This past weekend was another one spent in Spain, and for once we didn’t have to fly anywhere – a break from the airport was definitely needed! We started out in Málaga on a trip with our study abroad program, and then headed west to Sevilla. Both are cities in the southern region of AndalucÃa, so it was also nice to have some warmer weather for the weekend.
In Málaga we started off with a quick walking tour around the city, where we visited the Atarazanas food market, the Cathedral, and the Plaza de la Constitución. After a tapas lunch, we then explored the Picasso Museum – he is from Málaga, so a lot of his history and artwork is represented here! We then walked through the Alcazaba, Málaga’s medieval Moorish palace, which overlooked the ocean and was a great way to end our tour.
We had some free time to explore, so we all spent some time sitting on the beach as the sun set. Since Málaga is a much smaller coast city, the beach was so calm and so peaceful. Once it grew dark, our whole program drove over to a dance studio (which happens to be where Antonio Banderas rehearses) for a flamenco class. All I can say is that I now have a new respect for flamenco dancers – this was one of the hardest things I’ve tried to learn!
Saturday morning we started with a huge hotel breakfast and then walked back toward the beach to the Centre Pompidou, a branch of Paris’ contemporary art museum. The art we saw here was definitely different from what we’ve been studying so far, as it was much more modern and utopian. From here, we walked along the coast to a beachfront restaurant where we ended this leg of the trip with an amazing paella lunch.
Most of the program was heading back to Madrid that evening, but while we were already in the south of Spain, my friends and I decided to go to Sevilla for the rest of the weekend. We arrived by train around 7pm, so after checking into our hostel, we immediately found dinner and began to explore the city at night. We were very centrally located, so it was super easy to get around and see the nightlife of Sevilla in the short time we had.
Sunday morning we had to pack in all of our sightseeing, as we were leaving for Madrid at 4pm that day. We started off at the Catedral de Sevilla, which was so beautiful, but since it was Sunday and mass was going on, we were unable to climb up the tower. We also walked by the Royal Alcázar of Sevilla, but the line was so long and we didn’t have tons of time, so we weren’t able to go inside here either. We ended up taking a bus tour through the city for the rest of the day, so we were able to see most major sights in time for our bus ride home.
We spent some time at the Plaza de España, which was one of the largest and most extravagant plazas I’ve seen in Spain so far. We walked around a bit more by the Metropol Parasol, got some lunch and gelato, and then made our way to the bus station for our 6 hour drive back to Madrid.
This weekend was much more relaxed than past trips, so it was really nice to take a break and have more time in Spain. It was also fun to travel with the whole program, since we don’t see everyone else as often. Overall, Sevilla is one of my favorite cities that I’ve traveled to so far, so I’m glad we were able to squeeze that in after our Málaga trip. This upcoming weekend will be VERY busy, so having a weekend to relax was definitely good beforehand.
I’m looking forward to my last month and a half here, so please stay updated for my final adventures! Subscribe below to get email updates when I post new content 🙂
Thank you and see you all next week!
xx,
Megan
Megan Gilman 