1st Port: Cadiz, SPAIN!!

Quick Timeline:

Wed., June 24th: Cadiz, Spain (Exploring the city, night out)
Thur., June 25th: Seville, Spain (train to Seville, huge Castle of Spain, Flamenco show, night out clubbing)
Fri., June 26th: Seville, Spain (Seville Cathedral, Bull Ring tour, train back to Cadiz late, birthday dinner, TURN 21!!)
Sat., June 27th: Cadiz, Spain (Shopping, Beach)

The morning of June 24th… and we see LAND! Yes, LAND! We were all quite excited after having spent eight days crossing the Atlantic. To capture the moment, a bunch of us awoke around 6 am to get a good spot on the deck. It was breathtaking… a beautiful sunrise… land… and not just any land… SPAIN! Even though we were all exhausted from being so excited we couldn’t sleep, I am so grateful we were able to witness such a moment together. I took lots of pictures and videotaped a few minutes of our pulling into port! After docking around 7:30 a.m., we had to wait on the ship until it was cleared through customs. So after getting things organized and enjoying breakfast outside on the deck, we were able to disembark around 9:30.

So here we were…CADIZ!! I was set to explore…I had my camera and my money belt. It was crazy. I wanted to take pictures of everything! There were definitely lots of Kodak moments! Later in the day a bunch of us bought some postcards and then stopped in a small café to write them while sipping a glass of Sangria. It was my first glass in Spain… and it was delicious! It had apples and oranges in it, and was even sprinkled with cinnamon. I sent out a postcard on the first day to my family… and hope it arrives soon! I wish I could describe Spain… I’ll do my best but you have to see it!

Cadiz was a charming old European city, with narrow stone streets lined with a bunch of approx. three story high houses, shops, etc. The people here were extremely nice, and seemed to really enjoy the company of their family and friends. The top of the new cathedral can be seen, and is extremely picturesque. The beach looks like a beach out of the movie Mamma Mia!, with small fishing boats littering the shore waiting to be utilized. There were stray cats roaming the city, which I thought was a little odd. The gardens near the beach were fun. They were gorgeous with caves and waterfalls, flowers and trees.

After a night of partying and salsa dancing with my favorite people, we all had to be awake the next morning and be ready in Tymitz Square for 10 am to catch our 11:10 train to Seville. So after about four hours of sleep, I awoke (desperately wanting coffee) to try and pack my book bag for the trip. (I’m so glad I bought it, it was perfect!) Everything was going well until I realized that I couldn’t find my SAS ID card. We need that in order to get off the ship, which I had to do to catch the train! It was super frustrating because I had about 20 minutes to find it, and I knew it was in my room, because you need it to get back on the ship and to then open the room door. So Kate and I frantically tore apart my room looking for this card, which costs $25.00 to replace. Ugh I was soo upset I couldn’t find it. It was just horrible timing! And did I find it? NO. Racing against the clock, I had to finally give in and order a new ID card. I was probably overdramatic, but tears were streaming down my face as I signed the receipt charging 25.00 to my shipboard account. I just kept thinking of what else I needed that money for, and how I knew I would eventually find my other card! But… it had to be done. I was determined to not let it interfere my day, or the trip… and it didn’t! Seville was AMAZING, and I quickly forgot about the whole thing. And including that charge, I only spent about $200.00 on Spain, not to bad I think, considering travel expenses (hostel, train, food), and the current exchange rate between the Euro and the dollar.

But yea… SEVILLE. My definition = AMAZING. I wish words did it justice! Ugh I get so frustrated with my writing sometimes because I just want everyone reading this to have the opportunity to know exactly what I am talking about, but I fear my words and descriptions do NOTHING for how it really is! I want to somehow capture the city and relay to my family and friends in someway, but I don’t know if that is possible! I of course will try my best…

In Seville, we stayed at a hostel called Oasis. It took us a few hours to find, but it was incredible. We totally lucked out, and Anthony and I got randomly placed in Kate and Rachael’s room. It was just the four of us.

I got to see a Flamenco show! I was sooo happy! The seven of us went with a group from our hostel (Oasis organized it)… and we went first for tapas, followed by free flamenco at this cute, very local bar. I ordered an almond chicken tapa… it was okay. The tapa and flamenco tour was the start of 21st birthday celebration. We all started with a free drink supplied by Oasis, a yummy peach liquor and vodka shot, followed by vino blanco at dinner and some sangria at flamenco. At the show, Becca and Kate also bought me this awesome shot (so tasty!), which was covered with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. I took it like a champ. After flamenco, we took some great group shots of us standing in front of the Seville Cathedral on our walk back to the hostel… where the birthday festivities continued. We partied and played some cards in the room until it was time to go out! We went to a dance club named Club Catedral to celebrate my 21st birthday! We ventured out around 3 a.m…. I am proud of myself !(All in all I probably got about 15 hours of sleep in Spain) It was happening! I danced with a Spanish boy, jammed to American tunes, and lounged around on gigantic white plush couches or beds. It was exciting to say I turned 21 in Spain…but the legal age is 18 here, soooo it wasn’t as major an impact. AND I do miss my family and friends from home and it would have been nice to turn of age in the states surrounded by them as well! The second day in Seville we went inside and climbed the bell tower (34 floors!) of the Caterdral de Seville. It was MASSIVE. It is the world’s third largest church (#1 Gothic Church) … and Christopher Columbus’s remains rest in this cathedral. The views from the top of the bell tower were welllll worth the hike to the top! From that view where we spotted a bull ring… another destination of ours. We paid four euros and took a tour of the Bull Fighting ring. It was an extremely cultural experience. I learned so much and was able to get a great glimpse of a large aspect of their history and life. The tour lasted about 45 minutes and we were able to take great pictures here as well! The actual shows take place on the weekends (Sunday night was there next show)… so there was no way we could see it. It would have been quite the experience though!

