The BIG trip: Pisa

Hey everyone!

I am safely home in Sevilla, despite a slight fiasco getting from Paris to here. We missed our flight and had to quickly book a new one for the next day. The trip was 10 days long. We flew into Pisa. Then visited Venice and Rome. Then, we flew out of Rome to Paris. Because the trip was quite long, I'm going to dedicate 1 blog to each city...starting with Pisa.

We basically went to Pisa for the photo-op. It was really cool to actually be seeing the leaning tower of pisa. I remember as a kid always joking about it, and then i was seeing it! That happened to me a lot this trip, things from my childhood that I heard about or wanted to see that actually came true (another example, the Eiffel Tower). We were only in Pisa for about 3 hours. Around the tower were other historical buildings, a nice lawn to relax on, and shopping booths. Then, we took a train to Florence.

BULL FIGHT

Last night, CEA took us to see a bullfight. Here's a little description they sent us about it (i'm adding in some clarifcation to it so you can understand it better)

A Corrida starts with the paseillo, with everybody involved in the bullfight entering the ring and presenting himself to the public. Two Alguacilillos, on horse's back, direct themselves to the presidency and symbolically ask for the keys to the "puerta de los toriles". Behind that door are the bulls.With the door being opened and the first bull entering the ring the spectacle starts. It consists of three parts, called tercios, being separated by horn-signals. There are three toreros in each Corrida and each one will have to torear two bulls.In the first tercio the bullfighter uses the capote, a quite large rag of purple and yellow color. (here there are many matadors in the ring each taking turns waving their capes and then running to safety). Then two picadores enter on horse's back and armed with a lance. (the horses are blindfolded and have protective padding around them. The bull charges the horse and while the bull is very close, the picador stabs it with the lance to cut its spinal cord. This keeps the bull from having a premature heart attack). The second part is la suerte de banderillas. Three banderilleros have to stick a pair of banderillas into the attacking bull's back. (in this part, the 3 men are on foot. they run up REALLY close to the bull and stick these dagger-like things into its back). In the final "suerte suprema" the bullfighter uses the muleta, a small red rag. He has to show his faena, his masterity to dominate the bull, and to establish an artistically symbiosis between man and beast. The Corrida ends with the torero killing the bull with his sword. (this last part, is the main matador. Its only him and the bull in the ring. The matadors really do have a mastery over the bull. It was incredible.)

The bull ring is beautiful. Its decorated with red and a yellow mustard color, the colors of Sevilla. It can hold 14,00 people. And yes, everyone does say ole in unison throughout the whole fight. While i'm happy i went to the bullfight, i don't think i would choose to go to another. Its definitely part of the culture, but it was still difficult to watch at points. The first matador to go one-on-one with the bull got thrown in the air off the bull! It was intense. The second matador had to roll on the ground to safety at one point. And, that second bull took forever to die. Here are some pictures!

a group of us outside the ring.

the parade in the beginning to introduce everyone.




The first bull charging out of the gate.

The group of matadors with the pink and yellow capes. Notice them standing in the back while one takes his turn with the bull. Also notice the padded horse in the back left and the long lance the rider is holding.

This probably should not have happened! It was really scary! He was ok though and kept on fighting.

One of the 3 main matadors (indicated by the red cape) taking his turn mastering the bull.

Tonight I'm going to the circus. Its the beginning of La Feria (the fair) in Sevilla. TOMORROW, I leave for Italy and then Paris. Please pray for our safety and that all of our travels go smoothly. We are going to Pisa, Florence, Venice, Rome, and Paris. I'll be returning to Sevilla on May 1.

God Bless,

steph

Lagos, Portugal

The CEA program took us on our 2nd overnight excursion. We went to Lagos, Portugal in 2 big coach buses. It was probably about a 3 hour drive. Before going to the hotel, we stopped at the "end of the world" (what they thought was the end back in the day). It was our first glimpse of the cliffs and the atlantic from the other side. Very cool! We then checked into our gorgeous 4 star hotel. After a little nap, we went out for a little bit. Sadly, the weather on friday was crappy so we couldn't go to the beach. But, luckily on Saturday the sun came out and it was perfect beach weather. My favorite part of the trip was the boat ride around the coast and into caves and grottos. It was amazing! Our boat man/tour guide was an older portuguese man who only spoke portuguese and a litle bit of spanish. Communicating with him proved to be interesting! He pointed out designs in the rock formations. For example, we saw 2 elephants, a chinese man, a fat senora, and many chimneys. Every time we were in a cave he would shot "CHIM-A-NAY-A" for chimney. They were the holes in the ceilings of the caves that the light poked through. Another memorable experience was diving into the atlantic from the other side! It was freezing, but totally worth it!

First day- a littly chilly and overcast but still beautiful!

Saturday- much sunnier :)

Roommates in a cool rock arch



Zetas in Lagos!

The beach we went to

The grotto tour! Our boat had 5 people and 3 of our friends were in another boat. We were really close to each other the whole time which made it even more fun. Here's the other boat going under an arch

Triana

Triana is a neighborhood of Sevilla across the river from the main center of town (the side of the river that I live on). On tuesdays, I am finished with classes at noon, so my roommate, Erica, and I went on a walking tour of Triana. Many of Sevilla's famous bullfighters and flamenco artists came from Triana. Its also the center of the popular ceramics that Sevilla is known for. Throughout the neighborhood there were painted ceramic signs to honor famous people who may have lived there/worked on a certain street. It was a beautiful day for a walk and all the apartment balconies were overflowing with blooming flowers.

Rodrigo de Triana- on Columbus's ship, La Pinta, he was the first to spot land (Tierra)


This house is covered in flowers!

