Semana Santa, Holy Week, one of the most highly anticipated weeks in Spain. I made great plans for my week off school, my long awaited spring break... MY MOM AND SISTER CAME TO VISIT! I was so excited to introduce my mom and sister to the famous city that I’ve raved about for the last two months. They arrived to Sevilla on Saturday morning, and I went to meet them at the airport. It was so great seeing them for the first time since January.
We took the airport bus back into Sevilla which conveniently drops off right in front of their hotel. They were able to rest a little bit before they came to meet my host mom, Encarna. Although it was very difficult/basically impossible for them to communicate without me translating, it was still nice for my family to see where I’ve been living all semester and become acquainted with Encarna. On a side note, the act of Encarna inviting my mom and sister into her apartment is HUGE. Spanish people rarely ever allow strangers inside their homes, no matter what the reason. In fact, that same morning, when I asked Encarna if I could bring my mom and Ellen to meet her, she told me only if she had time to clean/organize first. They take great pride in making sure their homes are very clean when they are expecting visitors. It’s funny when comparing my real home with my home in Spain because t’s basically a free for all at my house in PA; we always have guests! It’s not uncommon for people to drop by at any given time or for us to invite friends over whenever. Yet in Spain, my host mom in Spain only invites immediate family and close friends into her home, and few select guests, only if approved beforehand.
After we left, I took my family to go get tapas and experience some genuine Spanish cuisine. They tried paella for the first time and had some delicious Spanish desserts. Afterwards, although it was raining (in the city that supposedly “never rains”), we went a little personal tour of Sevilla, led by my “intercambio” (my Spanish friend), Lucía. I was matched with Lucía through my school here in Spain so that I have a little bit more of a connection with Spain. Every international student was matched with an intercambio. (I’ll expand more about Lucía in one of my next blogs!) Anyway, she speaks fluent English, and although I’m fully capable of showing someone the main attractions in Sevilla, I asked Lucía to come along because she can explain everything in greater depth than I can. We wandered through the city center, showing my family the Plaza de España, the Cathedral, the Alcazar, the Torre del Oro, the bullfighting ring, and some of the beautiful parks in the area. We ended the tour with some delicious churros with chocolate and a nice walk along the Guadalquivir River now that it had finally stopped raining.
Because my mom and sister were so jetlagged from their transAtlantic flight, I decided it was time for them to really embrace the Spanish culture. Yes, it was time for siesta... nap time. After our siesta, we went out for tapas that evening at an incredible tapas bar that is literally in my backyard. Tradevo is one of my favorite restaurants in Sevilla. Katie joined us for dinner, and between the four of us, we had endless amounts of fantastic tapas, accompanied by some exquisite Spanish red wine.
We went to bed early that night because I wanted them to be able to enjoy their next couple days in Sevilla. The next morning, I showed them around my neighborhood that rests outside the city center. We browsed through our mall and swung by the fútbol stadium. We ate lunch afterwards at another one of my favorite sandwich places, Montadito’s. The best thing is that on Sundays and Wednesdays, all of the little sandwiches are only a euro each! (You’ll find that I’m describing the food and restaurants a lot, but the food in Spain is TO DIE FOR, aside from my host mom’s... I don’t really like her food at all. I’ll explain at a later time.) So anyway, after lunch, I took them to see my school! It was nice to be able to show my mom and sister where I’ve been taking classes all semester and to walk around, enjoying the warm sunshine that day.
Later that day, we observed siesta time again and met Katie and her family for dinner that night at a great Italian restaurant recommended by Lucía (one of the many reasons why she’s so awesome.) We had a great dinner and enjoyed the evening with our families.
The next day was our last day in Sevilla, before moving on. Since many stores and shops were closed on Sunday for the first day of Semana Santa, I wanted to show them the thriving city center on a weekday. The streets were all set up for the processions, and luckily, we were able to see two that day! It was SO cool, and so surreal. I finally got to experience a traditional Spanish procession that I’ve only ever read about for the last nine years in textbooks. The people in the processions have traditional outfits that often scare Americans because they look exactly like members of the KKK. Thankfully, my mom and sister weren’t too scared. Anyway, a procession consists of a large, intricate, portrayal of some biblical character, whether it be Jesus or the Virgin Mary. These float-like creations, adorned in gold and jewels, are carried through the streets to the Cathedral, and the look-alike KKK members follow behind, along with many Spanish people simply watching and drawn in by this great tradition. I loved every minute of it. What I also loved was the delicious Italian meal that I ate afterwords, at one of the best restaurants in the city center. (Just thinking about the scrumptious pesto pasta that I had is making my stomach growl!) We had to eat a big lunch/dinner because we were boarding a plane to the beach the night!
