Gooooaaaalllll!!!

Wednesday night a group of us went to the Sevilla soccer team play the Real Zaragoza's.  There are two main teams in Sevilla; the Sevillanos and Betis (bet-tees)  the rivalry between these two teams is similar to sox vs cubs fans.  I've never been to a soccer game before and this game was loud, exciting and insane.  Everyone was singing, dancing and shouting constantly at the players, it was defiantly different then any other sports game I've ever been to.

 

Plaza de Espana

The plaza de espana is the best historical monument to visit while in Spain.  The monument was built in the renaissance era and is a semi circle with a fountain in the center surrounded by a mote.  Also, the walls of the plaza are alcoves, basically small benched areas decorated by different regions of Spain. 

 

Oranges everywhere

The first area of Seville that I visited first was the centro de ciudad, the main city center! The city is so beautiful filled with  sevillanos (locals), tourists, and students.  Also, there are orange trees everywhere but are not fit for eating because they are bitter oranges which are shipped to England during the spring months to make marmalade!  The architecture is simply breathtaking with Muslim, Jewish, and Christian influences.

University of Seville 

azul (blue) painted shops are everywhere in the city-center. 

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Las setas de Encarnacion or Metropol Parasol, las setas is the spanish word for mushrooms which symbolizes this architectural building built by Jergen Mayer

On the top of the Metropol Parasol you can see all of seville!!

The city center at night, I think this is the best picture I've taken of Seville at night.

jewelry is sold outside....hmmm

orange trees <3

 Rachael and me enjoying the city! 

After touring the city, drinks at the local bar

.......and maybe a few more drinks later on ;)

    

Food, food, and more food

Spanish food is very different from american food, even the time of day that Spanish people gather to eat is different.  Breakfast is normally served at 8-9 am and consist of toast and cafe con leche (coffee with milk) for lunch everyone, including the children, come home for lunch and , anyways lunch is the biggest meal of the day consisting of various traditional Spanish food which is mostly Mediterranean cuisine.

toast with jamon. breakfast everyday :)

me in the kitchen enjoying breakfast for the first time in Seville!

Okay so this is a popular lunch dish called  huevo frito con pisto which is fried eggs with a vegetable dish made with ground pork, eggplant, and zucchini.  It has a very unique texture but still very yummy.   

llentejas (lentil) soup with the best tasting sandwich I think I've every had in my life called a pringa that is made with chorizo (not the same greasy american chorizo it's more of a sausage here) and pulled pork. Muy bien!! 

Of course the wine here is amazing.  Oh also the wine is served with olives.  Vinto de verano is very popular which tastes like a vodka cranberry only its red wine with lemonade, amazing as well .  

Cerveza (beer) con gambas (shrimp).  They serve the shrimp and beer together, yummy and for only 3 euros not bad... 

Of course I had to add a photo of the lovely dessert I've had here.  

Okay so this is very important. Every meal, with the exception of breakfast is served with picos, these little guys are like crackers which I thought was so different from the U.S because we have a whole slice of bread with our meal instead of a few crackers.  My host family told me they eat these instead of bread so they don't gain weight!

I've saved the best for last.  These are tortillas, once again not the same as american tortillas, but much better.  Okay so it may look like an omelette but its different, tortillas are made with eggs and potatoes occasionally onions and can be served hot or cold.  Personally, I think they taste fantastic hot but there not bad cold.  These are the most popular tapas in Spain and normally pretty cheap as well as filling.  When in Spain, tortillas are the way to go!