Traveling abroad can be somewhat of an intimidating event to actually pursue. Those of us that have finally ventured out of our comfort zone can relate to the feeling of arriving in a foreign place and not having the slightest idea how three months in this country will turn out. Our first week here, during “Welcome Week”, ICS kept us up and out of the house. We quickly became oriented with our new home for the next three months. During week one, ICS guided us on many pleasant walking tours through beautiful Sevilla. My favorite feeling was walking by famous locations that I had always heard about and seen pictures, and then finally experiencing the places in person for the first time. This was truly amazing! For example, The Plaza de Espana!
During one of our walking tours, while still somewhat disoriented from the journey and adjusting to where I was in Sevilla, we walked through the beautiful park of Maria Luisa. I found myself in awe of the attention to detail and aesthetic appreciation cultivated in this park. There are horse-drawn carriages consistently passing by, beautiful trees canopying overhead and swans wading in the pond. When walking through the park, it feels as if you’re in a fairy-tale.
It’s inevitable that I will experience more moments like this while being in Spain, but another moment of truly being awestruck was the moment I first set eyes upon the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Sea, also known as the third largest Gothic cathedral in the world.
Overall, seeing and experiencing famous historic architecture in Sevilla is my favorite part of the city so far. The artistry and attention to detail are amazing to see and the buildings have a unique style of Arabic influence mixed with traditional Spanish designs. A perfect example of seeing this blend of two styles of coming together into a unique architecture is the Royal Alcazar. ICS gave us (the students) a personal tour of the palace, describing the history of the building, which rooms were made for what purpose, as well as making it clear that the film industry has also discovered the Royal Alcazar. The familiar scenes of the television series Game of Thrones was filmed there. Once again, I was inevitably in awe.
