So I've been a pretty unfaithful blogger... surprise! So much has happened in the last few months and sometimes the life of a college student interferes and I find myself with zero time to sit down and write a blog. Not having internet in my home-stay doesn't help because then there is always the 15 minute trek to the nearest cafe, not to mention everything in Sevilla costs money. lol. But its a beautiful sunny fall morning in Sevilla and here I am in my favorite cafe, drinking my usual cafe con leche and Neapolitan pastry (yum) and I figured I would let everyone at home know what is going on in life. Best way to see pictures are on facebook because it's really hard to post them here and write.
So the six of us girls left on Friday October 30th and took the 6 hour bus to Madrid where we stayed in a hostel so we could catch our flight at the butt crack of dawn the next morning...
We flew out of Madrid airport via RyanAir to Ciampino Rome where we would embark on our first adventure. We were a little worried about our luggage being too heavy because RyanAir is insanely strict due to the fact that their flights are dirt cheap. But we made it onto the flight with no problems! Flying into Rome was awesome, we could see the Vatican and the Colosseum from the air and it was so surreal. When we landed we didn't come to a terminal, instead we got off near the runway and walked to the airport lol. Yay RyanAir. It took a while to find our hostel because we didn't have exact directions so everyone was a little frustrated... and very tired. We decided to break for lunch and treat ourselves to some Italian pizza and pasta in a restaurant nearby. And oh were we glad we did. :) The food was amazing! Then come to find out we had passed the hostel like four times on the street we were on but had missed it because it wasn't labeled. We were happy to settle in and then go exploring. The Colosseum was closed because it was late but we walked around and saw some ruins and explored the rest of the city. We came home for a free pasta/wine dinner at the hostel and hit the sack by 8 30 p.m. lol.
The next day we headed out to see all the major sites in Rome in one day... we were determined lol. We started with the Colosseum and it was fantastic! A little different than I had pictured but it was so cool to be able to visit a place that had so much history! Felt a little weird taking posing pictures inside though considering how many people died inside of the stadium. To walk around inside was definitely surreal.
So we were having an awesome time at the Colosseum looking forward to the Vatican when we randomly ran into a few of our friends from Acento and they told us the Vatican museum was closed because it was Sunday! We were crushed because we had to leave the next day, but we headed there anyways to see what was up and we got to hear the pope speak outside of St. Peter's bisillica! It was definitely a unique experience. He came out of his little window and blessed the crowd in every romance language and English. I definitely thought I was dreaming! Out of all days to come to Rome!
When we realized that the Vatican was indeed closed and we wouldn't be able to see the Sistene Chapel, we were all upset but we decided to take advantage of what was open and head to St. Peter's bisillica. And let me tell you... I would have rather seen the bisillica any day. It was incredible! We spent an hour or so just looking at the interior of the church and admiring the art and then Nicole, Aubrey and I paid 5 euro and climbed the 1000 steps to the top! It took us about a half hour and we were exhausted when we reached the top but the view was so worth it. We could see all of Rome. Looking back it was definitely one of my favorite experiences.
That night we went out for Gilatto which once again was amazing.. (they don't lie, it really is the best ice cream on the planet) and hit the sack so we could take the train to Florence the next morning and use our eurail passes for the first time!
The next morning we headed to Florence and were met by the fall temperatures we had been wanting combined with the mass amounts of water which made for a cold and wet day in what is one of the most precious cities I have ever seen! We just walked around the city and saw a church that looked like it came straight out of a fairy tale. It was gorgeous.
Because the weather wasn't great, being outside wasn't very much fun but at night it cleared up and we got to see the bridge with all the shops inside. Not to mention when its raining it can never hurt to grab a coffee and a pastry when you need a little warming up...
The next day we headed to Lucerne, Switzerland where we were on the train for about 6 hours total but the ride was great. We spent the first half giving each other makeovers and chatting and the second half we were enjoying the amazing view of the Alps from outside our window. :)
We finally got to Lucerne that night and WOW! We stayed in a little Korean hostel where you had to take off your shoes when you went in and they served coffee and tea all day long! Hard to count how many cups of tea I drank in that short time lol. The next day we went out exploring, saw the famous bridge of Lucerne and got to enjoy the amazing view of the mountains on the lake! It was incredible! Nicole and I decided one day in Lucerne wasn't enough so we stayed an extra day while the other girls took the night train to Prague. I'm glad we stayed... the beautiful weather and the 15 dollar burger king were definitely worth it. :)
The next day, Nicole and I headed on the 14 hour overnight train to Prague where our time was occupied by watching numerous episodes of the office on my ipod and trying to sleep despite the obnoxious snoring from our unknown roommates lol. When we finally arrived in Prague, we were greeted by the other four girls and our Czech hosts! It worked out perfectly... Julie had friends from a while back that had stayed with her.. so this time we stayed with them outside of Prague and got to experience the culture a little bit :) It was awesome. We walked around and saw the city which was BEAUTIFUL! Freezing, but awesome. lol and we went to the five story mall and bought some Czech boots that were super cheap... not to mention cute. :)
Our hosts were super accommodating and packed lunch for us and everything... it was really sweet. We got back and had dinner with our Czech families and then headed out to the discoteca which wound up being a really good time considering the music they played sounded a lot like what I listened to in middle school. Mayyybe because it was. lol. Anyways we woke up the next morning and explored during our last few hours in the Czech! We definitely made up for all the fall weather we had missed here in Sevilla.
That day we headed to Frankfurt via train and stayed with another one of Julie's friends in a house outside Frankfurt. It was a beautiful german home with lots of space and homey feelings that we had all been missing! We walked around the next day in the town nearby and got to enjoy the leaves crunching under our feet and a little cappuccino in the downtown cafe. :)
From there we took a plane back to Malaga, Spain and then a bus to Sevilla. The trip back was bittersweet because after such an amazing 10 days it felt weird to return to Spain instead of home to my family and friends... the homesickness definitely kicked in for the first time. But when we got in and were welcomed by our wonderful host family and COOL weather in Sevilla (por fin!), all was well and I realized that coming back to such a beautiful place makes us indeed... truly blessed.
About 5 weeks left! Looking forward to December 19th but Im gonna try to soak up every SECOND here in Seville. :) Thank you Lord for these amazing opportunities!
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