Sevilla—Finally, an update!
Shalinee in Sevilla
Hello from Sevilla!
I’m writing this from my very cozy living room, surrounded by Christmas lights. It’s my first truly free afternoon in months, because yesterday, I turned in the last of my grad school applications! If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard from me in so long—that’s why! Oh, and I had a cold on and off for all of November, which was awful.
Anyways, it’s been two whole months since I last wrote, so today I’ll talk about what I was up to until the end of November, and I’ll send a December update right after Christmas. Let’s start where we left off last time—Mallorca!
At the end of October, I went to Mallorca with four other girls for the weekend, and it was a practically perfect trip. We spent Friday in Palma, Saturday exploring the villages of Soller, Deia, and Valldemossa, and Sunday visiting some cuevas and calas.
Palma was a really cute city, and we were blessed with perfect weather. The cathedral in Palma is really close to the edge of the island, meaning you can see the ocean when you’re standing in front of it. The cathedral is famous for its stained glass window and the fact that Gaudì designed the altar. After walking around the city, visiting the Bellver castle, enjoying some sobrasada and a few drinks, and munching on the local specialty pastry ensaimadas, we drove to our Airbnb which was about an hour away from Palma, on the eastern side of the island.
On Saturday, we started our day with breakfast in Soller. It was an adorable little village and had a great crafts market with clothes, jewelry, local art, and local foods. Then, we drove to Deia. I think one of the best feelings in the world is when you’re driving around in a car near a coast, and all of a sudden, there it is in front of you—the ocean. That’s how it felt on the drive to Deia. We turned a corner and then suddenly, the bright blue of the Balearic Sea expanded out before us. We all gasped. Seeing the tiny villages high up in the mountains with the ocean far down below was stunning. As we were driving around, staring at the incredible views, I felt in awe of how lucky I was to be there.
Deià was tiny, but charming. Historically, it was known as an ‘artist’s colony’ because many writers and artists lived there. These days, many celebrities have houses there. We visited some galleries, and mostly just admired the pretty views. In the evening, we continued on to Valldemossa, which is partially famous because Chopin and George Sand lived there for many years. We explored a garden, visited the chapel of the town’s patron saint, and ate some pastries. We were struck by how different of a feel each village had to it. Valldemossa didn’t have a ton of restaurants, so we ended up back in Palma for dinner before returning to our Airbnb.
Sunday brought the highlight of the trip—Las Cuevas del Drach, or the ‘Dragon Caves.’ Mallorca has several caves you can visit. The Drach ones are some of the biggest, I think, and most famous. I’d never been inside caves before, so that was already cool. There were what must’ve been millions of stalactites and stalagmites, and large pools of water inside that perfectly reflected the stalactites above. As we descended farther and farther into the cave, we came to an amphitheater facing the largest lake inside the cave. We were told there would be a short concert. We took our seats, skeptical about what tacky light show they had planned for us.
An announcement came on in four languages—no recording on your phone. Then, the lights shut off. We were in complete darkness with about 200 other people. After a few moments, in the distance, we saw a lit up row boat approaching. On it were four musicians—a pianist, a cellist, and two violinists. As the boat approached, we heard the most gorgeous classical music emanating through the cave, whose shape made the acoustics absolutely perfect. The quartet played four pieces, the boat never stopping. The entire time, I was stunned. It was truly one of the most beautiful, moving things I have ever seen.
Afterwards, we went to a cala near our Airbnb. Calas are what the cove beaches you can find all around Mallorca are called. It was perfect beach weather. The sun was shining, the clear water was shimmering. We spent the afternoon between two calas, soaking up the sun and marveling at the fact that we were at the beach at the end of October. It was the perfect afternoon to complete a gorgeous weekend.
Back in Sevilla, it was Halloween! At my school, all the teachers, including me, dressed up as Maleficent. I was roped into “starring” in a little English skit the vice principal wrote for the students—”Maleficent and the Ghostbuster.” It was about Maleficent calling a very incompetent Ghostbuster to her house. It was funny and easy to understand, and the kids loved it. Though I think some of the preschoolers, who don’t know me, were a bit jarred by seeing me chase around their vice principal, hitting him with a broom!
Soon after Halloween, I caught a bad cold—I completely lost my voice for two days! I also started seriously working on my grad school applications, since my first deadlines were early December. So, November was not the most exciting month. But, there were two particularly memorable events. Diwali was in the second week of November, and I wanted to celebrate. I covered my apartment with candles and invited a few friends over for dinner. I cooked chana masala for them all by myself! And it turned out great! I was really proud of myself. Then, less than two weeks later, my roommates and I hosted Thanksgiving. We did it the Saturday after the actual day, so we could cook up a storm. My roommate Katie made an insane amount of mashed potatoes. I made butternut squash soup that I have to say turned out pretty tasty and roasted sweet potatoes. My roommate Margo made the most delicious vegetarian gravy and stuffing. Our friends brought much more food, including a turkey! In true Thanksgiving fashion, we ate way too much, and the party started at 4 and went on until 2am. It was truly a blast.
As I said in my last newsletter, the best part of my life here in Sevilla so far has been hanging out with friends and cooking for each other. It’s brought me so much joy to connect with people, especially over food. I’ll talk more about this in my next letter, but I cannot overstate how impactful it is to have good friends within a five-minute walking radius. I have been so happy and content because of it.
I have much, much more to say, and hopefully you’re still interested—but I’ll save it for next time. Thank you so much for reading, and happy holidays!
