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Steamy Seville
Entry 22 of 24 | show all | print this entry |
WOW is Seville HOT in the summer. It was reported to be 46 degrees celsius which is about 110 fahrenheit. I now understand why Spaniards take a siesta because even though we woke up at 11, we were ready to sleep again by 5. The Heat just takes all the energy out of you. But Seville was still really nice, much more authentically Spanish than the cosmopolitan Barcelona, much cheaper and a lot fewer people speak English. Many restaurants will have an English menu, but the waiters wont understand what you are ordering if you tell them in English, so you have to find that line on the spanish menu and hope its the same thing. We are lucky that we took Spanish in high school and college or else we would be in real trouble. Definitely the least English since Athens.
We flew from Barcelona to Seville instead of taking a 12 hour train ride. We flew Vueling which is a new Spanish low fare airline that I would definitely recommend if flying to or from Spain, better than EasyJet. And we stayed in a hostel right off Calle Sierpes which is one of the main shopping streets. North of there is really cheap food. Our first night, Phil and I got 4 tapas, a huge fish for 2 and beer for 22 euro which is one of the cheapest meals we have had with some of the most food.
The next day, Thursday, was important for 2 reasons. Flea Market day and Bullfighting Day. Now I was expecting a Miami style flea market with lower quality new goods. Instead, we found block after block of guys selling their old crap off blankets on the sidewalk. You could buy an old playstation, old cell phone, old plumbing pipe or old silverware. Not a great supermarket but we still found some decent stuff to buy and bring home.
That day we also saw the Cathedral (the 3rd largest in the world behind St. Peters in the Vatican and St. Pauls in London, and the home to the remains of Cristobal Colon. Not his body, but an actual trunk with his bones rescued from Cuba.) We also visited the Alcazar, the Palace of centuries of Spanish Kings which is the epitome of what I think of Spanish style architecture. Rounded archways and doorways, mosaic covered walls, Gold paint and ceilings, marble floors, beautiful interior gardens and fountains done in the Moorish style. Best of all, the Alcazar is free with a International Student Identity Card. Discounts in Spain alone paid for the card, so if you are coming here, get one.
After a big, cheap lunch (10 euros for paella, spinach omelette and flan) we took a siesta before the bullfight. Now if you dont know, they actually kill 6 bulls at every bullfight, which take once a week in many cities around Spain. It is sad and gross, but that is the custom, so I may have well seen it. Now you pay less to sit in the sun, but since the fight didnt start until 10 pm, there was no sun, so we paid less (10 euros) to sit in the second row in the sun. The bull is sent into the ring and run around a bit before the Matador sticks 6 colorful sticks into its back, 2 at a time. This causes the bull to bleed and slow down, and the matador then entices the bull with his red flag to tire it out even more and prove his worth as a skilled matador. 2 of the matadors were actually caught by the bulls horns and thrown into the air. It is a dangerous job, but the bull usually goes for the flag and not the man. Anyways, after a while, the matador takes a long sword, points it at the bull, and sticks it straight in its back, to the heart, causing it to stumble and fall. When down, a smaller sword is stuck into the neck to kill it instantly. 3 horses are brought into the ring to drag the dead bull away, as the matador bows for the hankerchief waving crowd and the band plays as reward for the kill. A crazy tradition that I dont need to see again anytime soon.
Our last day in Seville was another scorcher so we walked around the narrow streets of Barrio Santa Cruz to the impressive Plaza de Espana - written about in Dan Browns Digital Fortress - very large with mosaic maps and scenes from all the major cities in Spain. Walked to the river to check out the Torre del Oro, unimpressive, before another siesta - quite necessary in the heat. Dinner was a whole sole before finding Cerveceria Internacional which had 280 beers from around the world, mostly Belgian and German, the two best beer countries of our trip so far. Needless to say, we had a good time and our thirst was quenched for the moment, even though it was above 90 degrees after 1 am when the bar closed.
This morning we caught a train to Madrid and since all the 2nd class was sold out, we had to pay 13 euros extra for first class. Fitting that the last train of our trip was the nicest. They came around with drinks 3 times in 2 and a half hours, offered newspapers (I got an english one and found out about the Ben Wallace signing and Israel destroying Lebanon), offered a couple of hot towels, a small lunch, and even a movie. It was by far the best train we have been on, definitely worth the extra 13 euros to travel in comfort.
We are in MAdrid now, which is also hot. Checked out some sights and now resting before a free concert tonight. I will be home on Tuesday and I am excited about my own bed, good air conditioning and Free water and refills. (and sleeping for a few days) I am now realizing that 6 weeks is a long time to be away from home and a normal routine. I will try to write again before i get home. If not, you will get a full recap of Madrid and everything else then.
Blake
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