Campeones

I took Business Class AVE to Sevilla. I had to pay a little bit extra, but the meal service was key. Arriving in Sevilla was tough. I got some basic info from the tourist office, but forgot to get accomodation information. And when I went back, they had left for lunch. At first I didn´t think it was too hot there, but wearing the jacket made me soon reconsider. So I left that and my luggage at the train station and then couldn´t find the bus, so I started walking toward downtown in my jeans, shirt and daypack. Little did I know that it was 43 degrees Celsius. I try to wear trousers or pants when travelling especially if I know I´ll hit a church and want to be respectful. Furthermore, shorts are not the trend in most countries. Had I seen the others, I would´ve realized that in Sevilla, it´s fine.

Sevilla weather

I saw no one else on the streets that day. It was even too hot for them. I didn´t have much water left either. It was like walking through an urban desert. The shade made ever the difference. Eventually I got to downtown by following the signs. I quickly got to the old part of town and got a chance to see the old streets. Lots of tourist places around. Very narrow streets as well. I heard that the tourists in front of me were heading to the Cathedral, so I decided to follow. Later I found out that they were going to their hotel. So I was lost. And I didn´t even secure accomodations yet. Eventually, I saw an internet café. I went in and searched to find out where the hell I was and where the hell i was going to stay.

Mezquita

I headed toward the Cathedral and went in because they were almost closing. It had very intricate work inside. Well worth it. The ceilings, the façades, the turrets. It was so well preserved, so of course I had a blast taking photos there. I rushed up the tower to see the view from the top, which in hindsight was a poor idea because I still needed water, but the view was well worth it. After going to the Mezquita, I went to find a hostel. Got there all sweaty and was able to get a room for cheap. Plus they had a free welcome drink. So after all that, I had to take a bus back to the train station to pick up my bag and then find a way back. Now that I knew which buses went where, I didn´t dare walk back.

Final 1

That night was a very important match, it was the finals for Eurocopa. I hadn´t eaten either, so the plan was to go out get drunk, join in celebration (or commisseration) and get dinner. Ah, maybe that´s why no one was open earlier. They´re all preparing for the game. The game was amazing. I was of course cheering for Spain, but if Germany had won, I´d feel good for them in avenging the World Cup loss. But to be in Spain and see them win was just amazing. And Spaniards do celebrate. I wanted to get to a big square before it got too crowded, so as soon as the final whistle blew I had to get out of there. Thing is that the restaurant I was at tried to overcharge me. Initially they had 3 dishes of tortellini, 3 cubiertos (cover charge), 3 waters, 5 beers. I didn´t have that all, so I had them change it. So they did. They thought I wouldn´t notice. So next time they brought it back, they still had an extra plate of tortellini, so they had to go back and do it again. The third time it was accurate and I paid.

Jerez 1

Over at Puerta de Jerez, they were already celebrating. And that wasn´t even the biggest place. All the kids were chanting and throwing water and demonstrating being castillian. So many of them even offered to pose for pictures. They may have thought I was a newspaper photographer, I don´t know. It wasn´t the first time someone thought I was a media photographer. I wanted to get to Plaza de españa, but was quite tired from the day. Didn´t feel like getting to a crowd and losing the camera either. Funny thing is that I got back to the hostel and I could still hear the cheers at 3 am. And I had a 8 am wake up time because I had to go to Córdoba en route Vigo.

Jerez 2

Jerez 3

Jerez 4

Jerez 5

Jerez bandera

Jerez coche

Jerez manos

Mezquita ceiling self

Final 2

Final 3

Final 4

Final 5

Mezquita Ceiling

Mezquita ellipse

Mezquita gate

Mezquita gold

Mezquita tower

Mezquita treasury

Mezquita vista