June 20 - Corpus Christi and a Picnic

This morning, Albert and I headed downtown to catch our last procession in Sevilla.  Lots of folks with candles and banners and 10 smallish pasos.

Then a military group.

Lots of people downtown, but nothing like Semana Santa.  Then home to prepare for tonight's picnic.  We had LOTS of food.  Luckily there are events over the next few days where we can continue to share some of the stuff that I made. 

Long after the sun had gone and the nearby amusement park lit off their nightly fireworks, we continued chatting around the table by the light of a cell phone in  paper bag (very romantic, no?). 

Starting tomorrow, the goodbyes begin in earnest - there is a professor who will be on vacation for next week and a student who only comes on Fridays..... these people have been so important in my day to day life this year it is hard to imagine that I may never see most of them again. 

June 19 - Pizza and Art

This morning Albert and I did laundry and went to the grocery store.  As we try to finish up leftovers, the shopping is getting a little lighter for us, BUT since I am cooking for the picnic tomorrow, we still bought about the same amount.

Last night, I signed Albert and I up for a bike excursion for Sunday - I am looking forward to it, hopefully it is not too much - haven't done many hours in one day on a bike in a long time.

Today during the break from class, I dashed across town to buy a few specialty items for tomorrow's picnic cooking and managed to get back by the end of break.  Of course I was a sweaty mess, but luckily with only two students in class, nobody has to sit too close.

After class, Albert and I headed out and finally bought our piece of art for the house.  Now it is all safely wrapped for travel!

After our successful purchase, we walked across to a pizza restaurant that we like that I haven't been to since early in the fall.  We are trying to catch a few of our favorites before heading out next week. 

After dinner we walked through the downtown area to check out the "pre-Corpus Christi" activities - lots of decorations, altars waiting for statues, bands, and more decorations.  The cathedral was also open for people to check out tomorrow's pasos.  Albert walked through but since I still had my backpack full of school stuff and groceries from my quick trip during the break and our art purchase.  I stayed outside and waited.

Tomorrow's procession has three parts - the biggest part is religious and includes lots of small pasos and lots of children carrying candles, the second is secular and includes the city band/mayor/city officials, the third is also secular and includes some military component.  It is interesting to see all of the decorated balconies and SO many alters (with completely set tables) set up in store windows, in city squares, and of course in front of churches.  Yes this is clearly a historically religious event (I mean we are celebrating the eucharist.) but for lots of folks the religious angle is only a small part - it is a tradition that is hundreds of years old that celebrates art, city pride, military, and a little religion thrown in.

June 18 - Lemon Pound Cake

Today I used up the rest of the superfine sugar and powdered sugar and most of the homemade vanilla extract in making a couple of lemon pound cakes for class and intercambio.  With a scoop of the berries that I got last night at Costco, it is a nice summery dessert.

I was alone again today in class - it was a good class - a little grammar and a lot of conversation.  Then on to intercambio.  Lots of the usual suspects.

But some new people too.  Only one intercambio left.  

June 17 - Last Trip to Costco?

Now that we are in countdown mode, we are starting to think about what we will take with us, what else we need while we are here,.... etc.

I went through and pulled out some things that we am not going to bring back with us - a few things for the school, a few others for whomever claims them on the street, and a few things for the trash.  Then, I packed away many of the things into a suitcase that we will not need in our last two weeks to make sure we would have room for everything - looks like it is going to be fine.

At school, I talked to a couple of other students and a couple of teachers - I think we have settled on a picnic in the far away park on Thursday evening.  Speaking of Thursday, the city is putting on the finishing touches for the events on Thursday.

After class, I made what is probably my last trip out to the Sevilla Costco.  I wanted to get a couple of things for us and a a couple of things for the party on Thursday.  It was about 10:15 when I headed back over the bridge toward home - lots of folks were gathered on the bridge enjoying the full moon.

Tomorrow back to intercambio!

June 16 - Happy Father's Day

We spent a quiet day today.  We did some laundry this morning and I baked chocolate chip cookies - the oven is still a bit of a mystery, but with a little experience now, I am able to at least succeed with a basic cookie recipe pretty much every time.

This afternoon, I walked along the river and checked out a couple of parks - I am trying to put together a picnic for one evening before we go - not sure if it is going to come together or not - things are much harder without a car.

I checked out a park that is nice and pretty close to here, but no tables or bathrooms....

then walked a couple of miles...

to a park with much better facilities but that is much further away.

I also looked around at things to do in the city for our last couple of weeks - not sure how scheduled we want to be...so I didn't actually buy any tickets for concerts or activities for next weekend.  Of course I have school up until the last day, so I will have plenty to do, just want to make sure we make the most of these last two weeks!

June 15 - Sanlucar de Barrameda

This morning, Albert went to the gym and then I went to the bank and we met at the grocery store.  The list wasn't long, but with the stores closed tomorrow, we needed a few things.

At around 11:30, we headed over the bridge and met my teacher, her boyfriend, one of my classmates, and the classmate's dog.

Beli (my teacher) drove us to the small town of Sanlucar de Barrameda (where the river that runs through Sevilla reaches the Atlantic Ocean).

We spent the day eating (lots of fun seafood tapas), checking out the city, enjoying a walk along the boardwalk, and even checking out the end of a wedding (really we were just waiting for them to get out of the way so we could go inside the church).

Poor Beli who had to plan, drive, park and lead did not get the best end of the deal - while we all relaxed and enjoyed the sites, she spent the day "in charge" - hopefully she has a nice quiet day tomorrow before having to be back in the classroom again on Monday.

This evening we got home at a little before 10, we took out the trash and then I made the final reservations for our trip back across the US in a couple of weeks.  

It is hard to believe that a year ago today, we were in Rocky Mountain National Park working our way across the country to start our year in Spain.  I wonder where we will be one year from now?  

Tomorrow - some homework and some laundry.  

June 14 - Cordoba

This morning, the Gruchot family checked out of their apartment, and we all headed out to the train station.

We arrived in Cordoba at around 10 am, and after storing their luggage in luggage lockers, we walked to the Mosque/Cathedral.

Albert and I had been there before, but it was still beautiful and it was fun to show it to the Gruchot family.

After touring the cathedral, we walked to the nearby Roman bridge.

We then headed back for our appointed time to climb the bell tower.  There is a set of wooden steps that have to be climbed before entering the actual tower.  

I always like the views from the bell towers.

Then back down past the small chapel dome....

And everyone made it out!

Next we walked across town so that they could all have lunch.  But, as soon as we arrived at the square, I said my goodbyes, left them to eat, and headed back to the train station.

A couple of hours later, I was back in Sevilla and ready to go to class.

I stopped off on my way home to check on the progress in Plaza San Francisco for next week's holiday - Corpus Christi.

Then I stopped in Plaza Nueva to check out a small environmental protest -  "There is no future without a planet." 

The Gruchot's made it safely to Madrid and Albert made it home on his later train.  Tomorrow the Gruchot family heads back to the USA and we settle in for our final days (under two weeks - yikes) in Spain.