PART 1: On the way to class
There are a bunch of tourist attractions and interesting sights in Seville, and I'm lucky enough to see almost all of them on my long, winding walk to class. I've also thrown in some random pictures of billboards and signs. These pictures appear in the rough order in which I pass by them.
This is a rooftop advertisement for Cruzcampo, the "national beer of Andalusia". I don't know why they bother to advertise-- nearly every bar in Seville carries Cruzcampo and nothing else (despite how bad it tastes).
The Plaza de Cuba, a leafy plaza next to the river and our usual meeting place. Literally every plaza/street/bridge is named after one of three things: religion, Spain's former colonies, or famous dead Spaniards.
This is the San Telmo Bridge, which I walk on at least once every day without exception. It's hard to see, but there are locks attached to the railing. There's currently a fad in which a couple will buy a lock, write their names on it, lock it to the bridge, and throw the key into the river to symbolize their eternal love. I don't really get it-- to me it says "Our love can be purchased for $1.99 at a hardware store and is very susceptible to bolt cutters."
A picture of the Guadalquivir River (the second-longest river in Spain) and the Torre del Oro, taken from the bridge. It's basically impossible to cross that bridge without seeing some tourist taking this exact picture, actually.
A close-up of the Torre del Oro. In case I haven't described it before, the Torre del Oro was a military watchtower built by the Muslims in the 13th century to protect the city. (Can't have worked very well, though, because they were booted from power less than 50 years after its construction. Oops.)
La Puerta de Jerez, one of the main plazas in Seville. I never knew what the fountain was supposed to be (it's a lady with some babies on the side), but I just looked it up and apparently it's supposed to represent the city itself? No idea where they got that from. If the lady was wearing a flamenco dress and chugging a bottle of Cruzcampo, I might be able to see it.
The entrance to the Real Alcazar, a Muslim fortress that was turned into a palace in the 14th century. Notice the lion wearing a crown and holding a cross-- yet another lion depiction done by someone who obviously had never seen a lion before.
The outer wall of the Alcazar, which successfully kept out enemies for centuries but cannot withstand the onslaught of tourists.
The "Patio of the Maidens", one of the many patios inside the Alcazar.
The gardens of the Alcazar. Since entrance is free for students, this is the best place in Seville to bring a book and spend a sunny afternoon.
The "Indian Archives" which house all sorts of documents and objects from the period immediately after Columbus accidentally ran into America. That was a good period for Spain (their Golden Age) because they transformed from a small, poor country into an economic powerhouse.
Seville's cathedral-- the third largest in the world, if you'll remember. It contains a bunch of random artifacts, such as the first Spanish flag ever produced. It also houses the bodies of Christopher Columbus and Saint Fernando, Seville's patron saint. (In fact, if you want to actually see San Fernando's corpse, they drag it out for viewing on his feast day. Gross.)
A picture of the interior of the cathedral. This is only one small section, though, it's physically impossible to capture how large this church is. It would probably take you 20 minutes to walk around the perimeter.
Goodness, was gold leaf on clearance or something when they designed this altar? The wall behind the altar is supposed to show important Biblical scenes to teach the illiterate, but it just makes my eyes hurt.
A tile depiction of the Giralda-- the tower of the cathedral-- on the floor in front of one of the altars. A very tricky picture to successfully get, due to all of the tourists clomping around (myself included, obviously).
A bird's-eye view of Seville from the Giralda.
The Giralda at night-- for once my camera's inability to take pictures without daylight actually produced a somewhat-interesting effect!
This is probably my favorite building in Spain, because the architecture is interesting and the bottom floor is a tiny sweetshop.
The back of Seville's Town Hall. For whatever reason, only half of the building is decorated like this. The other half has the same arches/windows/etc. but no extra decoration. Maybe it was bombed in the Spanish Civil War or something?
A massive old church whose name completely escapes me at the moment. There's a small plaza in front of the church which is constantly full of people drinking, smoking, and talking.
Like every self-respecting Spanish city, Seville has a monument to Christopher Columbus.
PART 2: Where I attend class
I took five courses in my time here-- three with my study-abroad program and two at the University of Seville. The study-abroad program headquarters was a refurbished 17th century palace, and my classes at the University were held in a renovated tobacco factory.
The patio of CIEE headquarters, with a fountain in the middle. They also decided to hang a bunch of flowers in mid-air sometime in the middle of the semester.
One of the hallways leading to classrooms. Pretty much everything in the program headquarters is yellow and white.
Looking upwards from the patio (more suspended flowers). On the roof there were a bunch of chairs and tables so people could sunbathe/study there.
A picture of the imposing main entrance to the University. If you've seen the 2003 version of "Carmen", you've seen this entrance. I have no idea why the sky looks so absurdly blue in this photo, by the way.
One of the patios inside of the University, with fountain. It's usually surrounded by smoking Spanish students, but I took this picture on a Saturday and it was completely deserted.
The interior of my "Publicity and Propaganda" class, which was probably my favorite class that I took here.
PART 3: Pictures of the apartment
Last but not least, here are some pictures of the apartment I lived in (and a bonus picture of my senora!) while here in Seville. I lived in on the third story of an apartment building in a neighborhood called "Los Remedios", just across the river from the main part of town.
This is my room. It's pretty Spartan, with no decorations and very basic furniture, but I like it. (However, I am going to be beside myself with joy when I get back to my bed at home. Don't think I'll leave it for a week or two.)
The kitchen. Like all Spanish kitchens I've seen (all two of them), it is very narrow and only permits one person at a time.
The living room. The TV is always on throughout meals-- lunchtime we watched news and dinnertime we watched Arrayan, which is a terrible/wonderful show about a bunch of people who work in a hotel. It's got an over-the-top villain, amnesia, love triangles... the works.
This is a typical lunch at my senora's house: main dish, salad, bread, and fruit. It's a lot-- I usually can't finish it all (and I can eat a disgusting amount in one sitting, so that's saying something).
Ramya, my senora, and me. Ramya left for home on Saturday morning, so it's just been me and senora for the past two days. Our communication hasn't improved-- last night I asked her if her older sister could remember World War II and she responded with "The World War involved lots of countries. The Spanish Civil War was a civil war, inside Spain." No wonder the woman got me a stuffed duck, she thinks I have the mental capacity of a five-year-old.
So that's it for a little picture-tour of Seville. I left a lot of things out, but you'll just have to come visit here yourself to see everything! Next up: a post comparing the predictions I made at the beginning of the semester to what actually happened.