Hola!
Well, these past two weeks have certainly been a whirlwind. I almost feel like I can finally take my first deep breath. I must admit in the beginning, I was nearly miserable. For the first few days it seemed as if I had finally realized what was going on…I was actually going to be in Europe with the same 15 people for the next seven months. I was overwhelmed. I kept telling myself I would get over it, and eventually I did. I allowed myself to have fun and actually enjoy myself. Since then, I've had a blast! :)
On our first day off, Lee Lee and I figured out how to rent bikes- 10 euros for one week (there are various bike "stations" scattered throughout Sevilla where you can pick up and return your bike at any time and for countless amounts of times within your one week period). Very cool idea! We headed to the downtown area to discover the sites there and found lots to do! We found an absolutely beautiful cathedral, which also happens to be one of the largest in the world. We also found a palace called the Real Alcazar. From the outside it looks like it is straight out of one of those Monty Python movies from the Medieval times. Once you enter, you realize just how HUGE it is…much bigger then it seems from the outside. I have to add that before entering the Palace, you walk behind the Cathedral and around a giant statue with a beautiful fountain…it reminded me of Italy a lot. The area was very crowded and there were random street performers like in downtown Nola. There was an old man playing guitar, more old men doing paintings with their dogs sitting next to them-just lovely sights all around. Not to mention, the weather has been gorgeous! So, the palace is simply stunning. I really can't recite the exact history of it, but the design has a very Moroccan feel it it. There are beautiful gardens, and parks with peacocks surrounding the palace! We spent most of the rest of the day exploring the Real Alcazar and found that we were one of the last ones to leave.
After leaving the palace, we discovered a sandwich place on the road across from the main University of Sevilla (gorgeous). As most of you may know already, the local people here in Spain eat what is traditionally called, Tapas. It's basically just small plates of food. So, instead of getting one place of meat with two sides, you may order two to three different tapas. It's definitely my kind of way to eat! This way, you get to create your own meal! :) With regards to Tapas, this is how this sandwich place was…you could order one 4-inch baguette sandwich for just 1 euro! Lee Lee and I both got two mini sandwiches that even came with a handful of chips. I knew I wanted a salmon and cream cheese baguette (very yummy btw) and asked my waiter for his favorite. Therefore, my second sandwich was a type of pork cooked in this sauce that apparently is traditional to Sevilla…it was great! We sat outside enjoying our sandwiches and people-watching-you know, just being the typical locals! hehe ;)
The next day we were able to meet up with a local girl, named Bea. One of Lee Lee's friends went to the University I mentioned above to take classes for one semester last year, where she became friends with Bea. This is how we heard of and met up with Bea. She met us at the same location we had gone the day before. Bea decided to take us to a particular restaurant that had been a favorite of Lee Lee's friend. It was a little whole-in-the-wall place within the city streets and was very busy. Bea ordered a tapa for us that consisted of fried eggplant with honey drizzled on top. WELL, this might be one of my new fav things! It sounds rather odd, but is actually pretty stinkin amazing! It was delicious. After lunch, Bea took us to a local market that happened to be in town. It was filled with booths that sold foods from all over the world. It reminded me of a mini world showcase in EPCOT, lol. There were also booths selling merchandise from the different areas-very cool stuff! :) No, I didn't buy anything btw! Ha! After walking around for some time, Bea had to return home to have lunch with her family (apparently this is something they do?) so she pointed us in the right direction to head to the Plaza de Espana. We walked through a beautiful park to get there and just so happened to stop at a playground to swing on the swings for a bit-don't worry, there weren't any other kids so we didn't have to wait in line. After some swing fun, we asked someone for further directions and found our way to the Plaza…it was STUNNING! I don't think I can really do it justice by simply writing about it. I will be putting up pictures of it on Kim's shutterfly account. I'm not really sure about the history of it, but it was still a sight to see for sure. It was this HUGE square with a beautiful building/palace surrounding the square. There was big fountain in the center, and a mini canal-type thing going all around the square, close to the palace/main structure…picture a U-shape. One could even take a boat-ride in this little canal like you would imagine someone taking in Venice-can u picture it? We spent a rather long time here taking plenty of pics. After we got our fill of pictures, we went back through the park and found an area where a girl was sitting on a blanket playing her guitar and another family was having a picnic. Lee Lee and I decided to take a rest in the grass, listen to the girl playing the guitar…u know, just being locals again! lol
