We anticipated that we would sleep on the bus but needless to say, a crowded, bumpy, drive through the Spanish countryside was not exactly prime conditions for a good night's sleep and I got maybe one hour. When we got off the bus six hours later, we were all exhausted and had little idea where to go. We ended up walking to the wrong bus stop and had to turn around with all our bags in the dark, early morning and finally we found the right one. After asking the bus driver which stop to get off at, we finally figured that out too and got off. From here, we had directions to the hostel but in Spain there are virtually no street signs except occasionally on the buildings in discrete places, so at this point we were all tired, crabby, cold and a little lost. Luckily, a nice Spanish woman was able to help us out and showed us where to go.
The hostel we stayed at was called The Garden Backpacker and apparently it was rated the #9 hostel in the world. It was my first hostel experience so although I don't have much to compare it to, I had a fantastic experience there. The workers were very nice and helpful and the rooms were nice, prices were pretty good and they gave us free breakfast and free sangria at night (sangria is a Spanish drink like fruity wine for anyone who hasn't had it, it is very good.)
Anyway, at this point it was about 8:30am so upon checking in, we went upstairs and took a siesta to warm up and hopefully improve our moods before going out to explore the city. Needless to say, we were in much better spirits after sleeping and grabbing some breakfast and were ready to see the sights of Sevilla, so we grabbed a few maps and set out for the day.
Beautiful orange trees of Sevilla!
Stephanie's reaction to trying an orange
We meandered through the streets for awhile and really just tried to enjoy the experience and take in the differences between the cultures of the south, as the different Spanish autonomic states are very, very different from each other. Sevilla, in the South, is generally much warmer and Friday was very nice and sunny, a beautiful day to enjoy the sights. We noticed right away that there were these orange trees everywhere which were really pretty to look at and looked delicious. However, further proof that looks can be deceiving, Stephanie grabbed an orange to try it out and nearly threw up. I can't give any personal testimony but she claims that it tasted like battery acid. Lesson learned... if the locals aren't eating them, there is probably a reason for that.
We went through the parks and side streets for awhile and saw a lot of stores dedicated to flamenco which is a huge part of the culture in the south. We really wanted to make it to a flamenco show while we were there, but the shows are pretty expensive and sadly it didn't work out, but hopefully at some point we'll get to one!
Anyway, at this point, we were getting hungry again and we decided to go get some food along the main plaza. We wanted authentic southern food and we found some at this little outdoor tapas cafe. We ordered Tinto de Verano with our tapas to share which is a red wine mixed with Coca-Cola and although it sounds weird, it is actually really delicious.
Catedral
El Real Alcazar
One of the Gardens
After re-filling our stomachs, we were ready to continue with our tour of the city and wound up at Real Alcazar, a famous palace in the city and the most beautiful building and gardens I have ever been too. It literally took our breath away with the intricate Moorish architecture that covered every wall and ceiling and the gardens that were straight out of paradise. This, we all agreed, was the highlight of the trip and would recommend it to all of our friends.
That night we had paella night with our hostel and had more food than we knew what to do with along with our sangria. We ate with some people from the hostel and met some interesting people from Holland who we talked to for awhile. We turned in early that night so we would be ready for the next day.
The next morning was wayyyyyyy colder than the day before and also overcast which was a bit of a bummer, but we were still excited to continue our adventures. So Saturday, we rented bikes for 5 euros each and took off to explore the further sites of the city. We passed a government protest in the street which was interesting to see even though we didn't really understand what they were protesting. Anyway, continuing on, we went to the Plaza de Espana which was a really big open plaza with a moat-like thing where you could rent row boats, but it was too cold for us so we skipped out on that part.
Hopping on our bikes!
Protest blocking the streets
Plaza de Espana
The children were feeding the birds!
This one was yelling for help to his dad.
After grabbing lunch at a fancy Italian restaurant, we began to bike our way back toward our hostel and stopped at El Museo de Bellas Artes which is an art museum that had some really cool Spanish art. After spending a good while meandering through various centuries of artwork, we finally biked it back to the hostel and managed to not get lost.
That night, we decided to do a night life tour with our hostel as we had heard good things about it from some people we had talked to. We joined up with a large group from our hostel and met some of the most interesting people and got to hang out with them while touring the night scene of Sevilla. We met a group from Scotland, a few from Germany, Australia and a girl from New York who is living in Madrid who we hope to meet up with for dinner sometime while we're all here. I loved meeting new people in new places and talking to them about their experiences and getting their advice on Europe. It was a fantastic wrap-up to a fabulous weekend spent in Madrid and hopefully an indication of great trips to come!
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