Ma Vie est Belle: Bienvenido a Sevilla!

Hola! I am back from one of the best vacations I have ever had. Sevilla, Spain is quite possibly one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. Emily, Lindsay, and I did so much in only one week. The first day we arrived around midnight, and as soon as we got off the bus from the airport we were immediately in love. As we walked to our hostel we couldn't stop ooo-ing and ahh-ing at everything. We dropped our bags off at the hostel and went in search of food, as we were

absolutely starving. We were walking down the street and ended up passing a tapas bar and Emily's best friend Katie, who is studying in Sevilla, and a friend of mine from Bowdoin, Allie, were sitting in the bar! We were so psyched to run into someone we knew. We had tinto con limon's (red wine and fanta - amazing) and tapas. Then we walked across a bridge to have churros, which is basically friend dough and hot chocolate. Lindsay and I decided to get cold churros, which are basically friend dough, filled with creme, dipped in chocolate, topped with sprinkles. They changed our life. They are absolutely incredible (reason number 1 to move to Sevilla). It had to have been the best Valentine's Day ever. The first night we got no sleep because we had three roommates in the hostel who decided to have a snoring contest at all hours of the night.

(Beautiful view of Sevilla and the river through the middle)

The first day we took a tour of the Cathedral, which is the oldest Gothic cathedral in the world! It is absolutely incredible, and holds the tomb of Christopher Columbus. Lindsay got accosted by a gypsy too - which we learned is really common. What happens is they grab your hands,

read your palm in Spanish, make you smell some rosemary, and then demand 5 Euros. Lindsay pretended she didn't have any money, but often they will just straight up steal from you! We took a break and grabbed tapas near by, and split a pitcher of delicious sangria. We then met up with Katie, Allie, and a couple of the other girls who they are studying with, and who are so so nice. They showed us around a bit, including their university and some incredible gardens in the middle of the city. We then grabbed gelato, and sat to enjoy the sunshine. After a shower and a siesta (sidenote: in Spain everything closes from 2-5 so that people can go home and have a nap, reason number 2 to move to Sevilla), we met up with the same girls for Tex-Mex. Then continued to window shop and went to a very cool bar for a quick drink before bed. That night, our snoring roommates continued their competition, so at 3 AM I was all business and moved us to another room so we could FINALLY get some sleep.

(Wow! Christopher Columbus!)

(Tower of Giralda, part of Cathedral)

(Emily and Lindsay in front of the Cathedral's fountain)

The next morning Katie met us in town a little later for some shopping. I legit wanted to buy everything. The jewelry and clothes are incredible. We were all very successful and bought rings, scarves, necklaces, and earrings. We were then able to meet Lindsay's best friend from school, Becca, for sandwiches at a place called El Patio. The smoked salmon sandwiches were kickass - as was the sa

ngria. Becca is absolutely adorable, and she and I were able to talk comedy for a long time which was great. So after lunch Becca had to peace, so obvi Emily, Linds and I kept shopping. We then went back to the hostel for shower/siesta (damn siesta's are amazing) and went back to a bar called Bar Alfalfa for tapas with a boy we had met on the bus from the airport into town - he is from Berlin but studied in Paris and was now studying Spanish in Seville - he brought his Spanish friend who has been living in Seville. The tapas was so good - it was like Italian tapas, so we had fresh caprese salad tapas, and brushetta, done and done. Afterwords, we went to see flamenco at a place called La Carbonoria. Becca came with as she had been there a few times. It was free, with cheap sangria, and it was PACKED. We stayed for a while and watched one guy play the guitar, one guy sing, and a woman dance. It was really fun - OLE.

It is now Tuesday ... We were ALL able to change rooms last night, so we now have a 6 person room with no roommates so it is basically a private room, thank God. We wake up late and get psyched for a breakfast of cold churros. When we get there, they have none! So Lindsay and I settle for hot gaufres con chocolate (hot waffles with chocolate ... wow).

We then head to the Alcázar of Seville, which is a huge walled in palace. The king and queen of Spain still stay there when they visit Seville! It is one of the most incredible places I have ever been. Lindsay and I did an audio tour and learn all about the tiling and each room and what it was used for. We then make it to the gardens, which seem to go on forever. It is an absolutely beautiful day, and we decide to just hang out in the sun for a bit before we move on. We then have tapas lunch behind the Cathedral, a recommendation from one of Lindsay's friends. It is really good (we ended up going back on Wednesday). We then meet Becca at Plaza de Espagne, which is a huge palace looking place with every district or area of Spain tiled into the walls. We continue to walk through Parque Maria Lusia, which again is absolutely beautiful. I have failed to mention that there are palm trees everywhere, and it is about 20 degrees every day ... (that's 68 degrees F fyi). Emily and I go back and siesta while Lindsay hangs out with Becca for the rest of the afternoon. She brings home mini 1 EUR sandwiches for dinner and some wine that we eat in the hostel before going out. We decide this is going to be our big night out - but after a couple bottles of wine and a couple bars, we already need to go home ... it's only 12:30 ... awesome guys.

Wednesday morning was a little rough, but we rallied because we had to check out of the hostel. While Emily went to spend some time with her friend Katie, Lindsay and I made a b-line for the Palace gardens (entrance is free) to take a nap in the sun. We then meet up with Becca, Katie, and Emily for sandwiches at El Patio again. Afterwords, Becca shows us this square in Sevilla where people just hang out and drink one euro beers in the afternoon. When I say everyone, I mean everyone. There are homeless people running

around with their dogs, and there are beautiful old women dressed to the nines in fur having an afternoon break from shopping. It is incredible. Then Emily, Linds and I grab gelato and head to the river. We sat/slept in the sun for 3 hours! We had no place to go so we stayed and people watched and watched the sunset. It was the perfect way to end our stay in Seville. We grabbed our bags we had left at the hostel, and Emily met up with Katie for dinner, while Lindsay, Becca, and I went back to one of the tapas places for dinner. This is when our adventure begins ... We walk to meet Emily and say goodbye to Katie and the other girls, and head to the bus stop for a 12:15 bus to the airport. The bus driver is very nice and informs us the airport is closed. So we have checked out of our hostel, we cannot sleep in the airport on account of it being closed, and it's 12:30 in the morning. We walk all the way back to the hostel and convince the receptionist (who barely speaks English) to let the three of us sleep on one couch for 4 hours for free. We hardly sleep, but get back to the bus station around 4:50 and wait for the bus. We make the flight, and PASS OUT on the plane. We have finally arrived back in France, but have our reservations about Paris because a. Seville is absolutely amazing and b. we technically don't have a place to stay and our train home isn't until Saturday.