Aranjuez and Sevilla La Maravilla!

Here I'll recount two adventures from a couple weekends ago. Sorry It's been a while since I last updated-I'll try not to let a huge lapse like that happen again but I've been too busy enjoying life to stop and write it all down!


The weekend of February 4th was one of the only weekends I was going to have in Madrid and naturally I went on a mini-day trip. I had gone out to dinner with some new friends on the Friday night. They said they were meeting at 1pm to go to Aranjuez the next day, and though I had no clue what it was, I decided to be spontaneous and Saturday morning I made my way there. We took a commuter rail train to Aranjuez, which is just outside of Madrid and the home to what was a vacation home for the Spanish Royal Family. It reminded me a lot of the Royal Palace in Madrid. I took a few photos, but they couldn't do the place justice so I just had to buy some postcards! (I'll show you guys when I get back.)

Gardens at Aranjuez. Couldn't take photos on the inside of the palace-grrr!

 That evening after returning from Aranjuez me and some friends had a night out in Chueca! It's a really cool neighborhood in Madrid that has some of the cheapest and best Mojitos I've had over here! First we started off at a traditional Spanish restaurant (the 1st I've actually been to in Spain!) and for starters I had venison stew--Dad it wasn't as good as your venison though! And I topped it off with this, Crema de Catalana. 

So yummy! Think an orange creamcicle without the stick.

 After dinner we bar hopped around, each place unique with something new to offer. I try to say I don't want to go to the same bar or restaurant twice but Chueca was so awesome I can't wait to go back there!

My friend Tori and I in the Chueca bar with the good Mojitos. Flashing lights everywhere!

That Sunday my friend Tori and I went to the Museo del Traje--the fashion museum! It so cool and the museum was completely dark because they had very valuable and old clothing articles that would be damanged by light, and as a result we couldn't take pictures so you'll have to use your imaginations. They had clothes back from around the 16th century up until today! Everything from corsets to some of today's poshest names in fashion. Something interesting I learned: once women started taking trolleys and public transportation places the size of their petticoats and dresses became smaller so they could actually sit down on the trains! See, you do learn interesting things at the Fashion Museum. It's definitely a hidden museum of Madrid. 


The next weekend, February 11th and 12th was second of four weekend trips that my Program plans out for us. They're really fun since the whole group is together and the price of everything is included in our tuition so why not go?!


We took the AVE, Spain's high velocity train, to Sevilla at 9:30 am on Friday morning. Once we got to the hotel I roomed with my friend from BLS Kristely who is in the program with me. Then we had free time to walk around Sevilla and have some lunch, seeing many beautiful sights along the way.

On the AVE so excited to have a seat with a window and a fold out table!

Sevilla in a nutshell: horses and orange trees

 They say Sevilla is known for its smell of citrus since there are orange trees everywhere. But to me it smelt like horse manure since horses were also everywhere. 

Inside the Cathedral

 Anyway, after our free time we went inside the Seville Cathedral that has the Giralda-a huge tower. On the inside it was beautiful and we got to walk up to the top of the tower, which was ramps and not stairs-what a relief! We saw some beautiful views of the city from up there. Afterwords we walked around the Santa Cruz neighborhood and went into the Royal Alcazares, which was used as a Royal Palace back in the day around Ferdinand and Isabella-maybe you've heard of them? I think I was in the very room in which Christopher Columbus filled them in about the new world!

It felt like I was in the South American jungle more than Spain!

Royal Alcazares

Me in the courtyard! Looks like Agrabah

The entire inside was this detailed if not more. I couldn't capture its true beauty but I tried!

Once again it felt like we were in the old world!

Delicious tapas! I already forgot what it was...

 After visiting the Royal Alcazares we went to a Flamenco show, which was my second one. This one had a completely different feel to it, and it seemed to be more traditional. The woman had a dress with a super long trail in the back that she flipped all around and pretty much wrapped herself up in. It was quite the sight! After Flamenco we had the night to ourselves so we grabbed a bite to eat-I had bull's tail, but this time it wasn't as good as the bull's tale dipped in chocolate I tried. After dinner we headed to this club called Abril. 

is that a spaceship?! No, it's Abril on the inside. 

 The following morning we had breakfst in the hotel. It was rather early and since most of us were up late the night before a lot of people chose to skip it. BAD DECISION. It was literally the best free breakfast spread I've ever had in a hotel. I also got the idea to pack a sandwich for later and bring it with me so I could pocket the 12 euro they gave us for lunch! The idea caught on pretty quick and almost everyone was sneaking out with their pre-made sandwiches. 

Flamenco Dresses for Sale

 We headed to the Museum of Fine Arts in Sevilla which was beautiful inside and out. Afterwards we headed to the picturesque Guadalquivir River where we had about four and a half hours of free time to explore Sevilla on our own. Some friends and I had our lunch in the Maria Louisa Park which was just breathtaking. They had an area where you could rent a boat and row around amidst gorgeous scenery. After the park we headed back to the river to lay out and enjoy the sun because the weather was gorgeous. 

The River

We boarded the AVE back to Madrid and I was so exhausted from the trip that I immediately went home and passed out after eating at VIPS which is basically an American food restaurant. They have great milkshakes! 


Sevilla was gorgeous and brought me that genuine Spain feeling that sometimes is lost when staying in a big city like Madrid. I hope to be back there one day!