One thing that surprised me about Sevilla

And this will sound silly because it is obviously famous for it..

The abundance of oranges! and orange trees!

But they are literally everywhere, in the city. Its amazing.

In the plaza near where we stayed there were a heap of them. Most nights we ate dinner amongst the orange trees, muy bonito.

Alcazar in Sevilla

I also loved the gardens of the Alcazar. Like an understated and less complicated version of the traditional garden at la Alhambra, it was so tranquil.

And it only cost us a Euro or 2 to get in, thanks to our ‘student’ cards – The Alhambra was a lot more than that. But still, it is also well worth the trip.

The south of Spain just has a certain feeling about it. And a definite heat, even in late May!

Definitely want to head back there one day.

View from Alhambra to Granada

The final hurrah..

For this term.

Last night was the last Spanish class of the year – Sad but good as it means its almost Christmas.

Our teacher explained some of the traditional festivities that happen at this time of year in Spain which are quite different to here.

To begin with, their ‘big night’ is on Christmas Eve and its called Noche Buena meaning the good night. They have a big feast with family etc and it kicks off the Christmas festivities.

Traditionally, presents don’t actually get exchanged until el Dia de Reyes which is on the 6th of January. Although these days its not unusual for kids to get presents on both Christmas day and January 6th – lucky kids!

It’s so interesting to hear how other countries spend their Christmas. Just like its funny when people from the northern hemisphere spend Christmas in Australia and we have a BBQ in the sun instead of hiding away inside from the snow.

Today I am all ready to visit my family for Christmas and I have made the cutest gifts – Little ‘noodle boxes’ filled with Rum Balls, Chocolate Tarts and Choc-Chip Cookies. Yum!

Can’t wait to give it to them. They look so cute.

Feliz Navidad

Excuse the bad photo taken with my work phone