Week 2 by Lisa Filiczkowski

This past few weeks we have visited many cities. My experience with my classmates have been to Seville Spain where we took a tour of the most beautiful Cathedral one has ever seen. Upon arriving in the back porting of the cathedral you enter the garden where you are certainly lost for words as one stands in the middle of such beauty. Entering the city by bus you most certainly need to be sitting by a window so that you can take photos of all of the other buildings that Seville has to offer. I walked up the ramps I believe it was 37 all the way to the bell tower where you have the most magnificent views of the whole city! No worries though to think if only you could see it at night, because in the hotel we stood at had roof top pool and you can see the whole city in lights for miles. There was so much to see in the cathedral such as old religious paintings and crowns and many different types of goblets drenched in jewels and diamonds for all to see! I would say have your batteries charges on your cameras and bring as back up sd card and battery or camera because before you know it you will have run out of battery on one’s camera. Seville has so much to offer and for free. But to explore on one’s own will come later when the group activities are over so I would make a plan and ride buses to the places as the cab will cost anywhere from 30 euros to five plus. In the class time you will experience the flamingo museum where I personally found it to be the most emotional of dances that literally made me tear up. The way the dancers express themselves is truly one a work of beauty and art. I would say that you should make sure you pack yourself a huge water bottle because you will need it and try to pack the back pack light as you will find out why when climbing the bell tower. Hint work out in very, very steep inclines both up and down before you get to Spain and I would say do it for at the very least 4-5 hours a day and you will be fine with the walking. Otherwise bring the biggest bottle of pain relief you can find because you are going to work muscles you never knew you had to begin with in many places. We also to a providence called Merida that had so many different roman artifacts! You will experience seeing things you thought were only in Rome! There are many different shops in the town so bring your money because you can find great deals. Right outside up the block from the historical park you will visit you will find many different souvenir shops. Don’t stop at just one as there are many up the block and you will see if everyone crowds in one you will have no time to shop in other stores. Be prepared for an adventure of a lifetime! I would love to mention all of the wonderful places we got to see but then you wouldn’t get the full effect of amazement as all of us have. Upon the end of your stay in Seville you may want to visit Salamanca or Cadiz. Me and a couple of classmates opted for both on different weekends and suggest you budget about 135 euros for the time you spend in each place. This includes bus and hostel. I suggest you attempt to see who wants to go before you even make it to Spain and book your hostels way in advance and pay for them as it will leave you with more money to spend while you are out visiting the cities. Cadiz is by the ocean and you will love it. It is about an hour and 45min from Seville and to me it was well worth it. We got to spend 2 days at the beach, which incidentally we hit as soon as we got there. You will see many Americans and be prepared because you can go topless on the beach and many people do. Some even change and wash off the sand in the nude on the beach! The night life is filled with many different exchange students and tourist from all over the world! So don’t be afraid to make friends and add them to your facebook. You will soon be visiting places through them you didn’t get to go see.