Shorts in Paradise!

Day 28. Today Adrianna, Sarah and I decided to have a picnic! We met up and went to a super market and bought supplies to make sandwiches, got fresh fruit, chips, juice, and we even had chocolate cake for dessert. We went to the Plaza de Espagne and had our picnic in the gardens. It was beautiful! The phrase, “Welcome to Paradise” kept popping into my head if that give you any inclination as to how gorgeous it was (Plus Seville used to be called Andalusia which literally means paradise, just sayin'). Ponds laid out just so, palm trees, birds, flowers, the sun was shining, the heat of the day. Ugh. I loved it. Our picnic was so lovely and we all got our fill to eat, so we then decided to lay in the sun for a bit and relax as our food settled. The sun got hot quick but it felt amazing. After tanning for a while we walked through the plaza and then made our way to the old tobacco factory that has since been transformed into a university. There wasn’t too much to see there, so we made our way back to the cathedral in the city center. Close to the cathedral is the Archivo de las Indias (India Museum) that is doing an exhibit on all of the archived treasures of Columbus! It was so awesome! There were unfinished maps, maps with insane detail along coastlines, letters from Columbus to the Queen, other letters with amazing and colorful knights/house sigils right in the center, and the history was so cool. I wished that the descriptions could have been in English as well as Spanish, but I understood basically what everything was. Another thing I should mention is the weather. April and May is the perfect time to come to Seville. It’s not too hot and the oranges are in bloom which make it smell and look so nice… and if you come during the summer months you are going to get a whiff of something not so nice. I mentioned there were horse drawn carriages everywhere to add to the feel of the city (and make money off of tourists of course, there is a 45% unemployment rate) but think about it, what do horses do wherever they please? Now think of that cooking in the streets and smelling oh so lovely…yeah, not cute.  After the museum we tried to go to the Plaza de Toros, but this week and next week there are bullfights every day because of a festival so it closed to the public pretty early. I was switching hostels to a cheaper one for the next 2 nights so we moved my stuff and got some advice to check out some mushroom buildings. Intrigued, Adrianna and I made our way to through the cities winding streets, getting lost only once or twice until we found what we were looking for. Mushrooms indeed! In the middle of a plaza there is a big mushroom-like monument of sorts. Its built over a museum of old ruins and you could go up to the top of the mushroom and walk along its winding path for a nice view of the city. Seville is very flat (the highest “hill” is only 11m high) so seeing the city was very nice and the mushroom monument was pretty cool. After the monument we were pretty tired and it was already getting late so we went back to the hostel for some dinner. Dinner was pasta and salad that I scarfed down. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I had food in front of me. I decided to take it pretty easy tonight and figure out/ book some of my travel plans for the next week. The breather was much needed, as was the sleep (thanks for the advice Paul!). Madrid and then Portugal (with Whitney!!!), and then Switzerland is right around the corner.

Day 29. Today I got ready for the day at a leisurely pace. I showered, shaved, got some breakfast, rearranged my bag, and WORE SHORTS!! That’s right. It is so hot in Seville that I am finally busting out the shorts I brought. Awesome! There were only a couple things I still wanted to see in Seville, its original wall of the city being one, so off I went. I passed through some outside markets and “window” shopped until I bumped into Sarah. We set off together through the plaza de Hercules (that’s me) as we walked towards the wall. The wall was just that, a wall. Haha, but it was all cool and castle like, built with many smaller stones inside the wall so we walked along its outside and inside wishing we knew more of its history (no walking tour today). The wall runs along Macarena street so what did I do, ...uhh the macarena of course. After the wall Sarah and I went in a super market and bought a box of ice cream cones for super cheap and split them amongst ourselves and they were extra delicious in the hot sun. Then as we were heading back to the city centre we stopped for a couple quick tapas and talked about our lives. Feeling full and relaxed we decided to go to my hostels rooftop terrace and bask in the sun and put our feet in its pool. Well the water was freezing, and when I say pool it was more like a giant hot tub. But when has that ever stopped me?? We met a nice Italian man and an American man, as well as some of the work exchange people working at the hostel.  After a while Sarah left and the heat of the day felt so good I just stripped down to my boxers and jumped right in the freezing water (I was one of three people we actually got in and the second to do it in my boxers). It felt amazing to dry off lying and talking in the sun. In fact I enjoyed it a little too much because I spent the rest of the day and night relaxing on the rooftop and definitely got burnt. I continued chatting with people I had met (Thank you Sensei Mags!), and we had a great time. Later in the evening there was a flamenco show on the roof. This time we had a female singer and she was excellent. There wasn’t any dancing, but the singer was more real and the music was very passionate. It was so amazing to be in Seville, on a rooftop as the sun was setting in the distance, listening to traditional flamenco music with good people, and just completely enjoying life. What an experience. I had realized earlier that day that I have been very ‘go-go-go’ about my traveling (when am I not ‘go-go-go’?), but seeing all that I can see just to see it is not the purpose of my travels. So it was a nice reminder to slow down and be sure I am enjoying all of the little things. Which of course I am having an amazing trip so far and do slow down and relax, I just always need to maintain a balance. And to maintain that balance I have been seeing bigger cities and then smaller cities where I can relax a bit more so I have a good system so far. Later in the evening Adrianna and Sarah came back and we went to the supermarket and got some ingredients and I put on my master chef hat and prepared a fantastic dinner. Sautéed mushrooms and onions, with fresh tomatoes and a zesty tomato sauce over pasta with fresh avocados on top. And a Kinder Beuno bar for dessert. Yummy! (I got my thanks from all the mmhm’s). We rejoined the people on the terrace and then decided we were all going to go out. We went to a bar that was crazy packed and full of a younger and very diverse travelers crowd and had lots of fun. I even got pushed into doing something not once, but twice that was quite crazy for me but strangely delicious. We tried to go dancing but it was afterhours and only the girls were going to be let in so we nixed that idea and headed back to the hostel. All in all another fantastic night filled with excellent people and many a memory.

P.s. for Debbie: The hostel kitchens are actually not too bad. They remind me of a typical college student’s kitchen - spottily stocked with random herbs and spices, olive oil if you are lucky, random pots and pans, some silverware, low utensils, just the very basics. Some are nicer than others, and most are always small, but they are usable and you can pretty much make due with whatever it has. I have noticed that in all the smaller cities I have been to the kitchens have been bigger and nicer than in the larger cities, but I guess thinking about it that makes sense. Anyone can use the kitchens and you are responsible for your own dishes and labeling your food if you trust to put something in the fridge. Some of the kitchens have hours when they are open or closed, but all in all I have found they aren’t too bad. Does that help answer any questions?