When we arrived to the hotel in Seville, we had a free hour to either chill in hotel rooms or go for a swim. The pool was on the sixth floor and the views of the city were gorgeous! After cooling off, we watched some Spanish Disney channel shows as a fun, cultural experience— our favorite was “Descendants.” Next, we had a joint dinner with the Miami Children’s Chorus and the Florida Singing Sons. We had a great time and met many new friends!

We woke up the next morning and went on a walking tour of Seville, including the Jewish Quarter and the Catedral de Seville. At the cathedral, we explored the chapel with the tour guide and the bell tower on our own. The bell tower used 34 ramps in place of stairs so the older people could ride donkeys/horses up rather than climb to call for prayer. The view from the top was amazing as we could see the whole city! The bells even went off when we were there, which totally scared Natalie, but it was all really fun. For lunch we went to the Restaurante el Cabildo and had bread, gazpacho, and stewed meat with cooked veggies. After lunch we returned to the hotel to rehearse for our first concert later that night. We sang some of our combined songs for the first time and it was really cool to see the music come together! Later that night, we met a Spanish children’s choir, the Escolania de los Palacios, at a church in the outskirts of Seville. We also had a rehearsal with a TV crew! (We didn’t know we would be on TV, but it was really cool!) After the rehearsal, we had dinner in the courtyard adjacent to the church, which was really beautiful. The Spanish speakers among us were also able to communicate with the children from the Spanish choir.

The concert was during the Spain v. France match of the Euros, so we didn’t expect a huge turnout; however, when we showed up, the audience was packed! There were even people standing in the back. Everyone did really well and Natalie killed her solo (!!). The concert closed with “Vivir Mi Vida.” The whole audience knew it, and so many stood up and sang with us! Also Spain won the semifinal, so the entire audience and all the choirs joined in chanting “España!”It was a really cool unifying moment. We finished with gifts from the Spanish choir, and we gifted them some tokens of appreciation. Some of us exchanged contacts with the Spanish choristers, and we got on the bus to drive back to the hotel.

When we got back, our room, room 513, had a surprise: there was a gecko above our TV! In another bonding moment, Ms. Ortman captured it with a trashcan and Hannah’s music (and don’t worry, it made it outside safe and sound). So, although the day ended with an amazing adrenaline rush, we had an amazing time meeting new people and seeing new places. Look forward to our next blog post! ⁃ Hannah, Natalie, and Sophie (edited by Helen A)