourth week!! Some of these differences are more characteristic of Sevilla and Andalucia than of Spain in general.

Schedule and Meal Times
One of the most notable differences between Sevilla and the US is the daily schedule, especially regarding meals. When you wake up the morning, you have a small breakfast of a piece of toast and coffee or tea. Then later in the morning around 11 or noon, many people will go to a cafe and meet up with friends or coworkers for a merienda, or snack. Lunch, known here as la comida (which literally means "the food") is served between 2:30 and 4:00 p.m. It is the principle meal of the day. Dinner is not served until at least 9:00 in most households. Where I live we usually eat around 10:00, and sometimes even after 10:30. This is also a fairly heavy meal, although not as much so as la comida.

Staring
Before I got here, I had read online that people in Sevilla tend to stare, especially at people who don´t look Spanish (i.e. me). I have found this to be true, but it doesn´t bother me nearly as much as it seems to bother some of my other American friends here. The staring is not malicious at all, and it is not considered rude to stare (as it is in America). It seems to be more about curiousity than anything else. I, personally, love to stare at people, so I have taken this as a free pass to stare at people whenever I want, even if I´m not wearing sunglasses (which is the only way you can get away with it in the US...).

Sidewalks
In Sevilla, many of the streets and sidewalks are impossibly narrow. With hardly enough room for a car to comfortably pass while you walk alone on the sidewalk, things get really complicated when there are more people involved. When you are walking along the sidewalk, minding your own business, and someone starts coming the other way, it's always like a game of chicken (here or in the US). Do you go right or left? Who stays on the sidewalk and who steps down into the street? Well, in my experience thus far, I am always stepping down into the street. Any attempt to stay put on the sidewalk will cause the other group not to move, but to either run into me or just stop and wait until I move. The only exception seems to be when the other is a male or group of only males. It seems to be somewhat of a courtesy thing - a guy will move for a girl, young people are expected to move for older people. But it is a little bit strange. I've taken to walking in the street to avoid these issues entirely.

General Pace
As somewhat of a speed-walker, I was initially very annoyed by the incredibly slow speed with which people walk here. It´s more of a stroll than a walk, actually. As time has gone on, I have embraced it and slowed my pace down a bit, taking time to look at what´s around me instead of just booking it to class. At home, everyone always seems like they are in a rush, but here, hardly any one ever does. It´s kind of nice to just take your time and not worry about getting somewhere the fastest. People in Andalucia are also notoriously late, so I guess it has something to do with the aimless strolling.

Although there have been some small differences, none have affected my view of Sevilla or the sevillanos in any kind of negative way. It is just a matter of recognizing and noting the differences and moving on. So when you come to Sevilla, be prepared to eat late, walk slowly through the streets, and get stared at a little, but feel free to stare right back!

Lounging by the Guadalquivir on a sunny spring day

Some Wise Words from Gandhi

Okay, so this isn't exactly about my adventures here in Spain, but when I found this, I wanted to share it. This image depicts Gandhi's Top Ten Fundamentals for Changing the World. I think we could all use to incorporate these into our daily lives or at least give them a little thought. For a more detailed and some more Gandhi quotes, check out this blog.

My next Spain post will be coming soon. I promise!

Around Sevilla: Real Alcazar

Yesterday I visited Sevilla's Real Alcázar, a royal palace which was originally built during Moorish rule. It is situated in the center of the city, across from the cathedral.

The Alcázar has been altered over the years since it was built and still serves as the palace for the royal family when they visit Sevilla. It is known for its gardens, and for being one of the best examples of the mudéjar style of architecture, which is a blend of Christian and Muslim influences.

After spending less than two hours there, it became one of my favorite places in the city that I have seen so far. When you are within the grounds of the Real Alcázar, it does not feel like the city is on the other side of the high stone walls.

INSIDE THE PALACE

Within the palace itself, my favorite parts were the Salón de Embajadores (Hall of Ambassadors) and the Patio de las Doncellas (Patio of the Maidens), which is connected to the Salón. This room served as the throne room for the king and queen, where they would receive visitors. It is a beautiful and ornate room with a gold-leaf cupola as the ceiling. At the Alcázar, much of the original coloring on the walls remains, making it very striking and impressive to see.

Directly off the Salón de Embajadores lies the Patio de las Doncellas. This patio is a central courtyard in the palace, with archways, a reflecting pool, and sunken gardens. It is evocative of many of the patios I saw in Granada, because of its similar style.

LOS JARDÍNES

The gardens of the Real Alcázar were the highlight of the visit. They are expansive, and include fountains, pools, the baths of the queen, hundreds of orange and palm trees, peacocks, and a labyrinth. There are many strongly scented plants in the gardens, and combined with the sound of the fountains, make it a very stimulating experience. It is a great place to go to and read or write, and since it is free for students, I am sure I will be returning!