Sevilla y Portugal

Studying abroad gives you many freedoms you don't have back at home. One of these freedoms is skipping classes for two days to travel. Colleen and I had found the earliest flight possible to Sevilla Thursday morning so that we had enough time to see the city. Sightseeing in Sevilla had to be condensed into one day because on Friday we were off to Lagos, Portugal until Sunday evening. It was a pre-planned beach weekend through 'We Love Spain'. This weekend had long been anticipated ever since we made our money deposit over a month ago. So after a 5:55am flight, where I may have overshot the amount of time we needed for check-in and security (oops); we landed in Sevilla and started our day. First: coffee and a small breakfast. Too bad the place we chose had mediocre coffee and no breakfast foods except one lonely muffin. Once we dropped our backpacks off at the hostel, we walked around the city. Until 8:00pm. This would have been ok if we had thought ahead and put on sunscreen, but no, we did not. Thus, we burnt like lobsters and are now coping with embarrassing tan-lines. Despite the burn, I loved my time spent in Sevilla, roaming the streets and sitting by the river. 

Plaza España

Reales Alcázares Gardens

Guadalquivir River

Cabo São Vicente 

Friday was when we took off for Lagos, Portugal.  This town is perfect for the 60 year-old tacky tourist who wants to lay by the water and shop for cheap beach doodads. Ok, that's a little harsh however true it may be. I loved the beaches in Lagos! But, the actual towns were...eh. It definitely helped that the people who I was with were a hoot and we had lots of laughs throughout the entire weekend. Saturday night, when our "microwaveable pizzas" turned out doughy and soupy, we just laughed and went for the chips, which happened to smell like feet. Lesson learned: 1) Don't be a fatass and reach for the largest bag of chips with no brand name and 2) Don't stock up on 5 microwaveable pizzas with directions in Portuguese. All in all, the sangria and magic tricks made up for the food. Our last day in Portugal, we visited "The End of the World," which is called Cabo São Vicente and located on the Algarve coast. From these cliffs, people looked out to the ocean and believed that it was the end of the world before the New World was discovered. The views here are incredible and I could even stand on the very edge of the cliff without passing out! 

Portugal has a very different feel from Spain. I like Portugal. I love Spain. Without a doubt, Sevilla is one of my favorite cities I've visited and almost ties up with Barcelona as my #1 Spanish city. Almost. Whenever I return to Barcelona, after a weekend of traveling, I can't help but feel a certain happiness.