Spanish FOOD… um…. not really my thing. I tried, I really did. I spent two euros on this potato and egg tortilla thing while we were all sitting by the water of this beautiful picturesque river. I like eggs, and I like potatoes, so I thought what the heck! Well… it was gross, and had about two bites. But I tasted it! I tried some Chocolate con Churro’s for breakfast on Friday. They were good, but excessively greasy, and the chocolate could have been a little thicker. And they are huge on what are called Tapas, which are like tiny meals or appetizers that are available all over the place (even Burger King) when it isn’t their meal times, especially Siesta (lunch time).

Not liking Spanish food, I was walking around pretty hungry one day after I couldn’t find anything I liked for lunch. I was starving… and then I saw it… a STARBUCKS. My eyes lit up with excitement and I was in the door. The barrista was super nice, and her name was Erika too. I got my caramel light frapaccino, and I swear I gulped that thing down faster than fast. It was delicious. And, within the timeframe that I finished it, we passed another three Starbucks attempting to find our hostel. They were seriously all over the place, like every few blocks such as in NYC. I also saw Hagain Daiz, McDonalds & Burger King. (I got a BBQ chicken burger at McDonald’s for 1 euro… so good!) And they had a Magnum mcflurry I really wanted to try because Magnam bars were in Australia and Suzannah loved them, but maybe next time. Yup… I’m that girl, who goes abroad and hits up the American chains.

But, on the topic of Spanish food…Nino’s Ristorante was my absolute favorite restaurant in Spain! We went there twice, and it is where we all ate for my birthday dinner. And I was really surprised when the waiters brought me a lemon & almond (I think) type cake for my birthday. They all sang Happy Birthday to me in Spanish… (I hope it was that! I don’t know Spanish!) The candle that came with the dessert was HUGE, and it was scrumptious! And did I stop there? No! We got some more ice cream (in Spanish - helado)! I ate SO much ice cream in Spain I can’t imagine what Italy is going to be like!

The whole time thing in Spain is absolutely ridiculous!! I don’t know when the sleep! Clubs do not even open until 2 a.m. at the earliest…and most open at like 3, staying open until 5, 6 or 7 am! Even their meal times are screwy…breakfast is usually eaten between 7:30 and ten, followed by a big lunch during the hours of 2-4, with dinner between 9-11 at night. I know that when I was waiting around for that dinner… I was definitely hungry. And I think maybe we screwed ourselves over waking up for the sunrise the day we docked because we were in for a LONG day…22 hours of hard-core walking, dancing, and just having fun…followed by 4-5 hours of sleep and repeated! And when we would walk the streets between 12 and 1 going to bars, little kids would be in the streets playing with their parents! I would be passed out in bed if I were that age by like 8! I wonder what the hours of their school days are…

It is also kind of weird being surrounded by people who speak a different language. Not many locals I ran into spoke English, so it was difficult to communicate. I have been saying lots of Hola, Gracia, and Adios though (It’s all I know!)… although I always get confused and want to say Aloha.

For my last day in Spain, I spent most of the time at the beach …and definitely got some color! It is funny because I felt like I got NO color walking around the first three days. But when I laid out for a few hours, I fried. But oh it was SO nice and relaxing, and I was able to go swimming in the ocean! The water was pretty warm… but not very clear. I saw a big crab floating around in the ocean. Being in the water made everyone super excited for Croatia, our 3rd stop, where the water is supposed to be this crystal clear blue. Perfect for snorkeling! Before the beach, I went shopping from 10-12. I couldn’t really find anything, but I really liked a lot of their stores. Kate and Becca are quite the shoppers though! They love it, and always fall behind when we are all walking as a group…The guys yell at them!

When the time came to re-embark the ship, it was quite sad. My on-ship time was 5:00, an hour earlier than everyone else b/c of my work study (another story entirely)… but I was enjoying Spain and the beach sooo much I didn’t want to go! ANDD, our departure time, originally 8pm, got delayed until 11 pm. But… we have Italy to look forward to! YAY! Only three class days in between… but sadly two midterms and two papers. Plus, we have to plan for Rome and catch up on sleep! So it will definitely be a busy next couple of days…

P.S. – This blog on Spain is the tip of the ice burg! I still have SOO much to write! I want to elaborate more on Seville and Cadiz, and add some great quotes from some great people… so more will follow!

Until then… Much love,

Erika