La Iglesia Santa Ana is the oldest in Triana. It is said that children baptized here are bestowed with the gifts of flamenco singing, and dancing.

Beautiful view of La Giralda (the tower in the back) and the bull ring (the white building) from la plaza del Altozano.

Inquisition Alley.

La Alferia- Ceramics Street.

Semana Santa

Semana (week) Santa (holy) = Holy Week

Sevilla is probably the most popular location for Holy week in all of Spain. There are "parades" (for lack of a better term) all over the city. They are almost all day and all night. The Catholic churches of Sevilla have religious brotherhoods that make a trek from their home church to the main cathedral. These can take up to 12 hours because they carry a large "float" (for the lack of a better term again). They wear hooded cloaks with pointy hats in representative colors. The pictures will better show all of this. And, here's an explanation from my program's blog.

Holy Week is a religious celebration that takes place during Easter. It starts on Palm Sunday and ends on the following Sunday, the resurrection day. The last days of Jesus´ life are shown in the streets through parades and colorful floats.Most days there are seven parades each from a different church that show different aspects of the savior’s life: for example the last supper, Jesus´ journey, and his death and resurrection. This is demonstrated through hand made wooden figures on top of a float. Underneath there are around forty men carrying the floats. They are called costaleros and have extreme devotion to the church and their faith.The majority of the churches have two floats, one that represents Jesus and the other one Virgin Mary. In front of the floats, hundreds of devotees called nazarenos wear peculiar outfits and carry candles in a way of penance.Most likely you will find various parades in the center neighborhoods. If not, all that you have to do is go to the city center since all the floats pass through the cathedral. Please dress for the occasion, especially during Palm Sunday, Thursday, and Friday since these days are the most important. The Sevillanos pay close attention to what they wear. Some of the most important churches participate on Friday starting around 2 am (Thursday night), called the Madrugá. If you decide to go out this evening with your friends, please keep mind that for many this is the most sacred religious time of the year. Be respectful with their beliefs and form of devotion.

This is the large "float" that they carry. Its Jesus on the cross with hundreds of candles.

Parental Perspective

Hi everyone. Today is Wednesday and is our last full day in Spain with Stephanie. We start our trip home tomorrow via Lisbon and will stay in Lisbon one night and then head home on Friday.
Our stay has gone by quickly. Our flight over was OK and we made our connection to Seville, but when we arrived in Seville , Paul and I did not have our luggage--it arrived the next day.
The hotel we are staying in is modern and more like an American hotel. It is only a minute walk to Steph's apartment--so this was a great choice. Steph's apt is small and is on a tiny street with cobblestones. It amazes me that cars can ride on this.
Spain has been nice, the people have been friendly and the weather has been great. It has been very crowded here. ( think Disneyworld or the Ocean City boardwalk on Labor day. ) The crowds are due to Semana Santa ( which is holy week.) There are many churches that have "brotherhoods". These brotherhoods dress in robes with pointed hoods that cover their faces. The robes are different colors depending on the brotherhood--white, black, purple etc.They march in the streets and carry these huge wooden platforms with either Christ on the cross, Mary etc. These platforms are very heavy and are carried by men under them at least 50 men carry them. Some go barefoot so they can feel the "pain." They think this is a way to repent of their sins. Some of these brotherhoods have 1400 people marching in the streets with bands and at night candles are added. They all have to make it to the cathedral. When these parades start , streets are closed and it is hard to get around. It is interesing to see and even more interesting to see the people watching this--they are smoking and drinking in the streets and are affectionate with each other.
Stephanie and her roomate Ashley have been very good with having things for us to do. We visited the cathedral, took a carriage ride around Seville, went on a tour of a bull ring, Alcazar which had beautiful gardens. ( my favorite ), went to Plaza de Espana ( which was featured in a Star Wars movie ) and even went to a flamenco bar. We saw the school Steph is attending and meet some of the people there.
Some of the things that I have observed is that everything is small compared to the US. The streets are small and narrow ( think Elfreth's Alley ) They twist and turn. The cars are small and many people use motorbikes to get around even if they are dressed in a suit or dress for work. Also alot of people walk, walk and walk. We did alot of walking!!! I got to experience a Spanish grocery store to buy food with Stephanie. Due to it being holy week everyone is dressed up especially on Palm Sunday. The women all walk in high heeled shoes and the young children and babies are dressed up also. If there are siblings they are dressed alike and it looks like the clothes have been hand made. The babies are usually in beautiful carriages. One thing that has been hard to get use to is the timing of eveything. Lunch is usually around 2-3 pm and dinner 8-9 pm and then everyone goes out till 1-2 am. There is always people on the streets--kids and babies too!!! The sun finally sets at 9pm.
Paul, Andrew and I are happy we were able to make this trip. Paul and Andrew have been able to use their Spanish, me--well I've had to depend on them or Steph to tell me what is going on. It has been amazing to us that Stephanie is adept in Spain. She has been able to converse with everyone and is able to get around the city of Seville without any problems. What a wonderful experience this is for her. We are thrilled that she is able to do this. It is hard for me to leave her again and I get teary eyed thinking about it.
Thanks everyone who has prayed for us and Stephanie while in Spain. See you soon.

Love, Phyllis

hey everyone it's Andrew! now i know your all reading this because you want to hear from stephanie but oh well it looks like your stuck with me for now. yesterday we went to the bull ring and got a tour that was very interesting. than we went shopping in the old jewish querter and i think me mom and sister went in every single pottery store in the town and at least spent half hour in each one. we have also been spending a lot of time with stephanies room mate Ashely and her friend alyssa who are both really cool. Ashley also has a blog to that is located at azinspain.blogspot.com anyway i gots to roll so here goodbye everyone i'll talk to ya all when i get home