Allie in the South of Spain

Last week in order to celebrate the ending of our jobs, my friend Kate flew in from Italy and we headed to spend some time in Portugal at Jose's parents' apartment. After a few days of sunning (or at least attempting to do so) at the beach right across the border with Spain, Jose and our friend Megan came to spend the night with us. We went out to eat and then to get a drink. This is where the real story begins: Sitting in a bar outside on their patio facing the street which separated the town proper from the beach and further off the sea we ordered a drink and were chatting about mundane things, not at all ready for what was about to happen. After a day of sun and surf we were relaxed and unawares. Joking about how we were going to get home, I pointed out a horse and carriage labeled taxi. A hold over from earlier times, it was passing back and forth in front of the bars and restaurants waiting for a fare. The carriage, like most I see in Spain as well, was driven by an olde...

My neighbor who is basically part of my family has been telling me during my time here that she wants to be me because of all my opportunites to travel. Some people (including Jose's mom) are under the assumption that in order to travel, one must spend a lot of money. This however, is not true, especially when you are living in Europe and have a jumping off point or home base in order to get to other places. Of course, there are money saving tricks and ways to cut costs which explains why Jose and I were able to spend 5 days in Vienna and then Budapest this last week. First you have to find a cheap flight. This generally involves a company like Ryanair (which is Irish) that flys around Europe and sells their tickets for scandalously low prices. Cheap flights definitely have their downfalls. For example, you end up leaving at the ass-crack of dawn, or really late at night. Plus you can basically only bring a brown paper bag sized carry-on and nothing else (no purse,...

The month of April has come and gone without a post from me, mostly because I have been incredibly busy. First was my parents' visit to Spain when they finally met Jose's parents. The meet and greet was a success even with the language barrier. We did some sightseeing together, ate tapas and I enjoyed showing them where I have been living since August. I think they had a good time and I was sad to see them go. Inside the Alcazar with the parents Afterward, in order to relax Jose and I spent a weekend in Portugal in order to recuperate. Finally, it was Semana Santa here in Sevilla. Holy week involves different churches around the city carrying out their religious icons in processions that snake their way through the streets. The iconic statues stand on platforms which are carried on the backs of penitent people whose coordinated movements create the illusion that they basically just float by. Throw in the haunting music that relies heavily on the trumpet as well as incens...