I have not done this for a few
weeks so apologies for the large amount of information!
I am really enjoying speaking
Spanish now and having conversations with people. I am at a very basic
level but I am going to miss trying to say something in another language and
solely speaking English when I get back. Something else that has surprised me
is that I have become accepting to kissing people on the cheeks (facial!) when I say
hello. For the people that know me best this is a huge improvement and I am
sure they will be shocked by the amount of hugs they will receive from me when
I get back.
Last weekend we enjoyed more
Carnaval celebrations. Originally we were going to be travelling to Cadiz as it
is ‘the’ place for Carnaval in Spain but sadly the bus company cancelled the
reservation the day before which left us no alternative way of getting there
cheaply. Instead we went to some amazing parades locally in Úbeda and Torreperogil to celebrate the Entierro de la sardina which translates as the burial of the sardine. This is a celebration to
symbolise the end of Carnaval by having a funeral procession and then the
sardine gets burned. It sounds random but it was a great way to experience
something new and watch something that is such a huge part of Spanish culture.
The outfits were incredible and everyone had put so much effort in. I am really
glad we got to experience the local festival.
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| We are a good looking bunch! |
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| My favourite costume! The concept of time :) |
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| The best dressed man I think I have ever seen! |
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| Burial of the sardine. |
We also visited
Cazorla national park again but this time we have Spanish friends who kindly
drove us through the park to a hiking trail next to the River Barosa. It was
beautiful!! The water was so clear and it was a hot day in which we got to
enjoy the sun! The radio in our friends car was broken so we decided that a
rendition of most of Queens songs were in order! All in all a good day.
Work is going
well; the puppies are growing and have finally opened their eyes! We also have
a new set of piglets. There has been a lot of herding and catching goats which
is definitely improving my strength. They
have been out in the field more recently which means plenty of photo
opportunities!
Onto this
weekend, three of us decided that a trip to Seville was in order. Other people
had been before or were going in the future so we set off at 5.30am to get the
6am bus to Seville. Five hours later we were there! The weather has been
improving in Úbeda but Seville has had good
weather the entire time we have been here and at 24° and 25°. I have been hoping
that the improvement in weather would increase my chances of coming home with a
tan but my skin seems to either go red or even paler because of the amount of
sun cream I have to apply!
Moving on from my
petty moaning…After dropping our bags off at the hostel (where I was in a 6 bed
dorm on my own, lame!) we went to the Plaza de España and it is one of if not
the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen! There is a moat around the
outside that we explored in a rowing boat and the entire building had amazingly
intricate tiles. I cannot recommend it enough as somewhere to visit. After hanging out here for hours Elysia went to meet her boyfriend
at the airport and I met Eric to go for a walk around Seville. We couldn’t find
his friend straight away so we decided to accidentally gate crash one of the
fanciest bars ever! Everyone was in their best clothes and the man on
the door in a tuxedo. With our bags and trainers we
somehow managed to wangle our way in and pretend we were important for the
duration of our one beverage. Later that night we all went around a few bars
but called it a night early on as we had been up for a long time!
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| The famous Plaza! |
On the Sunday me
and the boys went to visit the bullring museum as I was originally hoping to see a bull
fight while I was in Spain but I am here at the wrong time of year. I am
undecided as to whether it is my place to agree or disagree with bullfighting
as it is such a huge part of the culture here and it is such a controversial topic. Because
I was unable to watch a fight to make this decision for me I decided to visit
the museum and learn about something that is pretty unique and that I know
nothing about besides what I have read in the media. The whole experience was
very interesting and provided me with information on the history of bull fights and what they represent for Spanish people. The structure of the building was impressive and
I am always keen to learn about things that are so important to other people. After this we went to visit another controversial part of Seville, the mushroom! This is a structure in the centre that some people love and some people hate. Its official name is the Metropol Parasol but is known as the mushroom. I think it looks pretty good and is something different to go and see.
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| This is where the important people sit. |
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| The mushroom. |
After this we had
the best tapa that I have had in Spain yet! It was a pork chop that had been
cooked in whiskey and I would go back for more every day if I could. We then
viewed the biggest cathedral in the world from the outside and went to pick out
bags up so we could catch our bus at 16:15. We however underestimated the walk
to the bus station and Eric had to run in front and hold the bus for us. He is
now considered as our hero because if we missed that bus the next one wasn’t
until 22:30 and we would have not arrived back until 02:30. That would not have
been a fun day at work!
So I have been having a
pretty busy time in Spain and am still loving it J
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