I spoke too soon...

nooooo

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the Kane. Yes, today it is raining. It rained yesterday as well. It is to rain tomorrow. I am desolate. It's too soon. Every Irish person's nightmare: The Rain found me. Now ooobviously I wasn't expecting eternal summer, but gosh the weather broke suddenly, I thought we might make it to October before we had a day like this. Luckily I bought an umbrella yesterday, otherwise I'd have been housebound today (I already am, voluntarily. Not walking half an hour to be told a class starts next week) but I really need some form of rainwear... or outerwear in general. As my only form of transport is, well, me, I'm going to need to be able to walk places when it rains. Hopefully I won't dissolve. A bicycle is on the cards, but I'd probably slide off the road.

Here, I'm going back to bed. 

I only left the house to bring out the bins.

Being a Tourist: Seville Cathedral

gothic architecture porn

It's the first week of classes at the University of Seville, but as the professors seem in no hurry whatsoever to begin the academic year we thought we'd take the opportunity to do some "Cultural Activities". Even when you're somewhere for a while it's easy to miss out on sightseeing due to procrastination, and there's no point in saying "We have a whole year" because before you know it the year will be up and you won't have seen half of what there is to see! I thought it'd be nice to show you all some of what there is to do in Seville. We'll begin with the big one: The Cathedral.

La Catedral de Sevilla is one big ass cathedral, biggest Gothic one in the world  according to The Guinness Book of Records. It's about six hundred years old, it was originally a mosque and became a christian place of worship during that thing where Spain and Islam got a bit ticked off at one another. There are many pretty things to look at inside, and also Christopher Columbus is buried there which is pretty cool. But hey, I'm not some sort of cathedral expert and I was too cheap to get the audio guide, so do what I did and Wikipedia it. Here are some pictures though :)

ooh I love a good window I do.

You can also climb the 104m tall Giralda (the bell tower, which was originally a minaret.. awkward) and have a look out over Sevilla. As you can see, it was cloudy today. It takes a good few minutes to climb up... I'd recommend wearing comfy shoes. All in all €3 (for students) well spent. Obviously there's a lot more to the Cathedral than what I've shown you but wasn't this a fun overview? 

literal overview.

 And of course, nothing in Seville would be complete without a few orange trees knocking about the place. Just in case.

hasta luego chicos! x

Tengo hambre, give me food.

I like food. I'm a fan. Looking at it, eating it. It's a good thing to have around. I'm not necessarily a foodie; I'm not a great cook (yet) and I can name less than 10 types of cheese. Despite my unsophisticated palate I have decided to treat you all to a post about some of the new Spanishy food in my life. Everything can be found in your nearest budget supermercado. (I recommend Día)

GAZPACHO
Can't get enough of this. It's a lovely cold summertime soup primarily based on tomatoes. Has a bit of an olivey taste off it too. Full of antioxidants apparently. And it's low in fat AND because it's supposed to be served cold you can just drink it straight from the carton! Which saves on washing up! Genius!

Toast: Pan Tostado
Those little pre toasted bread things as opposed to actual toast. A lot of people hate these. I love them. It's the texture. They go well with peach jam. Or cream cheese. Or fruit. Or gazpacho. Just eat them they're a thing.

Olives: Aceitunas
It's Spain. Keep up. I'm slowly turning into an olive. If you run out of water drink olive oil. Do whatever feels right.

Tomatoes: Tomates
They're everywhere. You don't remember buying them but you have 3. You think they reproduce every time you close the fridge. Why are there so many. Do you even like tomatoes.  It doesn't matter because you're eating one right now.

Oranges: Naranjas
Kind of the same deal as with the tomatoes. Maybe you wouldn't be eating one if you weren't in Spain. But it's always good to have one in, just in case...

Nutella: ... Nutella
ok not spanish but it's so hot here it's always melty I'm in love.

Also cheese but that's a given. Anyway. Remind me I need to get eggs.

Hace Calor. Mucho Calor. Is Hot.

Seville is hot.

No, I don't think you understand.
IT IS HOT.

I don't think I've ever been anywhere so aggressively hot. Even though I'm (shockingly) almost used to it by now (2 week-aversary tomorrow yay) I still have a feeling that this place is trying to kill me. I drink water constantly yet I feel like a dried out sponge. The positive aspect however is that it's a dry heat. When I keel over from dehydration/ slowly being roasted alive, at least I won't be frizzy.


Just as I start to feel ok walking around I see one of these signs telling me just how hot it is and it reminds me that I am practically from the Arctic and that I should be (and usually am) very uncomfortable and kind of gross looking. Some cafés and restaurants even have air conditioning systems that envelop you in mist while you sit outside. Fans won't do, cover me in artificial fog!


Of course, summer is on its way out so it won't be this hot for long. In October the average temperature slides down to the mid 20s (!). I'm sure by that stage I'll be so Spanish that I'll want to wear all the knee high boots and parkas in the shop windows that look so ridiculous to me right now because I am literally wearing as little clothing as is culturally acceptable... No complaints so far, heya.

Now that can't be right.

Morriña: Homesickness

10 days have passed since I arrived in Spain. Initially, homesickness and anxiety got the better of me and I spent most of my time wanting to go home... which wouldn't have made for a very good blog post. Now, however, things seem to be settling down and this whole thing is starting to feel normal. So while my pasta cooks, let's talk.

For the first few days, I felt so constantly nervous that I couldn't eat. The feeling that your insides are in knots? That. Why was I so afraid? Because I thought I couldn't do it. I'm one of those people who feels disheartened if they don't pick things up immediately (probably why my piano career never took off). And when I didn't feel like Spain was 'home' right away, I thought it never would. I miss home a lot, far more than I thought I would, and I was worried that missing it so much would stop me enjoying myself here. To be honest, I'm still a little bit afraid. But that sick feeling is gone because I'm giving Sevilla, and myself, a chance. Having a roof over your head and knowing where to buy food are powerful things. The important thing to remember is to do things at your own pace and be patient with yourself and your new surroundings. Luckily, I'm not alone here and I have plenty of people at home to talk to as well.  After 10 days I think this city and I are starting to get used to one another.

I'm going to try to post often, like I said before they should get more interesting (and hopefully more positive) than this. Anyway, dinner time.