SEVILLE!!!!!

Hola Once Again!

I suppose there will be a section in each post for me to write down what I forgot from the last city...

From Barcelona - I forgot to mention that there was a palace we went to that was significant. It was in the main square (that I forget the name of) and it is unique because most of the stones that make up the walls are from headstones of graves from a demolished Jewish graveyard during the Inquisition. I thought that this was really powerful and when I was going through pictures, I remembered that.

On to Seville!

I had an uneventful flight to Seville - had to wake up at 5:30 am to get to the metro and then on to the airport. Slept the entire flight there which turned out to be acceptable because it was super cloudy. When I got to the airport, I picked up a lovely map and guidebook then got in line for the only bus that takes you to the city. Since it is another holiday in Spain today, it only ran once and hour so I shoved my way to the front and hopped on. I made friends with an American girl from Virginia for the bus ride and when we got off the bus, I met a guy named CJ from California. He was very kind and walked in my direction so I didn't get lost and then sent me on my way after giving me some pointers about what to do in the city. There have been some really amazing people on this trip and their stories are incredible - inspiring at times.

After a long walk with my backpack, purse, North Face slung over my purse and my wool sweater with the sleeves rolled up, I finally arrived at the hostel after a hot and sun drenched walk along the river. I was sweating and was glad it was so cool in here! I am sharing my room tonight with two girls from the states who are leaving before dawn to head back to Barcelona and then I think I have it all to myself! The hostel is pretty empty so I will have no problem with access to things. I hopped on the internet and had to change some things around - I am now headed back to Stirling on the 17th (two days earlier than planned) because there is no way Lisa would make it to Berlin. I will only be spending one night there so the equivalent of a day). It will be nice to see everyone who is still on campus and give me a chance to properly pack and say goodbye.

I will have to admit that I was a failure for lunch - I went to McDonald's (my second time since being in Europe though!) I did, however, win a free hamburger thanks to the monopoly game going on! I spent my time reading my Seville book and deciding where I wanted to go. On my way out of lunch, a gypsy lady stopped me and handed me a sprig of rosemary and started telling me a fortune despite all the 'No entiendo' (I don't understand). I did understand that she thought I had a strong heart, good health due to a gesture upward, people were watching me from above. I also understood the 'Nececitas pagar' portion meaning she wanted me to pay her...she didn't like the answer no and even worse, she hated that I refused to give her more than .60€ I believe she called me some names as I walked away...

I went on a walking tour today (Wednesday I think?) and it was pretty informative. Some of the historical stories are amusing because Barcelona and Seville both believe that Christopher Columbus came from their cities and that doesn't allow for fluid historical accuracy. We were brought through some of the old Jewish neighbourhoods that came with more horror stories about the Inquisition. There are loads of gardens and lush green plants everywhere and trees sprouting with oranges. One of my favorite parts of the tour was when we went to Plaza de España. It is a huge plaza that has a special section for each part of Spain and huge parts dedicated to Seville. It is brightly decorated with all kinds of tiles and artwork and it is just impressive. (I would recommend going to check this out for yourself someday!) The people of Seville LOVE Christopher Columbus...you can't escape him. Another part about the tour that stuck out was the sign or phrase that is all over Seville - NO DO with a vertical infinity symbol in the middle. The infinity sign represents the word 'madeja' which would appear in wedding rituals to signify the bond the couple had for their life. The reason this is all around Madrid is because it was a 'gift' King Alphonse X left for the city. It literally translates to 'No me ha dejado' meaning 'She has not abandoned me'. He left this as his parting gift to the city because when his own son and the Pope turned against him and showed up with the Spanish army ready to attack the city, Seville stood up against them and fought for King Alphonse X. (He ended up being removed from kingship and was to remain exiled in Seville while his son took over.)

Day 2 in Seville started off with a trip to the bus station to purchase my ticket to Madrid. Tomorrow (the 10th) I have a 6 hour bus ride to Madrid. Woot! After the bus ticket, I headed back towards the center of town and for €2, I took a tour of the cathedral and the Giralda. Th cathedral is the largest Gothic cathedral in Europe and the 3rd largest cathedral (after the Vatican and St. Paul's) The inside was beautiful- loaded with details and a lot of gold and silver. The organ was massive! The Giralda (tower next to the church) involved a climb up over30 sections of ramp (there are no stairs in the tower because the sultan, who commissioned it, had to climb it 5 times a day for prayer so he had ramps put in so he could ride his horse up to the top) It is very Arabic on the inside but the top of the tower is a portion added by the Catholics. Following the cathedral tour, I headed back outside into the side streets and checked out all the souvenir shops - it's amazing how there can be so many with the same things! I stopped in a restaurant for some paella (a very cultural dish) with a glass of sangria. Typically, paella is made with fish or seafood but I had mine with chicken instead =] It was really good so I would recommend it! Walked down town a bit more then headed back to the hostel for a siesta since the hot Spanish sun was making me tired!

After my siesta, I headed out for some Ben and Jerrys (which is a small luxury I treated myself to!) and then I sat by a beautiful fountain people watching for a while. I exchanged greetings with some lovely old people and was able to watch people bike riding and roller blading all over the plaza. This was a particularly lonely night for me...after traveling by yourself for quite sometime, it gets to you, so the people watching helped not to mention all of the awesome Christmas music that the performers were playing in the street! I grabbed some food then headed back through the crowded streets to get ready to leave real early the next day! I really love Seville and would love to head back there some day!

There are loads more stories but I will write about those when I put all of my pictures up on facebook. It is easier to write a historical caption when I can see the picture and so can everyone else!