Strawberries and Giant Mushrooms!

Hello Again!

WELL, this week was kind of tame in comparison to last week's Granada adventures. I'm getting used to my classes and I'm especially enjoying my cinema class. So far, we've watched the documentary "Sevillanas" by Carlos Saura, and the musical "El Otro Lado de la Cama" ("The Other Side of the Bed").

I spent the weekend in Sevilla, which was kind of nice. Saturday, Laura and I got up to explore the Mercado de Triana (or Triana Market). Adjoining the market is the Capillita de Carmen and the Castillo de San Jorge, both of which we intended to see. Unfortunately, both were closed. Some other day!

At the Mercado de Triana, we were very excited to find strawberries or "fresas". We bought a kilo and shared them with two other friends, Keeley and Cassie. Here are some pictures from that adventure.

This weekend was Carnival! A bunch of people went to Cádiz, a near by beach town where the Carnival parties are legendary. That's not really my thing, but I had a lot of fun hanging out in a square in my neighborhood watching all the little kids go by in costume and listening to the bands perform. I'm not sure why this particular band was wearing matching wigs, but they were pretty funny to listen to.

Today, I went to the Metropol Parasol, or as it's known to los sevillanos, Las Setas (the mushrooms). Apparently, the square where this structure is built (Plaza de la Encarnación) used to be the site of most of the religious orders of Sevilla. When the convents began to spread out, a market sprang up in its place. When the market failed, they turned it into a parking lot, and then eventually into the structure you can see today. You can walk all around on the top of it, even though it was very cold and the structure is a little bit shaky. The tower that you can see in the second picture is La Giralda, the tower of the Cathedral of Sevilla.

Apparently, during the construction of Las Setas, Roman Ruins were discovered beneath the square. They've set up a really cool museum under the structure where you can see these called "El Antiquarium".

 Because the ruins are at all different levels, some of the walkways are glass so you can see beneath your feet!

 I thought the above picture was really cool. It's Roman-era marbles!

This weekend, Inmaculada has promised to teach Laura and I how to make croquetas (which are like fried cheese and meat fritters) and tortilla española de patatas (a very thick omelet made with potatoes). I'm also going to the small town of Carmona on Sunday.

Until next week,
Carly <3