After we grabbed our bags from the hotel, we went straight to the airport, where we were greeted by an unpleasant surprise... a protest. The restaurant workers inside the airport were currently on strike because they were not getting paid; as a result, they made all of the passengers traveling in and out of Sevilla suffer. Never have I ever seen or heard such an annoying protest; the airport was trashed! These people were walking up and down the airport, banging on drums, playing loud, obnoxious instruments, yelling, screaming, and chanting. Additionally, they had signs everywhere, accompanied by ripped up little pieces of confetti-like paper and toilet paper scattered all over the floors; it really was a wreck. However, protesting and strikes are common practices in Spain because the economy is just that bad, and unfortunately everyone suffers.
When we finally got through all of that madness and embraced the quiet terminals, we soon boarded our plane and headed to the Spanish island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean, final destination: the beach of Palma! I had heard from several people that the beaches of Palma were very beautiful and I thought it would be fun to relax on the beach, even if it wasn’t quite warm enough to get in the water. The flight was rather short (as most flights are in Europe), and we had no problem boarding the late bus toward our hotel. It was nearly midnight until we arrived at Hotel Playa Golf, and we could tell it was a quiet neighborhood already because there were too many things open aside from a McDonald’s where we grabbed late night snacks.
The next morning, we enjoyed the delicious breakfast at the hotel, in a huge room overlooking the ocean. From my observations that morning, and later that day, it was very evident that the small beach town outside the city center had tremendous amounts of German influence. It was almost like I went to Germany, without really going to Germany! Anyway, the first day, we walked around a little, but mostly relaxed by the pool, walked on the beach, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.
On Wednesday, we took a trip to the Palma aquarium, got our picture taken with a toucan, and saw a massive amount of aquatic life. Afterwards, we continued into the city center, viewing the cathedral, the main port of the island, and ending our day hiking up to a giant castle on the top of a mountain. Just kidding, we took a taxi...there was no way I was walking. The views over the city and the bay were incredible. Upon arriving back down in the city, we grabbed some coffee, did a little shopping, ate dinner at a little pizza place, and headed back to the hotel for the night.
The next day, I was so excited because we were leaving for Barcelona that afternoon! We laid on the beach for a little while before we left, and by 4:00, we were boarding the plane! I knew that I was going to love Barcelona, but I had no idea just how much. From the minute we entered the city, I was already gazing out at everything. It is probably one of my new favorite places; it’s like a fairytale! We checked in at our hotel on Princesa Street that night and enjoyed a delicious dinner. We went to this trendy little restaurant near the hotel in the Gothic district called El Foro. The cheesecake was heavenly (probably my all time favorite), and that goes for most of the food in Barcelona, in general! Each morning we went to a small coffee shop across from the hotel because the muffins/pastries/chocolates were to die for!
After breakfast on Friday morning, my family and I decided to do a bus tour of Barcelona which was honestly the best decision we could have made because we were able to see so much of the city in such little time. We bought the two day pass and saw many of the incredible landmarks and attractions that Barcelona has to offer. We rode on all three different bus routes on Friday, which allowed us to see so much of the city. We also saw the Royal Palace, the Cathedral, the castle on top of Tibidabo, the site of the past summer Olympic games, the Barcelona soccer stadium, the beautiful beaches and the harbor, among many other fascinating sights. The Sagrada Familia (church of the “sacred family”) was beyond beautiful, even with all of the scaffolding around it while they were making repairs. I loved seeing all of Gaudí’s architecture around the city, too; his work is so unique! One of my favorite things that we did while in Barcelona was definitely the Magic Fountain show. We went on Saturday night and watched the first two shows at 7 and 7:30, both of which I loved. The first was Disney themed songs and the second was some of the most renowned classical pieces, many of which I’ve danced to throughout the years in past ballet recitals, like the Dance of the Sugarplum from the Nutcracker for example! The fountain show was so much fun; I didn’t want to leave! Unfortunately since it was Saturday night, the next morning meant that it was time for my mom and sister to go back to the U.S. and for me to go back to Sevilla. We had accomplished so much that weekend and even had time to fit a trip in to the Primark in Barcelona! I was happy to be able to introduce my mom and sister to my new obsession. It’s the best store to buy nice quality clothes, home goods, etc. for such good prices!
The attractions, the cuisine, the shopping, and most importantly being with my mom and sister, all played a factor in making our trip to Barcelona one of my favorite weekends of the entire semester. The only thing that would have made spring break better is if my dad could have come, too. However, with spring being his busy season in his landscaping/excavating businesses, it was nearly impossible for him to take that much time off work. I’m already counting down the days until I get to see him again in a few weeks! Anyway, my Semana Santa was incredible, and I wouldn’t have changed a thing about it. My family helped to make my spring break one unforgettable experience!
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