Salsa, Baños Árabes, y Madrid

The beginning of this week was really relaxing. When we didn’t have class, I spent the majority of my time getting to know my señora better and exploring Sevilla. One of the nights, me and a few of the girls that live in the same barrio as I do decided to check out some of the bars in Nervión. After trekking back and forth to the centro (30 min walk) multiple times a day, we figured it would be nice to have places to hang out near home! After wandering around Nervión and going into some so-so bars, we decided to go to this sports bar that was across the street. When we walked in, the first floor was almost deserted but we heard music coming from the basement. We went down the stairs and suddenly we were in the midst of a hard-core salsa (the dance…not the food) club!

It was like a scene out of a movie. We were the only foreigners in the entire room. The aroma of cigarette smoke and sweat permeated the air, music was blaring, and people were crammed shoulder to shoulder around the dance floor watching as people danced salsa like I’ve never seen it danced before! With every song, people would randomly swap partners and somehow still be able to move together like they were life long dance partners doing a choreographed piece. Absolutely amazing and by far one of the coolest experiences I have had in Sevilla so far!!

On Thursday, we went as a group to one of the Baños Árabes (Arab bathhouses) in Sevilla. I was sort of hesitant to go at first because I was envisioning a bunch of naked European men wandering around in a sauna. I’m so glad I was completely wrong! It was an extremely relaxing and enjoyable experience. It had three pools with cold, medium, and hot water, a salt water pool, a jacuzzi, and a sauna as well as tea to drink as we soaked away the remaining lingering pains of long travel. The atmosphere and ambiance was great as all of the beautiful Arabic architecture was lit by candlelight, the air smelled like mint, and the only noise was from the water. I wish this could be a weekly tradition!

On Friday morning, we were off to Madrid. While in Madrid for the weekend, we managed to cram in visits to el Prado, el Palacio Real, el Plaza Mayor, el Parque de Buen Retiro, and Kapitol (largest discoteca in Spain… 7 floors each with a different theme!). Needless to say the weekend was extremely exciting but exhausting.

El Prado is Madrid’s largest museum and has some of the most important paintings in the world like Velázquez’s Las Meninas and Goya’s La familia de Carlos IV. I really enjoyed our trip to el Museo del Prado because we were given a special guided tour that focused on the paintings we had learned about earlier in the week. It was great to actually know the significance of what I was looking at for once!

El Palacio Real was also impressive. It is the official residence for the Royal family, but it is only used for state ceremonies now as el Rey Juan Carlos I and his family actually live in a smaller palace outside of Madrid. The Royal Palace was built during the 18th and 19th centuries and replaced the former medieval Alcázar which burnt to the ground in 1734. It is constructed almost entirely out of stone because they wanted to avoid another fire! Inside, there are more than 2000 rooms all elaborately decorated with art, tapestries, gold, and huge chandeliers.

I really enjoyed Madrid but I am definitely glad I chose to study in Sevilla instead of Madrid. I don’t think I could handle living in such a large/overwhelming city for six months!