So on the 24th, I did two really fun things throughout the day. First of all, my program paid for a tour through Sevilla via double-decker bus! That was pretty fun. First-time experience there for me haha. OF COURSE I sat on the top deck!
It was a beautiful day to tour the city. Unfortunately for the people on the right, there were some low-hanging limbs from trees at times that tried to clothesline them haha. Our tour started at the "Torre del Oro" which was part of a wall of defense back in the 13th century. 
The tour told us that the tower has been used throughout the years as a chapel, a prison, a store for gun powder and port offices. All these pictures can only attempt to capture the beauty of Seville, when really you have to be here, taking it all in to get the idea. All I can give you is a taste. We toured the main part of Seville on the east side of the Guadalquivir River for a while and then crossed over to the "old" part of Seville to the Triana district and the Isla de la Cartuja district. Of course calling it the "old" part of Seville doesn't do justice since the city is over 2000 years old itself! But here is a picture from the bus crossing one of the modern bridges that Seville has. 
We were on The Puente de la Barqueta and down the river you can see the amazing harp-shaped Puente de Alamillo. These bridges (5 in total) were constructed for preparation of the Expo '92, which I will discuss on another blog. All I'll say for now is they're pretty sweet to see! Then here's a picture that I took with one of my fellow ISEPS 
students, Erika. She along with the third of us, Phil, is from Cedarville University in Ohio. One of the last places we saw was the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza. Built in the 18th-century, it is still used for "las corridas" (bullfights), and the matadors, like I said before, are some of the biggest celebrities here in Spain! Outside it you see horse-drawn carriages, which are located all throughout Seville for tours. We haven't done that yet, but we plan on it! 
We can always use a break when we walk 5 or so miles a day! Anyway, that was most of my afternoon. After the tour, I went shopping and bought some clothes that were of the European style, and I'm liking them very much. I'm still looking for that perfect pair of "zapatos" (shoes) to wear out to the "discotecas" (dance clubs)!----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is where my day got SO much better. One of our directors, Macarena, is a HUGE futbol fan, and she had an extra ticket to the Sevilla F.C. (1 of 2 seville soccer teams) game that night! The first of us to reply got the ticket. I was second to Phil... But then during the tour, 
Macarena called me and said another person couldn't go, and she had ANOTHER ticket. OF COURSE I went! Phil met me at my apartment, and we walked to the game that night around 9:30. I had no idea where our seats would be, but when we followed Macarena in and she went down to the FOURTH ROW, I about fell over! It was AMAZING. The atmosphere. The perfectly green grass. The chanting of 70,000+ Spaniards for their home team. It was a sea of red and white adrenaline. Electric. The game started a little after 10 p.m. (remember we're on a later daily schedule over here) and the rumble of the crowd could probably 
be heard for miles. For those of you who know the "Superfan" at IC, there was definitely one of those at the game. I'm sure he goes to every game... He came walking right past us supporting the team decked out in his home team's colors and pumping up the crowd. 
Of COURSE I had to take a picture of the player with my favorite number! Sevilla F.C. was in white and they played a team from Barcelona (don't remember the name). Here are some more pictures of the action from the game. I captured a lot of video on my camera too and I plan on throwing together a video, but for now, enjoy the stills. 
And at the end of all the madness, Sevilla won 2-0!! They scored both goals in the 2nd half, and the crowd was going craaaaazyyy!! "OLE OLE OLE!" Here is a picture of the outside of the stadium. That is the name of the stadium on the top. It was one of the best sporting events I have EVER been to! OLE!! There had to be thousands of mopeds parked everywhere outside, and the mass exodus of people was like a dam breaking after the game was over. What a night! I'll never forget it!
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