Chapter One-Hundred-and-Twenty-Seven: Hola de Espana: Parte Tres

Hola!

Well, I've been in Spain for three weeks now, and the adventures just don't stop! With my departure back to the United States looming closer and closer, it is evident now more than ever that every moment in Spain is precious and should be treated as such! Luckily, I haven't had a lot of time to "dilly-dally". 

After my class returned to Spain from Portugal, we got right back on the bus to head to Malaga, Spain. This is a coastal city that borders the Mediterranean Sea, which meant that our class got two more days of beach time, just on a different body of water! Before we hit the beach, however, we had a class tour of the Alcazaba, the ancient palace of Malaga. 

The castle was so fun to explore and had spectacular views of the city. We noticed that the castle itself was a little bland and smaller compared to the other castles we had visited in Spain - this is because it's actually one of the oldest, dating back to the 900's! We spent less than an hour in the castle, but not before snapping some great pictures!

The Boys

After the palace, we were taken to our hotel. Now, keep in mind we had all just stayed in cramped hostels less than 24 hours ago, so when we walked into Barcelo, we were all basically crying from happiness. Barcelo is a 4-star hotel attached to the train station with multiple amenities, including wifi, AC, and a slide (AKA my favorite part).

After we got relaxed and comfortable, the entire class migrated to the Picasso museum. Picasso was actually born in Malaga, despite spending most of his time in France. I'm not very educated when it comes to art, so this museum was very interesting and informative to me! Unfortunately, no pictures allowed - so you'll just have to trust me that it was worth the student-discounted ticket! 

If you're ever in town - check it out!

Speaking of art, Malaga was full of street art. Malaga is full of famous artists such as D*Face, OBEY, and Invader. In particular, Mary and I went on the hunt for some of Invader's work. It was kinda fun - like a scavenger hunt! 

In the midst of our exploration, Mary and I decided to jump onto the Malaga Ferris Wheel. It was a little scary going up (and feeling our cart shake side to side!), but the views were great! Malaga is a beautiful combination of mountains, ocean, and urbanization. It's different and very cool.

What goes up must come down - after we touched the ground again, we met up with some of our classmates and headed to the beach! Unfortunately, I think we were all spoiled by Lagos because we all agreed this beach wasn't nearly as pretty or clean. Regardless, I dipped my feet into the Mediterranean - so now I can say I've done it! Besides, just being by my friends' sides is enough to keep me happy. 

The beach was incredibly crowded, so we all headed back to the hotel and cleaned up for dinner. We dined with our professors in a fancy Brazilian restaurant. Everything was paid for (probably from our tuition somewhere), but not having to dig into my stash of Euros definitely made everything taste just a little bit sweeter! 

After dinner, we headed back to the coast for some night-time relaxation. This was so nice because it was cool and we were practically the only ones on the beach. It made for some good conversation and quality time spent together. 

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Sunday morning came early, but of course Mass is early, too. We had seen the outside of the cathedral yesterday passing it by, but on Sunday I went inside and had Latin Mass in the massive church. There really are no words to describe how incredible it was to sing in Latin with people from all sorts of backgrounds, listen to the massive organ fill the cavernous cathedral, and most of all receive the Eucharist in the Universal, Catholic church. This is definitely a memory I will hold close to my heart - few things can come close to this euphoric experience! 

After eating gelato, watching street singers perform, and wandering Malaga a little bit more, we hopped on a bus for the fourth day in a row and headed back to Seville. Needless to say, we were very happy to be back "home". 

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The very next morning a couple of us walked to the famous Maria Luisa Park - a massive park in Seville that is full of beautiful botany, animal life, and playgrounds! We really just stopped here for a little while, but we had plenty of adventures in that timeframe. 

Park Friends!

While walking in the park, we came across Plaza de America. The fountain in the middle is bordered by a Museum of Popular Art, Archaeological Museum, and the Royal Pavillion. While these were all interesting and pretty, there was something else that peaked my interest:

Despite what people say, I think pigeons are pretty cute. When I saw this huge mass of pigeons, I was so excited, but none of them would let me get near them. That's when I saw the little cart with the "1.50€" sign. I slowly walked towards the cart, and I felt the pigeons follow me, cooing at the prospect of food. 

It was kind of strange, the instant I pulled out my money, three pigeons landed on me. They knew what this cart was, and they knew what I was buying! I grabbed the small bag of feed from the vendor and was immediately attacked by the flock. 

The pigeons were on my feet, on my arms, even on my head! In fact, I didn't really get to feed them myself because the pigeons OPENED the bag by themselves and just went to town. Their coos and flapping wings were all I heard, other than my friends screaming, "Sarah!! Are you okay??" 

