By: Lora McGraw

 I did a Spring Semester Program with International Studies Abroad (ISA)  The Semester lasted from January 30th-April 30 th  Throughout the semester, I took classes as Menéndez Pelayo International University– a school for foreign students.

 The program started in Madrid, Spain.  I met up with all of the ISA students for the semester, and we stayed in Madrid for 2 days.  We visited El Museo del Prado, El Palacio Real, and other sites in Madrid.

Me at the Palacio Real Outside of El Museo del Prado

 We moved on to visit Toledo as we slowly made our way to Seville. In Toledo, we visited the Cathedral of Toledo, an ancient synagogue, and posed with statutes of the artist, Velazquez.

 After a day or two in Toledo, we finally moved on to the city I would call home for the next three months…Seville!  I started off getting acquainted with my new apartment on Calle Francos, located in the El Centro part of Seville (downtown area).

 It took a couple of weeks to get acquainted with my new city, but I made lots of friends and learned to love life in Seville.  We made a Valentine’s Day dinner together (shown at right)

 Throughout my time in Seville, I visited many famous sites throughout the city.  I spent time at the Cathedral of Seville, the Alcazar, Plaza de España, and saw many flamenco performances

The Plaza de España was built as a part of the Exposition of 1929 and is a popular site for tourists and locals alike.

Seville is said to be the birthplace of the Spanish dance, Flamenco.

Seville has two football teams – Seville Football Club and Real Betis

 While abroad, I also took many weekend trips to different places in Spain and to other countries.  I traveled to Rome, Paris, London, Dublin, Morocco, and Lisbon (Portugal) as well as many other cities in Spain.

 Friends and I took a day trip to Cadiz, and we also participated in the Carnival festival that takes place there annually.  The Carnival celebration in Cadiz is the second largest celebration in the world, just being Rio de Janiero in Brazil.

Beach DayHeading to Carnival

 The ISA program took us on excursions to Córdoba and Granada over a weekend.  In Córdoba, we visited the Mezquita, the Jewish Quarter, and other sites in the city  In Granada, we spent an afternoon at the Alhambra, had a private flamenco show and enjoyed the free tapas provided at bars in Granada!

The Mezquita A view of the city

The Alhambra Flamenco

 A group of friends and I took a trip to Morocco through a program called Discover Sevilla.  We saw three cities in Morocco over a 3 day weekend. We visited Tangier, Chefchaoen, and Tetuan.

Camel rides in Morocco! The blue and white city of Chefchaoen.

 ISA took us on a long weekend excursion to the coastal city of Lisbon, Portugal.  In Lisbon, we saw the Belém Tower and Jerónimos Monastery (both UNESCO World Heritage sites).

At Jerónimos Monastery

 In late April, a group of friends and I traveled to Rome, Italy.  In Rome, we saw the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, Vatican City, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and the Spanish Steps.  Of course, we ate lots of pizza and pasta, too!

 Following Rome, friends and I traveled to Paris, France.  In Paris, we took bike tours all over the city and visited the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre Museum, Notre Dame, and Moulin Rouge.  And…we ate tons of crepes!

 One of our last trips was to Dublin, Ireland.  In Ireland, we saw St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Trinity College, and we took a tour of the Irish countryside to arrive at the Cliffs of Moher.

 After our trip to Dublin, we headed straight to London, England.  In London, we saw Parliament, Big Ben, the London Eye, Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, and we took a trip to Stonehenge

 After all of my trips and three months in Seville, it was time for me to return back to the U.S.  I boarded a plane back in Madrid, and flew back home to Manhattan, KS.  Overall, it was a wonderful experience, and I hope to someday visit Seville again!