gypsies, pick pocketers and sevilla

i'm a quarter of the way done with my classes. wait, what?! man time flies when you're having fun! spain doesn't cease to impress me with its beauty and charm...
the other day, aileen and i ran out of our class that got out at 9:30 p.m. and caught a cab up to the Albaycin which is a beautiful square that has the typical sweet european restaurants and shops. but its specialty is the view it offers of the spectacular alhambra. our group was already up there having a picnic and we had to meet up with them.
so we jumped in a cab and told him where to take us and as he drove off the main road and up these narrow, windy streets, i found myself closing my eyes and holding on to the door handle in the car. i was just waiting for us to turn a corner and BOOM, hit a car head on. because as i have mentioned, there are no signs indicating one or two way. so everyone just kinda does whatever the heck they want here. yikesabee.
we got to the top alive and ran to meet with the group who was taking pictures just as the sun was setting off in the distance. i got a few pictures of the alhambra at sunset right before it got too dark. the view was beautiful beyond words and the alhambra sat on the hill and in the background was the snow capped mountains of the sierra nevadas. ahhhhhh.
we walked back down the hill as a group and stopped in a little tea place. we all sat down and i ended up sitting by our program director because she is super cool. i love talking with her. i didnt know what to order because im not really a tea or coffee drinker, so i asked her what i should get. she said she always gets this lemonade with some type of herb in it. so ok i said why not ill get the same thing. it came and boy was it yummy. i loved it.
throughout the night, she was fanning herself with her little granada fan and i just got a kick out of the way she would open it. every time, its like she had this special hand whip and PUFF, the fan would open. it was pretty impressive. i asked to get a picture with her and right before the picture, she went, "oh, wait." and PUFF, whipped open her fan to have it in the picture. i feel like the picture turned out with me kind of laughing. these women and their fans here. dont get in their way when they have a fan, or else you can get seriously injured.
friday. yes. end of the week. it was a stressful week of classes and i was ready for the weekend. i woke up early in the morning and decided to go out and try and finish my souvenir shopping for friends and family.
last quarter in my spanish class, a girl did a presentation of gypsies and their presence in spain. she said that these women who look nothing like gypsies walk around with this little herb looking branch and ask if you if you want it. of course it smells really good and why wouldnt you want it? well, if you take it, they immediately grab your arm, try and "read your palm" and they MAKE YOU pay $10 for it!!! they wont let go of your arm unless you pay. yikes. katie- dont take the herb from the gypsy: check.
as i was walking through the little shopping center by myself, i saw a women who looked like a completely normal, friendly women standing about 10 feet away with a small branch in her hand. i thought to myself, "oh my gosh. ok dont let her make you take it, katie." and of course, once i reach her, she walks up to me and tries to put the branch in my hand and says, "take it, take it!" with this big "friendly" smile on her face. i kindly say no thanks and keep walking. phew.
sure enough, another girl walking behind me who unfortunately did not know of this commonality, did decide to take the branch, probably thinking there was no harm to it. as i saw her take it, surprise surprise, the gypsy grabbed her wrist tightly and in spanish said that she had to pay her $10 to hear her fortune and that she wouldnt let go until she paid her.
mental note: dont take things from strangers, even if its a branch ;)
it was a successful day of shopping as i found things for all my girls back home, more things for my sisters (whom i am spoiling ;) and my dad. i am having SO MUCH trouble finding something for steven and anders. steven asked me to get him a mini guitar. WHAT?! how am i supposed to fit that in my bag on my way home!? just kiddin steve ;) but seriously!
so i am still looking for the boys. let me know if you have any ideas :)
classes went well and i came home and had my amazing dinner with my favorite dessert that i seem to be getting every day or every other day here. its called "nattilla." its basically glory in your mouth. i cant even explain it. its almost like a delicious, soft custard with cinnamon and sugar on top. thats a terrible explanation but i know i will miss it once i leave and probably have withdrawals ;)
that night i hung out with the greek girls and quienten and we watched wedding crashers with spanish subtitles. hahahaha! it was a low key night as we had to get up early in the morning for sevilla!
got up at 6:15 to my alarm. ugh. got about 4 hours of sleep as my body doesnt seem to get over the heat and drift to sleep until about 2 or 2:30 over here. im used to it though :/
monica and i got ready, had our 2 pieces of toast (still not adjusting to that haha) and met the group to get on the bus for sevilla.
