Kissed by the Sun
Trip Start
Sep 01, 2009
1
10
16
Trip End
Nov 30, 2009
Seville, Andalusia, Spain and Canary Islands
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
By the time the bus arrived, I looked like Id jumped into a swimming pool in my clothes. It was not long to my stop and the directions seemed simple enough. So when I arrived at Calle Siempre, I followed the directions to the second street and looked for the hostel at the end of this road. When I reached the end of the second street though there was nothing. Of course it was Sunday as well so every shop was closed. I looked around confused and exhausted. Maybe I counted wrong and missed a street. I walked to the end of the street before this one- again no hostel. At this point I began to get a little more frustrated but still had some hope. To the end of the third street I went and again nothing. Now I removed my coat, wiped my brow and looked around for some sign of the hostel. Nothing. For the next half hour I walked up and down every street three or four times, dragging my coat in the dirt and fighting back tears of fear and frustration. Tourists and locals whod seen me pass several times looked at me with confusion but I decided it was no use asking them because most people dont know where hostels are. I began to think oh no maybe I booked a hostel that doesnt exist anymore, maybe I wrote down the directions for the wrong hostel. I decided to walk back towards the McDonalds to get connection on my Ipod and look up their number. Then on my way down Calle Siempre, what did I see- a sign from the other direction Nuevo Suzo Hostel with an arrow. Are you kidding!! This was not even a street but rather a small gap between two stores. I walked down the gap and at the end there was nothign but construction, then I looked to the left and found a small sign and door for the hostel. I wanted to punch someone, especially the person who wrotes these assinine directions. I reached the door and angrily lifted my suitcase with the little energy I had left into the hostel. As soon as I saw the man at the desk I said you need to fix your directions they are horrible! He only laughed and said can you take a seat for a few minutes. I collapsed into the chair and fell silent.
Once I checked in and got settled into my dorm and changed my clothes, I took the map they gave me and left the hostel to explore. At the end of the street, I found a wide open square with several cafes with patrons sipping sangria and eating tapas, a man selling roasted chestnuts on a cart and several men napping in the back of their horse and buggys. The main building takign up the majority of the square had fabulous architecture which intrigued me to snap a few pictures before moving on. Down the narrow street fingering off the square were shops selling flamenco dresses with red ruffles and black poka dots, fans with intricate designs, and tapas cookbooks. An awning of sheer white cloth hung above my head between the buildings and at the end of the street could be seen the elaborate exit of the Sevilla Cathedral with a huge arched opening, a 3D etching of ancient people at the church and above two bronze bells. When I reached the end of the road I thought it was the entrance but was turned away and sent around to the other side. The entire Cathedral filled several city blocks. The main tower with its Morocan design carved intricately into the sides was very different than any other Cathedral Id seen so far. When I reached the entrance at the farside from the exit there was a long line to enter. I waited for a half hour and when I finally reached the door thinking because Id read it in my guide book that it is free on Sundays, I found out that had changed and it would cost me 8 euros to enter. I thought this was bullshit so I did my usual free tour of the gift shop where I can perouse the book with all the pictures of the interior of the Cathedral for free.
When you are traveling on a budget its not worth paying 8 euros for every tour especially if youve seen hundreds of Cathedrals already. So I walked towards the water front. Just wandering down the streets of Sevilla is a treat because all the buildings are so wonderfully designed and colored. You can definately tell you are in southern spain because the colors are so vibrant! The facades of the buildings are either flamingo pink, blood orange, salmon, or white stucco with tangerine outlines around the windows. I found myself stopping every few feet to snap a picture of a random apartment building. I made it to the water front where the bull fighting ring is and it was also painted solid white with gold borders. A statue of a bullfighter stood at the front. Of course again it was 6 euros to see the inside and I refused to pay because I am cheap. So instead I walked along the water front which is just a stone path lined with tall palm trees and several al fresco bars blasting lauryn hill and full of people chatting and drinking mojitos. I walked across the bridge just to look at the view of the ferry boats chugging down the center of the water and people eating, biking or walking along the edge. I then walked back and towards the artilery tower made of stone and used now just to view the entire city from up high. Then I chose to walk up the street along the side of a palace and the gardens, which at the end had about twenty recycling barrels with unique graffiti on them depicting different scenes of people living in trash or telling people to recycle, etc. It was a clever campaign!
I wandered around for hours down all the streets, past several enormous, elaborate buildings said to be some palace or official building. Then I found a beautiful theater also white with gold trimmings in the shape of a dome with long arms stretching out on either side creating a semi circle. On the inside I noticed hundreds of people had gathered to view one of the biggest toy train sets Ive ever seen. It was a whole countryside with trains and little cities all set up in side and the trains chuggign around with actual lights on in their windows. Little kids pointed in awe as did adults. I started to get hungry though and had to leave to walk back to my hostel. On the way back I mustve seen about ten stray cats napping or playing on the grounds of the Parliament building. Spain seemed to have tons of stray cats but they all seemed happy and fed.
That night I went with a german kid in my hostel to see the free flamenco show at a local bar near the hostel. It was packed inside with tourists but we were able to get a seat in the second row and a pitcher of sangria for only 6 euros- the one thing that is cheap in spain is drinks! The flamenco performance included a man on flamenco guitar, another man providing the chanting and singing and beautiful woman who danced and clapped. They started with just the chanting and singing which is very arabic sounding and beautiful it sounds like an expression of the soul as he moans and screams and they all clap to the flamenco beat. Then the woman stands up and her feet move so fast on the floor and her hands and arms snap into different positions, her face remains very stiff and serious. They do several different styles and dances, my favorite being when she uses the fan. It was a wonderful performance especially because it was free.
The next day I found out that everything is closed on Mondays like all the museums and the Alcazar Palace I was waiting to visit. So I just wandered around the city again. I walked through a beautiful and peaceful garden along the stone walls of the palace. It had vibrant flowers, enormous lustrous trees with winding trunks, and a very tall fountain with a dedication to Ferdinand and Isabella, king and queen of spain. I visited the Plaza Espana, which is one of the grandest things Ive ever seen. It is an enormous semi circle of golden arches and towers. It has an enormous fountain showering water into the air at the center and several bridges crossing a moat used for row boating and gondolas in the summer. Its color was so vibrant in the sunlight it required sunglasses to look at. It has two towers one on each end and horses and buggys make a tour around the center of it. I wish I could describe it better but youd have to just see it to understand what I mean. Anyway it is fabulous and I spent several hours just relaxing on its marble benches.
Unfortunately for Sevilla being so expensive I could only stay two days but my hostel was very nice, affordable and cozy with a nice rooftop deck with hammocks to watch the sunset over the golden city. Id love to return one day with my husband because it is a very romantic place to be.
