Sevilla Part... 2?

When I tell people I am staying in Spain for two semesters, almost everyone asks “had you been to Europe before this trip?” Once, I answer… to a little city called Seville, Spain (Sevilla- pronounced Say-VEE-YA in Spanish). I went in high school for 2 weeks to a summer school and to live with a Spanish family. The family was not fantastic, but the experience was nonetheless incredible. I was with my best friends and my high school boyfriend, which translates as any Senior-in-high-school’s dream. So, I have been anticipating the BU group trip to Sevilla since I heard about it in September. 

The 85 students studying with the BU program met at Atocha station and took the AVE speed train to Sevilla on a sunny Friday morning in February. After dropping our bags off at a Franco-era-looking hotel (but a hotel nonetheless… LUXURY in my book) we went to the square in front of the town ayuntamiento (town hall). The streets were lined with orange trees, something I didn´t remember from before, but the arriving to the square brought everything from my memory back to the present. The nostalgia was a lot to take.

My Spanish family, my roommate, and I circa July 2007

Hello again, Sevilla. You are still perfect circa February 2011

 

First, we went to the Cathedral of Sevilla (another cathedral in Spain- surprised?), the largest Gothic cathedral in the world (so not JUST another cathedral in Spain). Coincidentally, when it was finished in the 16^th century, it surpassed the Hagia Sofia (yes, the one in Istanbul that I just saw) as the world´s largest cathedral, a title the structure in Istanbul had held for a thousand years. Thanks wikipedia!

Taking romantic pictures in the courtyard of the Cathedral

Bell-tower of the cathedral

Typical understated gold plated altar of a Spanish cathedral

Supposedly the tomb of Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus).
He is a big deal for the Spanish too.

After that, we went to the Reales Alcázares, an old Moorish palace with a series of rooms and gardens. I had seen it before, so I have to admit it was not THAT exciting, it just made me more ready to see La Alhambra in Granada.

We had some free time after that, so Natalie and I got some café con leche at a café I frequented during my last trip there.  We also bought wine at a Chino (it's not racist, it's spanish; they call any mom and pop shop owned by asians a chino) since we are cheap budget-travel savvy. We successfully had two bottles of wine until Natalie dropped her bag and broke her bottle on the marble floor of the café, causing her (and probably me by association) to look like alcoholics. We promptly got another bottle.

Don´t cry over spilt vino tinto

Catedral de Sevilla 

We went to a Flamenco show after that, and I whimsically thought it might be in the same place that I went to as a Senior in high school. When we arrived I was unmistakably sure that it WAS. The mirror image of these two trips was getting weird.

After the show, Natalie and I got chips and salsa and an apple each for dinner (Yes, you read correctly, no need to go back- we are that cheap economical), resulting in very effective inebriation. We asked the front desk hombre where we should go out and he recommended La Calle Betis, coincidentally the street where Alambique Bar is, the bar half of my high school proragram frequented 3 years prior. What was once a slightly run-down local place had turned into a sleek and very full bar. No worries though, they were not so far from where they had once been; they DID have 1 euro shots. This was both awesome and horrible for obvious reasons. After getting our fill- ok, more than our fill- we went to Disotheque Boss, a place my friends and I in high school had seen over and over but could never go in. Our curfew being midnight and this place opening at midnight was a big problem. 

At the end of the night, we successfully found a bad cab driver who let 5 of us get in and were whisked away to our glorious hotel room.

Starting the next morning at an art museum was a little rough, but the BEYOND WELCOME American style breakfast complete with scrambled eggs, bacon, fruit, cheese and toast, helped what I'll just call the group hangover. 

Group Hangover... sunglasses.

After the art museum a group of us used our free time to go to Plaza de España, which I remember being one of my favorite places in Sevilla. Natalie and I had our typical novelty-ice-cream bar for lunch, then four of us rented a group bike to ride around the park. 

This is what my life is like on weekends.

I have a history with these bikes. When I went on a two person bike Senior year here, sandwiched between two 17-year-old boys, we unsurprisingly tipped it over going at who-knows-what-speed into a sand pit. I was determined for that NOT to happen on this ride, and un-climactically, it wasn’t too difficult, considering we were all too hungover to ride any bike athletically.

Sevilla bikes circa July 2007

Sevilla bikes circa February 2011

We topped off the day at a bar on the river (literally ON the river) and I got a thoroughly delicious mojito. 

Site of delicious mojito

As we boarded the AVE, I was not ready to leave this beautiful place. Sevilla in my Boston across the Atlantic. It is so charming and beautiful and it will always feel like a home to me. Te quiero para siempre, Sevilla.