Alcazar

Sevilla is one city I don’t mind getting lost in.  The locals say, “Grab a map and just go!” We did just that, but we soon lost the map and ended up just wandering. Sevilla architecture is exquisite, the best of the best.

Detailed tile work

Mazes

One beautifully constructed building that we came across was Alcazar, the King’s Palace. We came 10 minutes before they closed, but they allowed us to stay for another hour or so to explore the grounds. The palace consists of green courtyards, running fountains, fine tile work, open spaces, large arches, and endless mazes. The time and effort that took to handcraft the thousands of tiles is incredible.

Courtyards

Kirsten stole a few oranges from the King. Typical. Now she has to face her consequences…

2 Prison. 

1 Stolen.

xoxo,

Amy

Monkeying Around

When I’m not meowing, people have told me some of my mannerisms are similar to those of a monkey. I just re-read that sentence, and man do I sound like a weirdo. Hahah whatever, we’re all animals at heart.

So I was really eager to get in touch with my monkey friends at the Tenerife Monkey Zoo Park, but unfortunately the zoo was almost 1.5 hours away and it didn’t fit well into our schedule. It gets worst.

11:00 am- We couldn’t rent a car.
12:00 pm- We missed the bus.
1:00pm- We missed the shuttle.

Lost.

The lady at the reception felt sorry for us, and offered us a ride in her car to the airport. She ended up calling the shuttle bus driver again, and he was willing to turn around and pick us up :)

We arrived at the airport, and our reservation for a car rental fell through. Plan B: we take the bus. After the bus dropped us off, we walk around Sevilla attempting to find our accommodation. Let me emphasize the word “attempt.” -_- All the traveling made our stomachs growl, so we decided to take a break at a nearby tapas bar. Luckily, we sat next to a tour guide at a local tapas bar who was more than happy to assist us in our search.

After weaving through countless roads, we finally arrived at our destination!

If you think the series of unfortunate events stopped there, think again.

Next morning…

7:19am- Woke up late.

7:31am- Went to the wrong bus station

7:48am- Arrived to the correct bus station 3 minutes late

7:50am- Our Granada bus tickets are nowhere to be found.

7:52am- Realized that 7:52am is actually 8:52am from the time change.

COMPLETE FAILURE.



xoxo,
Amy

Volcanooo!!

Originally we were planning to rent a car, drive up to the cable car to take us up halfway, and then hike the rest of Volcan el Tiede. Unfortunately it seems that no one here drives automatic transmissions (Sarah Miller if you’re reading this, I expect lessons when I get home.) Things never go as well as planned, and honestly it’s better that way. You have more surprising adventures, and you gain more confidence in yourself when you reach your goals with the improvised route :)

Top of the volcano

We ended up taking a bus to the cable car, and took the cable car halfway up. Kirsten didn’t book her permit to hike to the top early enough for the morning sessions, and instead had booked an afternoon session. What I thought was a minor error before turned out for the better. Since we had a few mishaps in the morning, we couldn’t even use the morning permit I booked!




Success. We made it to the top! The views are phenomenal. I’ve always imagined the crater of a volcano to resemble something of a hole, rather than a large bowl. I wished the crater were filled with water so we could go swimming, but we were way above the clouds for any precipitation to occur. I must say it was difficult to breathe that high up; no wonder birds have the most efficient respiratory system.








After taking numerous photos, we ended up having a little picnic at the top of the mountain :)





xoxo,
Amy

Puerto de la Cruz

Only in Tenerife can you get 70-degree weather at the end of November. Beautiful beaches, great food, and cheap alcohol tend to attract high school seniors during spring break. Tenerife did indeed attract “seniors.” The island was crowded with people the age of my grandparents!




 Here’s a brief preview of the “Hotties.”

Our sweet dates! 

You know what they say, age is just a number. 






Thanks for the shots boys ;)

xoxo,

Amy

Moulin Rouge

We snuck in a photo :)

“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce coir?” Do these famous lyrics ring a bell? Kirsten and I thought we would start our trip off right, with a bunch of naked dancing women and some champagne!

The lip syncing was mediocre, but the overall show was fantastic! I think the show could be a bit more cohesive, because it felt like a circus. There were acrobats, gigantic snakes, a “talking” dog, ponies, a juggler, a ventriloquist, and dancers. I would recommend everyone to see the show, but maybe not with your parents. It’s a bit awkward with breasts flying around.








xoxo,
Amy

Warning: Don't feed the Europeans!

Grrrr!

The Americans and I thought we would throw a little fiesta for our Italian and Spanish friends, Tex-mex style. So on Tuesday, I made 3 batches of guacamole, a batch of queso, and seasoned the fajita meat. Megan attempted to mix margaritas, which turned out a wee bit on the stronger side. Haven made enough salsa to feed an army and Darren grilled the fajita meat… men and the grill. Ha.

The fiesta turned out to be a success!

xoxo,

Amy

Twice with rice!

(2005) 6 and half years and still going strong! :) 

The rice I’m referring to isn’t the small grain that you would find along your kung pao chicken, but my best friend, Kirsten Rice. She will be coming to Europe in 2.5 weeks, and I am beyond ecstatic to see her! We’ll be going together to visit Paris, Tenerife, Seville, and Granada!

I’ve been spending all week reserving our flights, hotels, and activities. I was so excited; I even made a 30-page powerpoint highlighting all of our plans. I guess it’s just the business student in me, to not only make an itinerary, but to also make it visually pleasing. Hahah okay okay, whatever I’ll admit I’m a loser. :)

Anyways what I was getting to is I probably won’t travel anywhere in the next 2 weeks, so my blog posts won’t be too exciting. Unless I get arrested or something, but let’s hope that doesn’t happen.



xoxo,

Amy