Feria

In terms of time off this semester, I am completely spoiled. This week is my second spring break of sorts due to La Feria de Abril, Seville's annual fair which is always two weeks after Semana Santa.

In many ways La Feria is much like a state fair or a summer carnival. There are rides, games, and lots of unhealthy but delicious fair food. On the other hand, Sevilla's fair is completely distinct in that much of it revolves around flamenco dancing. At the fairground there are rows upon rows of booths, or "casetas" where people go to dance flamenco. There are a few public casetas, but most belong either to individual families, or businesses. People go dressed up in flamenco to eat, drink and dance the night away. It is such a cool sight to see, and while there I definitely had one of those "wow I'm in Spain" moments.

La Feria started on Monday night at midnight with the lighting of "La Portada" or the main archway over the entrance to the fair. Every year a new archway is made in the design of some famous landmark in Sevilla. This year, the arch was designed to look like La Plaza de España (see earlier posts about this landmark). Here it is before and after the lighting:

Before

Lit!

When I went to the La Feria on Tuesday, my host mom, Macarena,was kind enough to let my friend Chelsea and I borrow some of her flamenco dresses and jewelry. There is no such thing as a simple flamenco dress. The colors are vibrant, the patterns are loud, and your ensemble is not complete until you put a giant flower on your head. Not gonna lie, I definitely felt like a posing foreigner as I walked around the fair dressed like this, but I wouldn't have passed up on the opportunity for the world. 

 I can't think of much else to say about Feria. It's a week of celebration and fun, enjoying the company of family and friends, a time for Sevillanos to take pride in their culture and their city. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here are some scenes from the week:

I'm taking the second half of this week long break to go visit my UW friend Rachel who is studying in Copenhagen. Going from 90 degree weather to 40 degree weather will be quite the change, but I am excited to visit a new country!

Lovin' Lisboa

Hello everyone!

It has officially jumped from spring to summer here in Sevilla, with highs reaching the mid 80's. For Sevillanos these temperatures are still pretty moderate, but I for one am definitely feeling the heat.

Throughout this semester I have been part of a club in my program called Sevilla y Las Americas. It's goal is to get students familiar with the history of Spain's relationship with Central and South America. We have done many activities together, visiting various museums and exhibitions that have to do with Iberian-American relations. This weekend, we went to the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, where there is a big exhibition about the Iberian Peninsula and the Americas.

I had very little clue of what to expect from Lisbon. I thought it would be fairly similar to Spain, but with a slightly different language. I could not have been more wrong. Lisbon is an incredibly unique city with a completely different vibe from Seville, not to mention that Portuguese is pretty hard to understand even though it is similar to Spanish.

Our group left early on Friday morning. After a 6 hour bus ride, we arrived in Lisbon and immediately started sightseeing. Our first stop was the Cristo-Rei statue which was built in the 1940's and inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio. The pedestal Christ is on is about 270 feet high, and the statue itself is about 90 feet tall!

Cristo Rei

The views from the top of the Christ statue were breathtaking. Also, if you guys were thinking that that bridge looks similar to the Golden Gate in San Francisco, you are not mistaken! Like San Francisco, Lisbon is a city that is very subject toearthquakes, so the city hired American architects who had worked on the Oakland Bay Bridge (not the Golden Gate) to build the 25 de Abril bridge in Lisbon. 

   





On Friday we also toured the Belem Tower, part of Lisbon's 16th century maritime defense system, from back in the day when it had a fairly sizable empire. The tower, which lies along the Tagus River, is now one of Lisbon's most famous landmarks.

Also along the Tagus River is a monument dedicated to the discovery of the Americas, which was built for a world fair in the 1940's. It's a really cool monument and offers a beautiful view of the city. The monument was the end of our sightseeing tour, and we spent the rest of the day chilling and meandering the hilly streets of Lisbon. 

discovery monument

view from the discovery monument

Saturday we woke up bright and early to go to the Expo of 1998, which was about Iberian-American relations. While nowadays there is not much left of the original expo, you can still tour all the buildings that were built for it. The cable car built for the exhibit is still running, and offers a pretty view of the ocean. 

Cable Car at Expo 98

Saturday afternoon we toured Castillo Sao Jorge, a castle dating back to medieval times that was used by both Christian and Moorish kings. Today it's one of Lisbon's big tourist destinations. You can walk the ramparts of the castle walls and enjoy the beautiful views of the city. 

View from Castillo Sao Jorge

 Probably the most comical event of our trip was attempting to take a cable car ride. And by cable car, I mean not the modern kind of Expo 98, but the old fashioned cable cars that were a legit form of transportation back in the day. We crammed all 22 of us students into one cable car, which was already decently packed with many Portuguese locals. We careened down a few of the roads, being flung this way and that until we finally got off at our stop.

wild ride, my hair flying

Cable Car

On Sunday we woke up early to enjoy one final morning in Lisbon before heading back home. It was a glorious day filled with sunshine so most of the morning was spent near the ocean. Like most places in Europe, there isn't a whole lot open on Sundays to begin with, so a chill ocean morning was absolutely perfect. 

I got back to Sevilla around 9pm and discovered that crowds are already pouring in for Sevilla's annual Feria, or fair. It has the elements of your average carnival - fair food, bright lights, and rides- but it also has its own Spanish flair. Flamenco is danced all week, and the bull fighting season starts. I will be trying on a Flamenco dress for the first time this week, and am hoping to not stick out too much! I'll keep you all posted. Until then, hasta luego!