Thursday, June 3

Hi All, I decided to split my weekend trip into three sections, one for each day of the trip!

This morning we got up VERY ealy (around 6 a.m.) to get to the school and onto the bus to leave for the Andalucia region. Mel and I were frustrated that we were unable to get any food before the bus, but that's just how Europe is! We got on the bus and drove for a few hours before stopping at a rest stop and eating a bocadillo (small sandwich on a baguette) with ham and cheese! I really like how the sandwiches here don't usually have sauce- they are very simple and delicious! Just meat and cheese!

When we got to our first stop, Cordoba, it was EXTREMELY hot. I loved it! It wasn't really humid at all, and the sun was beautiful. We crossed this river to get over to the side where there is a famous Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption) was! This cathedral was amazing. On the site, there used to be a cathedral, which was torn down and replaced by a mosque. Then, over the years, there were additions made that were cathedral-like in some parts, and mosque-like in others. Today it is a mosque. Our professor, Amalya, was our tour guide and she knew so much! Here are some pictures of the mosque/cathedral.








After we visited the cathedral/mosque (which I really can't even describe how cool it was) we went around the VERY small city. . There are two dishes famous in the Andalucia region: Salmorejo (cold, thick tomato-garlic soup with ham on top) and berenjena (a fried eggplant type dish... not greasy and oily like the deep fried eggplant Kate, Natalie and I made, but light and delicious!). We also had a squash and puff pastry dish and some great garlic bread dip! We roamed around and I also found some cool flowers! Here are some pictures of our adventures, but we only had a couple of hours.














After our hours of free time, we met at the bus and drove two or three more hours to Sevilla, home of Carmen! (Yes, I know we did a lot of stuff in a short period of time!). Sevilla is AMAZING. We got there around 7 or so in the evening and hung out at the pool until dinner (all-you-can-eat buffet in the hotel) at nine! Once again, the weather was crazy hot, but not humid! I enjoy the feeling you get when you are baking... More on Sevilla in the next blog post!