it was about a 3 hour bus drive. we drove through the countryside of beautiful spain. it was surprisingly green and hilly which i did not expect. we passed little cities here and there. it was quite the scenic drive. i just kept thinking, "yeah katie....your driving through the heart of spain right now. thats pretty dang cool." ;)
we finally got to sevilla and before we got off the bus, our boisterous/informative/high strung tour guide told all of us to MAKE SURE to keep our purses/bags RIGHT BY OUR SIDE as sevilla is a heavily populated tourist city and pick pocketing is very popular there.
so all of us gals zipped our bags and held them close before we got off the bus.
we all got off and right away entered this ENORMOUS square called "la plaza de espana." it was gigantic. literally. our tour guide said that several films have been filmed there including numerous fighting seasons in the star wars series. very cool.
as we were walking off to go to our next sight, i overheard one of the girls talking to her friend in a concerned voice. she was telling her that she didnt know where her wallet and camera went. she said that she swore she had them right before she got off the bus and that she noticed it was gone about 10 minutes after she got off the bus. they were both gone and she had no clue where they could have been. yikes. these pick pocketers mean business. dont mess with them with a vulnerable/open bag or else they will for sure mess with you :/
our tour guide also told us that one time, one of the boys in her group had his wallet in his ZIPPED back pocket and that someone had taken some kind of device and had CUT his back pocket right off, wallet included, without him even knowing. wow. now thats skill.
we walked through the streets, by horses hauling carriages and turned a corner and BAM. another HUGE church stood right in front of us. gosh these places pop out of no where.
there we stood in front of "el catedral." the 4th largest christian building in the world. wow. it was big, indeed.
we walked inside and memories from my other europe trips came flooding back. these european churches just blow me away. they are beyond spectacular and beyond huge. i just cant believe how high the ceilings are in these places. i swear you could bungee jump from the ceilings!! (hm, thats a good idea....)
as we walked around, i was in awe as i always am when im touring european buildings of any kind. we walked around a corner and saw all these people taking pictures of this one area. hmmmm, whats the big deal? turns out it was the tomb of a famous man by the name of christopher colombus. oh....really now? *get out camera and try and take really good pictures*
wow. there i stood in front of a tomb of a man who is and will always be *known* as the man who discovered the country we all call home. thats some important guy laying right there.
we all then had the choice to climb the 33 flights to the top of the church where there was an outdoor look-out of sevilla. it was the highest point in sevilla. um....yeah im going to the top. no question. so i carried eva's (one of the greek girls) bags for her as i assured her that i have climbed plenty of stairs in my day and that i could probably carry her on my back if she needed. i told her that i have these big legs for a reason ;)
we got to the top after an indoor, semi suffocating climb to the top and bam. there was sevilla. old buildings of all different colors stood 360 degrees around us. you could see for miles. literally. we walked around and got pictures from all directions. we looked down and saw people enjoying their pools. we all got very jealous as the 45 degree celsius heat (113 degrees fahrenheit) was sure getting to us. especially after the mini hike to the top of the church.
eva was really heating up so she whipped out her fan with that impressive whip like motion that i just cant seem to get down ;) and as she was whipping it out of her bag, she flung it straight across the deck and it landed a few feet away. sweet alaina went to pick it up for her and whispered to me, "thats the 4th time shes done that today..." as she jokingly rolled her eyes. hahahaha. apparently im not the only one who has difficulties with this fan business ;)
we got back down to the bottom of the church and went to tour another palace as our last sight of the day. the palace resembled the alhambra in many ways, and come to find, the architect of the palace was friends with the architect of the alhambra. ha, small world! no wonder they looked similar!
we walked back to the first starbucks that i have seen so far on this trip to get drinks for the ride home. i informed everyone that the first starbucks ever resides in seattle. they were all very impressed with that and i felt a little pride for good ol' seattle at that moment :)
wooohooo, the first starbucks coffee shop ever is in seattle which opened when MY dad was 16. and i found pride in THAT when i was just standing in the 4th largest christian building in the world that housed the body of a famous man that lived several centuries ago? psh, think again katie ;)
we got on the bus and headed back home. yes, home, to granada :)
monica and i find it funny that we call SPAIN our home now....
we both kind of like the sound of it.... ;)