heaven on earth

Here are a few pictures from my favourite place to walk by when I was in Sevilla. The pictures don't really do it justice - but it is huge! And so beautiful. We passed by it a couple times a day while I was there (it is so close to both their apartment and the university). 

The Plaza de Espana is located in Maria Luisa Park and was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. It is a landmark example of the Renaissance revival style in Spanish architecture. 

This building is what made me fall so head over heels in love with Spain.
Now it is time for me to go fall in love with another country. I am leaving for Ireland very very soon (like in 2 hours). St. Pat's this year is going to be unreal! I hope everyone else has just as fantastic of a week! xo

no entiendo, but you still rocked my world sevilla

No entiendo = don't understand, which was basically the amount of Spanish I was able to learn while spending the weekend in Sevilla. Thankfully I was staying with some girls who knew a bit of Spanish that could help Claire and I make it through the weekend - aka order us beer, sangrias, and churros con chocolate. 
Claire and I took the train to Liverpool where we flew to Sevilla Thursday afternoon. This trip was an interesting one. We had a bunch of transfers to make and were terrified the whole way that we weren't going to make it. Plus we were feeling a littttle sick from the night before (the plentiful amount of trains and buses did not make this better). But we did make it, and Claire's cousin Hayley, and friend Mel were there waiting for us at the bus stop to take us back to their apartment. We ate some brie, nutella and crackers, got ourselves ready for the night and basically ended up just drinking at their place. Perfect for us since we had the longest travel day. 
We enjoyed a nice sleep in on Friday (actually I think we did every morning) before walking around Sevilla, enjoying the sights and indulging in as much of the Spanish cuisine and beer as we could. We shopped, drank sangrias, had churros con chocolate for the first time, and I fell in love with Spanish culture and architecture. I am still amazed at the concept of siestas - closing down stores for 3 hours, enjoying food and beer before heading back to work. Definitely a lifestyle I could get used to. 

Churros con chocolate

Explosions of colour

Saturday was spent meeting up with another one of their friends from home who is studying in Barcelona, and his two friends. We ate the most delicious gelato, enjoyed some cruzcampo beer, took in even more of the colourful buildings and orange trees lining the streets, and finished off the afternoon eating the most delicious food from cien montaditos. The serve these little tiny sandwiches and the most wonderful bread. My favourite was tortilla de patatas. I could eat them forever. Saturday night was a highlight of the trip, including costumes, Cadiz and a trip. But more on that later!

Orange trees

Centro

Hayley, Claire, Mel

Banco do Espana

Fountains galore

Beautiful

Mel, Hayley, Claire and I 

Sunday was a recovery day for all of us. We drank more beer to make us feel better. And walked over to Triana, which is on the other side of the river. It was definitely a needed relaxing day after the night we had. Claire and I landed in Liverpool and 11:10 pm and had to wait until 7:40 in the morning to catch our train back to Glasgow. We slept (well attempted - slept might be a bit of a stretch) in the airport - oh the life of a student traveler. 
Sevilla thank you for being so amazing. Thank you for making my fall in love with Spanish architecture. Thank you for setting the place for me to meet some amazing people. You, your laid back culture, and your warm weather have won me over. See you in April (yes I have decided to go back to Spain, this time Madrid and Barcelona, because I loved you that much). Best first European trip ever. Stay posted for lots of more photos!