Epilogue of Epilogues: El fin

And just like that, my study abroad experience in Spain was over.  On the morning of Wednesday, August 1st, I woke up and realized that I would be going home that day.  It was about at that point when I also realized that if my suitcase didn't make the weight requirement, I would be out a lot of Euros.  God only knows how many souvenirs I had stuffed into that suitcase and how much they weighed, so I became a little nervous.  Luckily, the hotel had a luggage scale that many members of our group utilized to either ease their worries or confirm their worst fears about the weight of their suitcases.  After deciding to use my beach bag as a second carry-on item, I stuffed as many shoes, mugs, pairs of underwear in shoes and mugs, and everything else I could think of into that bag.  I then weighed my suitcase on the scale and, lo and behold, learned that it was under the maximum weight allowed by Iberia!  What a relief that I would be able to use my remaining Euros to buy out the souvenir shops in the airport instead of handing them over to the airline.

Once we had all gotten our suitcase issues under control, it soon came time to board our bus to the airport.  I'm still not sure how all of those extra bags fit on the bus, but somehow it worked.  We embarked on our journey to the airport and arrived soon enough.  After some down time in the airport, we boarded our plane and were en route to New York.  

It was strange comparing the flight to Madrid with the flight back to New York: On the flight to Spain, we barely knew each other and kept to ourselves, but on the flight back, we were all great friends and talked the whole way back.  It was a blast to spend the last few hours of my experience with such wonderful friends.

The highlight of the journey back was the moment after we landed on the runway at JFK.  You know, the moment when the passengers are finally allowed to turn on their cell phones.  Well, given that many of us had not been able to use our American cell phones since June, this was the moment we had all been waiting for.  Who would have the most texts and voicemails?  It was the moment of truth.  Now that I had my American phone back, I could carelessly snap my "el cheapo" phone in half and throw it in the trash.  Yes, I actually did that.  When else will I ever get to snap a phone in half and throw it away?

Once in the terminal, we made our way to baggage claim.  It was strange to see all of the signs in English instead of in Spanish.  Talk about reverse culture shock.

We all stood together at the luggage carousel, and one by one, our luggage appeared.  People collected their bags, gave a round of huge to the group, and left to find their parents.  It was incredibly strange to see these people with whom I had been non-stop for six weeks suddenly departing.  Even though I knew that I would be seeing all of my Spain friends back at Villanova in a few short weeks, I knew that it wouldn't be the same as it was in Spain.  Of course, my bags were just about the last to appear, but this was actually a good thing as I was able to say goodbye to everyone as they left.  When my bags finally appeared, I waved goodbye and was off to meet up with my parents.  

I bet you can predict the end of the story: I found my parents, we drove home, and life returned to normal.  Yes, that is precisely what happened.  As soon as I returned to the states, my exciting Spanish life morphed into my average American life once again.  Nothing more to blog about here, unless you want to hear a lot about classes and field hockey.  

As I'm sure you can gather from my blog postings from my time in Spain, I had the experience of a lifetime.  My study abroad experience was easily one of the greatest times of my life, and I wouldn't change it for the world.  I miss it immensely and would absolutely love to go back at some point, but don't get me wrong: It's great to be back in the United States.  I'd like to thank everyone for reading my blog and for all of your comments, emails, Skype sessions, and other ways of reaching out to me while I was in Spain.  I truly appreciate your taking the time out of your busy schedules to keep up with my life abroad.  You really helped me to feel connected to home while I was on the other side of the Atlantic.  I hope you enjoyed my blog, and I look forward to keeping you updated while I'm in Cádiz again next summer.  

Just kidding!

Hasta la próxima vez (Until next time),

Christine :)

Epilogue: Sevilla

On Monday, July 30th, we boarded a bus and, after a short ride, arrived in Sevilla.  It was crazy to think that we only had Monday and Tuesday left in Spain, and then we would be back in the States.  We wanted to see as much as we could during these last two days, so we started with a stroll around the city once we arrived.

Rachel, Minn, and me trying not to look like tourists

City street

 Beautiful park right in the city

The city was full of beautiful old buildings like this one 

A strange, yet well-known sculpture in the middle of the city

After exploring for awhile, we returned to the hotel and relaxed for awhile until dinner.  After dinner, we spent time with the rest of our group and went to bed so we would be ready to go for our last full day in Spain.

The next day, our entire group embarked on a guided tour of Sevilla and saw none other than the Plaza de España.  This beautiful example of the Renaissance Revival style in Spanish architecture was built in the 1920s for the Ibero-American Exhibition of 1929.  We really had fun taking photos at this landmark:

Rachel and me - our idea of being artsy 

Plaza de España  

Reminded me a little bit of Disney 

Look what we found! 

That's me! 

So many beautiful buildings 

And did I mention lots of fountains? 

Breathtaking gardens 

Interesting colors 

 Extremely narrow streets 

Just as in Cádiz, street names in Sevilla are posted on the sides of buildings, making it extremely difficult for directionally-challenged tourists like me to find my way around 

Pretty view of a statue 

We then went on to see Alcázar - a royal palace in Sevilla that was originally a Moorish fort.  It is the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe.  It was absolutely beautiful!