I just giggled and giggled. It wasn't the most comfortable experience, but I was surrounded by cute pigeons and I just couldn't contain myself. I felt like an urbanized princess with my pigeon friends. Was it worth the 1.50€? Most definitely. 

After our excitement with the birds, we headed to the Seville Aquarium. The aquarium was full of all your typical sea-friends, and the information was actually provided in both Spanish and English, we spent a good amount of time in there! They even had some fish from the Guadalquivir river, which runs through Seville and many other Spanish cities. 

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After spending a couple of days indoors (both Mary and I got sick), we went to the weekly Market on Thursday morning. Blankets full of interesting items were laid out, corner to corner, all along a series of streets. 

It was basically a massive garage sale, with items that were both unique and weird. I learned two things here: I'm bad at haggling and I have no room in my suitcase for any of this stuff. 

There is one thing that we can all afford, though:

CHURROS!!!

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Friday was the start of our free weekend for the month. A lot of our friends traveled this weekend. Some people went to Barcelona, Spain; others went to Morroco, Africa; and then a few traveled all the way to Cinque Terre, Italy! Only three from our class stayed behind in Seville. This actually worked out great, because Mary and I had our own plan for the weekend. 

It started in Plaza de Espana on Friday morning. The weather was perfect (below 90 degrees) and it was absolutely gorgeous!

It also made for a great photography session, but I'll post those another time! Mary and I had a great time here - and here's a selfie to prove it:

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Now, y'all have all seen my obsessive pictures over the beautiful churches here in Spain. Well, on Saturday, Mary and I decided to "pilgrimage" to as many churches as we could in Seville. Our host mom went to the beach that day and gave us the freedom to have lunch whenever we wanted, so our whole morning/early afternoon was open for church-hopping! 

1. Basilica de la Macarena. This is a newer church, comparatively to the rest of Spain, but was full of beauty! 

2. Iglesia de San Lorenzo. This church was unfortunately closed when we stopped by, but it was a part of a very cute town square. Actually, our next destination was right next door. 

3. Basilica de Jesus del Gran Poder. This church was a different form of architecture - instead of rising columns the entire church was centered around an unsupported dome. When we walked in, we didn't realize Mass was actually being celebrated at the time. Mary and I slipped into a pew and remained until the end of Mass. 

After Mass, almost the entire congregation proceeded in a line to the back of the altar, behind the wall you can see in the picture, to touch/kiss the exposed foot of the Jesus statue. Mary and I also participated in this tradition. The Jesus statue was wooden, and the foot was soft and smooth - it was obvious that many have participated in this act of reverence. According to my less-than-five-minute research, this statue is believed to be the source of many miracles, so many come to pray in this church. 

4. Hermandad del Cachorro. This was a beautiful church off of the Guadalquivir River. Again, just our luck, Mary and I walked in while the church was celebrating Mass. We didn't want to disturb, so we left relatively quickly; however, it was really cool to happen upon Mass again. I mean, in my mind, it just further emphasizes the universality of The Church - that somewhere, all the time, the Mass is being celebrated! 

5. Iglesia de la O. This was a small, quaint chapel also along the river. This church is unique (again, I know this because of quick research) because it is owned by a Brotherhood, not the diocese. 

6. Capilla de los Marineros. This church was just down the road from our last stop, but was much bigger! The main altar was tall and adorned with gold, and the statue of Mary was dressed in a red and gold cloak. 

7. Iglesia de Santa Anna. This church was also closed, so we did not get to go inside. Maybe I'll make a trek over here again just to see the inside because it was surely impressive from the inside. In fact, this church is known as "the Cathedral of Triana" which is the region of Sevilla these last few churches have been!

8. El Divino Salvador. This was the only church we had to pay to get into. It is a popular site because of its beauty and museum. In fact, our Spanish Mom told us this is the one we had to see! The church has very tall columns and arches, and many chapels along the walls. Mary and I spent a lot of time in here. 

Relic of St. Barbara

9. Iglesia San Pedro. At this point, most churches were closed because we were running into Siesta time (the designated part of the day when most businesses close). However, we still got to see how pretty it was from the outside!

10. Catedral de Sevilla (the next morning). The next morning, Mary and I headed to the main Cathedral of Sevilla to attend Mass. This was the end to our church-hopping weekend - the best kind! We had actually visited the Cathedral earlier in the month with our class, but this was a unique experience all on its own. 

The Chapel where we had Mass

The Main Altar

AMAZING Tabernacle

Did I mention that the Cathedral of Seville is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world? I just can't believe I attended Mass in such a monumental place - and when I think about how many Masses have been celebrated in the same building...WOW! I have to admit, traveling to all of these churches and cathedrals has definitely been one of my favorite things in Spain. I'm so grateful that I've been able to do this!

As always, thanks for reading. Check back soon for more updates from Spain. Hasta luego!