Pretty soon, we became hungry and had to find our way back out of the park and onto the city streets. We sort of got lost, so we asked two boys walking by us if they could point us in the direction of the Cathedral (the city-center). They were clearly our age and were very helpful. They offered to walk us back to the University, because they had a class to attend, and then point us in the direction of the cathedral from there. Throughout our walk, we discovered they were med students from Italy attending the University through a type of transfer-program for the semester. If any of you are thinking, O MY! BOYS! They were just nice, friendly people, people! Anyway, they left us at the university and showed us the way to the cathedral from there. By this time, Lee Lee and I were so hungry, we decided to just eat at the same sandwich place as the previous day-it was cheap, it was good, and it was close! Upon returning outside after placing our orders, we noticed the boys who walked us, were sitting at a table with a girl. Lee Lee and I made sure to go over to them and fuss because they were obviously lying to us about the class! Turns out, their class had been canceled so they came across the road to "take a coffee" b/c Italians need to take a coffee around this time of day (it was about 3:30). Funny. So, they invited Lee Lee and I to sit with them where we finally exchanged names and had a nice lunch chatting about the things we should do in Italy. The girl that was with them is from Rome, and as it turns out, she might be going for a visit back home while our tour is in Rome-this would be pretty awesome as she could show us around! :) After our lunch/dinner and saying our goodbyes to our new friends, Lee Lee and I were pretty pooped, and decided to ride the bikes back to our hotel for the night.
The next day, was not an adventure, as we had dress rehearsal at the venue we performed in over the past few days. The day after that, was our opening day, where I also had a PR to attend in the morning. The PR was a children's hospital visit. I was very excited, but also very nervous. I went as an "escort" for Minnie and Mickey, not as Cinderella. Without having to act as a specific character, and just being myself, seeing the kids hooked up to IV's made it a bit more difficult for me. I am fairly used to seeing children from the "Make-a-Wish" foundation, and others in wheelchairs, at the parks in Orlando, but this was different. I am happy and grateful that I got to participate, however, it definitely got to me…I got a little choked up.
The opening that night was a great success! Our audience was amazing! The people of Sevilla were very energetic and loud-it made for an even better show! I should note that by this time, our casting director (who hired me) had arrived in Sevilla. I had met her multiple times before but never really hung out. That night she came to dinner with us and did nothing but laugh the entire time. Needless to say, we got along great. The next day, Friday, Jessica (casting director) and I went shopping together at the mall around the corner from our hotel. Please let me add a very important note here…I had been staying at this hotel for nearly two weeks and this was the FIRST time I went shopping! Impressed? Me too! Don't worry, I did NOT buy a sweater, sweater dress, and two adorable tops. Glad we cleared that up. After shopping Jessica and I had lunch at a Lebanese place that turned out to be very good! I swear Lebanese/Greek food is completely different in Europe then it is in America…aka, it's way better in Europe. That night we had another show-it went just fine! :) After the show, we had an "Opening Party" right by the venue with food and drinks…it was pretty lame. After we all got bussed back to our hotel, a bunch of us decided to head to a local club/bar where one of our local hosts knew the owner. It was a pretty swanky place where they played flamenco music and all of the couples would do traditional Spanish dances (not necessarily flamenco). It was really cool to see couples on the dance floor all doing the same dance-better then a movie from the 80's where this frequently happened…u know it, u know it well. Don't worry, I was NOT about to just watch everyone do these dances! I got one of our local hosts to teach me some of the traditional steps so I could join in on the dancing! ;) I loved it! I already informed Jeffrey that we're going to HAVE to take some Spanish dance lessons…it's a completely different way of dancing as a couple! Tons of fun! In concision, it was a great night with everyone-even our Production Director, local directors, and Jessica came.
The next day we had two shows, so I pretty much slept in and took it easy before having to go to the venue. Today is Sunday, and there's not much to say about any adventures, except that after our 4pm show, we hopped on a bus and are now headed to Malaga, Spain. There seems to be plenty to do and I am ready for more exploring!
There are pictures up on shutterfly now, but there are plenty more to come! Until next time…I love you all! <3