Outside view of the palace

Palace walls

Beautiful detail 

Inside view 

Courtyard 

Look at that artwork! 

A prime example of the huge religious influence in Spain  

Beautiful tapestries like this one covered the inside walls of the palace

Palace gardens  

Looks like some more Arabic influence  

 Love those palm trees

More of Sevilla's gorgeous architecture 

 Last shot in Sevilla

Our tour comprised most of our final day.  We had the rest of the day to ourselves, so our group spent time together and relaxed for the remainder of the afternoon.  Just like our hotel in Granada, our hotel in Sevilla had a rooftop pool, so we spent some quality time soaking up our last Spanish rays.  After our last dinner at the hotel with the group and some packing and time with the group, we called it a night and went to bed for the last time in Spain.

Epilogue: Granada

Let me start by saying that I MADE IT BACK TO THE UNITED STATES.  There; everyone can breathe now (hopefully you haven't been holding your breaths since my last post in July)!  Well, it's now January of 2013.  Cádiz was so last year, right?  Wrong!  As I was recently re-reading my blog, the abrupt end of my story hit me in the face and I realized how unfinished it seemed.  The story didn't end when we left Cádiz, after all; it concluded with visits to Granada and Sevilla and of course the flight back to New York.  My final three posts will cover these last three parts of the trip.  I will begin the end of the story with our travel to Granada on Saturday, July 28th.

It had never felt so good to be finished with classes.  For the first time since May 14^th, I had a break from classes and schoolwork!  I sure did enjoy my freedom to the fullest by having a wonderful time in Granada.  Like I said before, our bus left Cádiz at 9 A.M. on Saturday morning.  The bus ride took about four hours, and the scenery included beautiful views of the Spanish countryside, just like those of the trips to the cities which we had already visited.  I passed the time by listening to my newly-downloaded Spanish music (which I am still obsessed with) by reading the second Hunger Games book, and by napping, of course.  Needless to say that the ride flew by.

Once we pulled up to the front of the hotel, we could instantly tell that it was very upscale.  We were right – it was a four-star hotel with snazzy rooms, delicious food, very nice amenities, and a beautiful rooftop pool with views of the surrounding city and Sierra Nevada Mountains.  Since we were all starving, the first thing we did was locate a restaurant for lunch.  €8 for a drink, salad, pizza or spaghetti, and ice cream was the best deal around.  Afterwards, we returned to the hotel for siesta time and then continued up to the rooftop pool.  This is what the pool looked like:

And here are some shots of our views from the roof:

Imagine what we would be able to see if we were all able to stand on our own roofs!

After some quality pool time, it was time for dinner: a delicious buffet right in the hotel restaurant.  The only problem with eating at hotels was that portion control was in my own hands, not those of Charo.  And I came to realize how difficult it was to control myself.  But nonetheless, the food was delicious.

After dinner was some Olympics-watching in our friends’ room.  It was quite cozy with 15 of us in one room.  It was comforting to be watching Team USA and helped me to feel a little closer to home.  After a bit, we called it a night.

Sunday, our second day in Granada, began with a tour of the Alhambra, a beautiful ancient Moorish town behind high walls that we passed through.  The architecture and artwork were beautiful, and there were gardens that were absolutely breathtaking.  Here are some photos:

View of the city in the distance 

Neat architecture - view from the center 

View from the center with reflection pool 

More beautiful architecture 

Inside the building 

Another building

Enrique showed us some handmade works of art:

Then we continued on to the gardens:

View of the building from the gardens 

 More of the gardens

Ancient architecture 

Good old summer days 

Neat walkway 

View of the old city 

More of the old city 

 Good photo op

Picturesque fountain 

Very intricate detail on this building 

So European

After our tour, we had free time back in Granada until dinner.  A group of us explored the city, which we found to be beautiful and a little more modern and fast-paced than Cádiz.  We came across some side streets full of little souvenir shops and gypsies selling various items on the streets.  It was very enjoyable to explore the area.  Once back at the hotel, Minn and I took a four-hour nap.  Yes, four hours.  Remember when I said that finally being free from classes was the absolute best feeling?  I actually had time to partake in such forgotten pastimes as reading and sleeping for once. 

After dinner on Sunday night, the majority of our group, including our Faculty Program Coordinator and two grad assistants, boarded a minibus to an authentic restaurant  featuring a flamenco show.  It was the neatest little place, complete with pots hanging from the ceiling and artwork everywhere else:

The show, which was a story about a wedding, was incredibly lively and full of energy.  It was great to experience something so unique to this region’s culture.  Here are some shots from the show:

The "bride" and "groom" 

Close-up 

Flamenco dancer with authentic Spanish flamenco costume and fan

Afterwards, we returned to an area overlooking the Alhambra to take pictures of the beautiful lit-up landscape.  Around midnight, we took a short tour around the area and learned about its history.  I had never been on a tour at midnight before, but it was great!

Nighttime view of the city 

Alternate view of the city 

 I thought that this picture seemed very European

Spanish pride

We returned to the hotel once again and went to bed soon thereafter.  Our two days in Granada had been eventful and relaxing at the same time – just how I liked it!  Next (and final) stop: Sevilla!