This is Oviedo

So my time in Oviedo has come to an end. Sometimes the end felt too close, sometimes it just seemed too far. Now it is all over and I have left the precious Oviedo and am down in the hot southern city of Sevilla. 

I hadn't really thought about how much this experience meant to me until I wrote a little reflection to send to my friend, who was writing an article on Erasmus for her University's newspaper. You can read it here!

Coming from the other side of the world, little ol' New Zealand, I did not know what was awaiting me here in Spain. The stereotypes of sun, bull-fighting, and flamenco dancers all came to mind but I had been warned that that was not Asturias. What I did get though was a unique and enjoyable experience of a region that some describe as the "true" Spain with a lot of rain.

Sidra!

In typical Spanish style, partying was a priority, drinking a lot of cider was a student-must, and a relaxed attitude to everything from studying to paying your bills was an everyday occurrence. I now understand why siestas are a necessity, because the Spaniards are nocturnal.

In the words of Woody Allen, "Oviedo is like a fairy tale" and unfortunately my fairy tale in Oviedo has come to an end. The idea that I will be leaving my life here in Spain soon makes me incredibly sad but at the same time I cannot wait to get back to reality. I did not think that I would come away with such great friends, memories, and experiences. I will miss the 'Paraíso Natural', mountains covered in snow, the beaches, and the beauty of this region.

Playa de Gijón

Parque de Invierno y las moñtanas

Josh being here has also made me realise that I have adjusted to so many things that used to frustrate me. Supermarkets being closed in the afternoons or on Sundays, means planning a bit ahead is necessary. The number of old people and dogs that walk along the streets. Children staying out until well after what would be considered their bedtime in NZ. It has all become a normality for me. Also, Josh's height and size has meant he has had to adjust to people constantly staring at him. If I haven't mentioned it before, Spaniards are generally short and small. 

Living in Oviedo for five months has been an invaluable life experience, which I would never take back. They say an exchange is not a year in your life but a life in a year and I don't think I could explain my time here in any other way. 

Barcelona Take Two (21/5-26/5)

After my first trip to Barcelona, I was dying to go back again. I wanted to experience the sounds, colours and smells (well not all) again!

As Dad, Carole, Duncan, Anna, and Josh were all coming to Spain a trip to Barcelona all together was on the table! Ryanair now flies from Asturias airport directly to Barcelona El Prat, which makes it so cheap for us to get there. It was about 40 euros return with just carry-on luggage.

We stayed at Be Sound Barcelona. A great hostel with a great vibe. All six of us stayed in one room, which wasn't the biggest but fine as we were all family.

Never seen anything like it!

The highlight for me was finally going into La Sagrada Familia. Something I didn't do last time because we didn't have enough time and I knew I was coming back! Also visiting Camp Nou, Barcelona's football stadium was surprisingly quite interesting. I can now understand better why the Spaniards are so crazy about football and FC Barcelona in particular.

FC Barcelona's motto, Més Que Un Club 

Andalucía (30/3-3/4)

A much needed update!

Firstly, Andalucía!

Four days, four cities! Not a lot of time in the end but was worth it for the 185€ (300NZD) that I paid, which included transport, accommodation, some meals and entry into some places.

The trip started on the evening of Friday March 30th with a 12 hour bus ride to Granada. The Saturday was spent exploring and visiting the cathedral. Two highlights of the wander around the city were; the tapas, and the tea. When you order a drink here you get free tapas to go with it. It wasn't your ordinary tapa or "pincho" you might get in Asturias though. It was big enough to be counted as a meal! Continuing our wander we came across the tea stalls and shops. The tea made the streets smell divine and every flavour imaginable was there! Think cinnamon with licorice, or cherry and apple. That Sunday we visited the Alhambra, which was amazing. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the Palacio Real because we missed out on tickets! That would be the only real let down of the trip I think.

That afternoon we moved on to Málaga! Here I got to see my first Semana Santa procession! You hear about them or see pictures, but it is nothing like being there! Men (possibly women too, I am unsure) wear long robes with a pointed head piece. They lead a big group of men (again possibly women, unsure) carrying a giant religious throne. Some of these ornate thrones are so big that some have to be stored outside of the churches they belong to as they are too big to fit through the church doors! Later on that night a group of us decided we would have dinner on the waterfront. We ordered the paella and 25 minutes later the waiter brings out a massive dish and serves it out to us. The paella combined with some tasty drinks, great company, and warm weather, made it a perfect night!

Málaga

Paella, Málaga

The next day we headed off to Sevilla! As it was Semana Santa and one of the busiest times of the year for the city, we couldn't stay there. This meant we only had about four hours to wander around. Seeing as there was so much to do and so little time we split off from the ESN group and did our own tour. The streets actually smelled like jasmine and orange blossom! The colours of the buildings and the flowers (which were everywhere) were so vivid! It was such a pity when we had to leave, but on to Córdoba we went!

Plaza de España, Sevilla

We arrived in Córdoba in the evening. I was so dead by this time I opted out of doing anything, had a nice long shower, and hopped into bed! The next day we started with a visit to the Cathedral/Mosque. Inside, the architecture and design were mind-blowing. At one point I was looking at an arch with Christian ornaments and then I could look through to the next one, which was one of the original Islamic arches. When we came out the rain had started. This made our city tour a bit of a miserable one as we were all getting soaked. According to Spaniards, it always rains in Andalucía in the Holy Week!

That night, a ten hour bus ride back to Oviedo and that was the end of my trip to Andalucía! At that point I was just craving to get back down there and to experience it some more. Even though it is a part of Spain, it felt like a different country. Cannot wait to get back there!