Sevilla

Two weeks ago, my roommate Steph and I decided to go to Seville, a city in the south of Spain. Most Anglophones are familiar with Seville because of the song, "The Barber of Seville". Well, as I found out, Seville is famous for much more than grooming. We took the bus early on a Friday morning and traveled about 3 1/2 hours to Seville. We didn't have class that day or the following Monday, so we made a long weekend out of it. After we arrived at the bus station, we walked around forever trying to figure out where to get a taxi. They didn't have a map, so we couldn't walk anywhere. Eventually, we found the taxi line and drove to our hostel. By the way, I had never been in a hostel, so I really didn't know what to expect. I'd told myself that I'd never stay in a hostel, but when you're broke...It actually wasn't bad. There were no bugs, serial killers, or guests with unusual sleeping habits. After we got settled in, we started walking around the city to see what Seville had to offer. There was a big fair going on that weekend, so we thought it'd be fun to go there. After a tram and a bus ride later, we found the fair. It was unlike anything I've ever seen before. There are maybe 200 little tents lined up side by side and each one is like a mini restaurant. They serve beer and tapas, and of course, there's flamenco. That's what makes this fair so incredible. Everywhere you look, there are hundreds of women dressed up in their most colorful flamenco dresses. And no two are the same. Also, there are horse-drawn carriages and Spanish cowboys and cowgirls that ride up and down the streets. And that's just one side of the fair. On the other side, there are the typical rides and attractions that we would see at home. Steph and I walked in to one of the tents to have a drink and some olives. After about five minutes of trying to explain to the barman that I wanted olives, the food that olive oil is made from, we finally got some for free. We also went to another tent on a different night. What we didn't know though was that most of the tents were private, and you needed a ticket or an invitation to get in. Apparently, no one noticed us, so it was okay. After the fair, we had dinner outside of a cute little restaurant. I ate grilled shrimp. Yum. After, we got ice cream. And that was day one.

On day two, we left our first hostel and went to the second. Because we made reservations late, we had to book three different hostels for the three nights we were there because there wasn't enough room every night. We had the tiniest double room I've ever seen in my life, but at least it was private and we had a sink. The bathroom however was off to the side and was a toilet and basically a drain in the floor covered with wooden panels. And because I'm so tall, I had to duck to shower. On this day, we decided to explore the city some more, and man did we find some pretty awesome things. First, we literally accidentally found this amazingly beautiful cathedral with a Moorish tower connected to it. That was la Giralda. We eventually found our way into the cathedral, which as we learned later is the third largest cathedral in Europe, but it was la Giralda that I found so incredible. We hike up the ramps to the top (there were no steps or elevators) and were able to view all of Seville. It was amazing how beautiful the city was. Maybe even enchanting. The art and architecture of these two buildings are astonishing. I just can't imagine 1) how someone can create these images in his/her mind, and 2) how they can be created into such masterpieces. Then, we walked some more and ended up at the Torre del Oro, another pretty cool piece of architecture. As we were walking back to the hostel, we saw a man painted in green and dressed in what looked like some sort of plant get-up with branches and fruit and flowers all over him. Not to mention, he was standing in a pot. We call him Plantman. Steph thought he was so funny that she wanted a picture with him, which he loved. After I took the photos and Steph was walking back to me, Plantman pointed at me and said "Okay. Your turn Barbie." While Steph was laughing hysterically, I said, "I have a name." He said, "Yes. Barbie." As I walked over to take a picture with him, I said, "No. It's Stephanie." He said, "No. You are big Barbie." Well, some things are universal after all. Great. And now that's another nickname to add to the list. That night, we went back to the fair. I learned from Steph that she could go on any theme park ride on the planet as long as it was permanent. However, if it was a temporary park ride, it terrified her. Eventually, I was able to convince her to go on one of those rides that looks like an octopus and the legs go up and down. We were sitting in one of the legs. Well, once the ride started, Steph wasn't too happy. As we got faster, she was screaming like a crazy person and yelling "Stephanie! Stephanie!" Well, even though I was having a blast, I started to feel a little bad, so I yelled at her that I'd buy her a beer. Eventually, the ride started to slow down, but just when I thought it was finished, it picked back up again. Steph screamed more than ever. She was still yelling my name, so I said I'd buy her two beers. When we got off the ride, I thought she was going to be furious with me, but instead she said that she kind of like it. Then, we went on the pirate ship ride. Same thing happened, so there's no need to repeat anything. But it was fun. That morning around 5:30 or 6:00 am, we woke up to a terrible banging sound. Some drunk was trying to get into his room, but his friend had locked the door and then had fallen asleep I think. The man went on banging on the door for about 30 minutes. And it took that long for someone from downstairs to say something, too. Eventually, after scaring us to death, it stopped.

On day three, we went for a boat ride along the river, which was so nice. It was getting very hot and we didn't bring any cool clothes, so we were burning. It was nice and cool under the boat's awning, and there were so many beautiful buildings on the bank. After dinner at this really cool tapas bar that we absolutely fell in love with, Steph and I went to see a flamenco performance. I've never seen dancing like that--the way the dancers let the music possess their bodies. The women were stunning with their dresses and their combs and flowers. Even the men impressed me with their moves. It was definitely worth watching, and I'd recommend it for anyone. Once it was over, we met up with a friend of Steph's from Nantes who is studying in Seville right now and we had a drink with him. By that point, my feet and legs were uncomfortably swollen and burnt. Always carry sunscreen to Seville. Always. And that basically sums up day three.

On day four, we went to the Alcazar and its lush gardens. Much of the architecture here is also Moorish. Almost everything was carved in intricate and complex lines and patterns. Everything was so green and there were many flowers in full bloom. I got lots of really pretty pictures from there and from Seville in general. We met up with Matt for lunch and then he took us over to see the University. It was also incredible with wide hallways and old wood doors. Pretty much everything about Seville was beautiful. After the University, we got a taxi to the station and headed back to Caceres. The ride home was absolutely miserable because of the heat, the lack of air conditioning, and the fact that the sun was right in our direction for some of the trip. It took a few days for the swelling to go down in my feet, but I'd say it was worth it to see Seville. It's a city that I would definitely recommend going to see. One more city down. Thousands more to go.