Spain: “Opening a Storybook of love, betrayal, bravery, tradition and beauty”

I would like to start my blog about Spain with a story that took place in Seville, Spain.

Spanish inquisition has been one of the darkest time of Spanish history. It is where catholics forced people to convert to catholisism, leave the country, or be executed. During that time, the king of Spain unexpectly died when he accidently fell off of his horse. And his son being only a year old at that time, the Queen gave the king’s power to an archbishop. He then who hated Jews ordered to close off the jewish quater of Seville and killed more than 4000 Jews in one single day. 80 years after, a Jew in Sevilla who remembered genocide decided to start a coup. The leader of the revolt had a daughter named Savonna. She falls in love with a catholic soilder and the plan of the revolt is accidently spoken of. The soilder then tells his superior and appropriately, they close off the quater and kills off another 2500 jews, including her father. She becomes so ashamed by her betrayal, she converts to catholisism and lives rest of her life as a nun, closed off from the society.  Her will while she dying from an old age was that, after she dies, her head is to be cut off and her skull to be hung outside of her window to remind people of her betrayal. The skull hung for 150 years but now it is re-buried with her. In one of my photo, you will see a wall with a tile of a Skull. That is where it hung.

Couple blocks from where this story occured, there is an Spanish Archive museum where they have the original documents of Christopher Colombus’ contracts, maps, and other important paperworks of his adventure to an unknown world. Right next to this building, you will find Cathedral of Seville, which is the Largest gothic church in the world and also 3rd largest church in the world. Surrounding these buildings, you will find spanish guitar players walking around playing beautiful piece.

In Spain, there are also traditional bullfights in Madrid, vibrant Flamenco dances, delectable tapas, oldest restaurants in the world, brilliant works of Gaudi’s  park Guell and his cathedral in Barcelona and so much more… and no, it is really not a dream world. However, if this does seem like a dream to you, beaware of when you wake up, because from 2pm to 5pm, Entire Spain goes to Siesta.    :)

Portugal: “Hail King Christian Ronaldo?”

He is EVERYWHERE. In Magazines, Billboards, TV, and Posters. He seems to be watching your every move. But in reality, it is the people of Portugal that is watching his every move.

When I stepped out of a train in Lisbon, I was surprised by the cool breeze that swept through the city. It truly felt like a fall. It was bizarre enough for me to ask the local, whether this weather normal. They said, yes! Portugal has some of the best climates in Europe! I could not agree more. Although I am not staying in Portugal long enough to saturate its culture, Lisbon and Porto has been a pleasant experience. I was very pleased with my pictures that I took today being lost in the heart of city here in Porto.

Tomorrow, I will be flying to Paris for France part two.

I will leave you with a story of ’shroom that my friend experienced during his trip. It is quiet funny.

So, him and his friends were in Amsterdam and they decided to do some Shrooms. well anyways, after taking shrooms, they were really high and hallucinating, and they started looking for leprachauns for pots of gold and whatnot all night long, all over Amsterdam. well, next day they woke up in their hotel not even remembering what they did the previous night. But they heard loud and strange knocks coming from an inside of a small closet locked with a metal bar across the handle. So they unlocked it and there was a spanish Midget locked up inside. They basically kidnapped a midget thinking that it was a Leprachaun.

I had a really good laugh.

Boaz, from Porto, Portugal.