Hello everyone! I am a GW student studying in Madrid. On the first Monday of the month of May in many European countries they celebrate labour day. In Madrid, they get an extra day off on Tuesday for celebrating their patron saint, San Isidoro. During this long weekend a few friends and myself took a trip to the south of Spain.
On our first day we visited Seville, which is a beautiful city. We did not know it, but during the time we were there the local population was doing a celebration called "Feria." This is an old tradition where many wealthy Spanish families own tents in the central region of Seville where they invite their family friends for food and drinks. There is a heavy emphasis on the tradition during the festival so many men are wearing three piece suits and women flamenco dresses. There is also an abundance of horses and carriages that deliver people to their tents. It costs 100 euros to take one, and we were a little under dressed so decided to pass.
After Seville, we traveled to Cadiz which is the oldest city in Europe! Here we enjoyed local cuisine including lots of seafood and then we visited the beach. We met some locals and used the Spanish we had learned all semester to communicate with them! After two days in Cadiz, we traveled to Tarifa, a small colonial city that is one of the furthest south points in continental Spain. You can see Morocco from here! The beach here was amazing along with the waves. After a full day of swimming and surfing we headed into town to eat dinner. Here we went to an old steak house where they grill the steaks outside in front of you.
After the were done in Tarifa, it was time to head back to Madrid. After a long 8 hour bus ride we were finally home and used Tuesday for some well needed rest. Overall, I wish I had so much more time to visit these places because they were all so cool and interesting. The people in each were so nice and it was a great opportunity for us to practice our Spanish. I will be coming back in the future!
David Rebich
GW Madrid
Spring 2023
International Affairs and Business Major