Carnaval y Flamenco

So, this past weekend (Thursday to Sunday) I ventured to Seville and Cadiz. My friend Christina and I left on Thursday after class (no school on Fridays!) and we got on a bus and went to Seville. 7 hours and 30 minutes on a bus. Okay, with that being said, we got off at 12:30 am and had to find our Hostal. Well, after asking 3 people for directions and getting an old couple to walk with us halfway there, so finally made it in at 1:30am. Just to put this into time perspective, everyone is awake at 1:30 am. It would be the US equivalent to 10:00pm our time. So we get in, get our room, and, well, we'll just say it was a confusing mess. We slept, got up, met with the people who took the overnight bus, and went to see Seville in the cold/wet/windy/rain.
The first thing we did was go to the Cathedral:

There was an art gallery inside the church where I met my BFF, John the Baptist. Unfortunatly, he was in no shape to talk:


From there we went inside and saw a MASSIVE Notre Dame sized cathedral..with many of the same characteristsics, except for the golden altar...


From inside the Cathedral, we climbed up the Torre de Giralda and saw a beautiful view of Sevilla,


After eating lunch, we wanted to go to the Royal Palace, however 15 minutes earlier the royal family showed up for a visit, so they closed the whole city down. After some shopping and cooking, we went to see a Flamenco show. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of that seeing I didn't bring my camera, but it was AMAZING.

The next day, we went to Cadiz, a costal city in the southern tip of spain, and we got there right in the time to see the Carnaval Kids Parade with little girls riding in really expensive old cars, throwing confetti...


From there, we basically walked around and explored the city.
Here's a picture of the group in the Plaza de Espana:


From there we oo-ed and awe-ed at the beautiful ocean which was different colors depending on where we were:




At night, we all got ready and joined in the festivities of Carnaval:





The next day, we caught the train back to Sevilla to go see the Palacio de Alcazar with stunning gardens:




After that we took the bus home! Now, I am getting ready to go BACK to class, but might just have to take a seista first! Love you all!
Ashley