NO8DO

Sevilla has a symbol that is used EVERYWHERE in the city-- "NO8DO". It's a play on words-- the part that looks like an 8 is actually a skein of yarn, which is "madeja" in Spanish. So when you put the "no" and "do" on both ends it sounds like "No me ha dejado"-- "You didn't leave me" or "You haven't left me." It has some historical significance that I can't remember exactly. Some prince was in a war and the Sevillanos stayed by his side the whole time. They didn't leave him. Hence the phrase.


Sorry if this is all really confusing. I just think it's cool that everyone knows what "the NoDo" is and what it means.














Bus stop















Bike rack

Sidewalk post















Wall decoration

My favorite bridge

There are numerous bridges across the Guadalquivir, but I like this one best. It was designed by some guy named Eiffel. They say he also designed a tower somewhere north of here...

Tortillas y fútbol

No theme this time... just some pictures!
















Rachel displaying Spanish tortilla. That's right, tortillas here are not a kind of bread-- they're an omelette made with potatoes and cheese! Very yummy though.

Me in front of the Guadalquivir, the river that flows right through Sevilla

There are 2 soccer teams in Sevilla-- Sevilla Fútbol Club and Bétis. This is the entrance to Seville F C´s stadium. For perspective, those little glass things at the bottom are DOORS!

Los Amigos

I have had requests from various viewers of this blog to include pictures of myself and friends, so here you go! We've only been here for a week but I've already met some great people and had many grand adventures.















Michelle, Lance (aka "Lanciepants"), and Rachel at one of our really nice meals at the hotel
















Lance, Heather, Rachel, and Gabe eating toast. We found this great little café that serves big pieces of toast with butter and jam, plus cafe con leche and fresh orange juice. We've gone there every day after class so far!

Michelle, Blake, and me, again at the toast place.















Me and Michelle with our Spanish sister Diana. She's really funny and carries on very slow conversations with us during meals! We like her a lot.

Lanciepants in front of the Torre de Oro

Michelle in front of the river Guadalquivir. It's gorgeous at night! The Torre de Oro is the lighted building on the left and the Giralda (tower of the Cathedral) is in the distance on the right.

Me in the same spot

Itálica

We went to some Roman ruins a few miles outside of Sevilla today. They were partially rebuilt, but larger than we had pictured and very cool!

Exciting parts of the trip:
--the hour-long trek across Sevilla to the bus station (involving much walking)
--a great view of a Roman amphitheater
--the best orange juice in the WORLD! They have juicers in all the cafes for fresh juice!
(For you Spanish students out there, they don't call juice "jugo" like you learn in school. It's "zumo.")

The pictures:
1. The tunnel where the lions came out to meet the gladiators in the arena!
2. An aerial view of the arena. The yellow clay is native to Sevilla... it doesn't get goopy when it rains. They have the same clay in the bullrings so they never have to call off bullfights for rain!
3. An arch, and some friends' backs. :)
4. A gorgeous Roman FLOOR! I can't believe they walked on this.
5. The amphitheater

Post #2

We went on a walking tour of Sevilla on our first full day here and I got some great pictures!

Post #1

I’ve finally arrived! The trip was long… about 17 hours… but it went fairly quickly. Michelle and I got to do such grown-up things as sprinting to departure gates (yes, more than once!), going through customs, and hailing a cab all by ourselves!