you control where you go, you can steer….
I have traveled two weekends in a row, there were tons of visitors last week on account of BC’s Spring Break, I think I slept a total of 15 hours Thursday-Sunday. As nice as it was to have visitors/travel I was exhausted when I got home on Sunday night. I didn’t even want to skype on Sunday which, if you know me, my favorite past time is talking, and since Skype is my cell phone over here, that was like going a day without eating (which I don’t like to do either). After my trip to Seville this weekend in Spain’s gorgeous southern autonomous community of Andalucia, I’ve decided that I have chosen the most expensive city in Spain to be abroad in. I have also determined that missing your bus on Friday morning doesn’t lead to a casual, carefree or cheap weekend getaway. I’m learning a lot here, seriously.
After I bought a significantly more expensive ticket on the AVE high speed train to Seville on Friday morning, life was good. The train put me there by 1:30 as opposed to 2pm and when I stepped out of the train station, it was 70 and sunny. If that’s the worst travel mishap I have, I’m considering myself very lucky. Freddie picked me up at the train station on Friday when I arrived and his 21st birthday weekend was underway! I looked almost as bad as him when he picked me up; I guess he started on Thursday too. After settling into our unusually clean hostel we did a little walking tour of Seville, saw his school that used to be a tobacco factory (only in Spain!), walked a little bit along the river, experienced the little shopping area, and finally settled into happy hour at P. Flaherty’s, which may or may not have been my favorite part of the weekend. It’s really funny how Irish Pubs seem to be the most popular bars in any city and any culture. There’s something about them Irish, they just do it right.
10pm rolled around and it was dinner time in Spain! We headed to a cute and cheap little tapas place that Freddie had discovered, and enjoyed FAR TOO MUCH of his favorite tapa—potato aioli—I don’t know if you’ve ever tried this, but potatoes in garlic herb mayonnaise is a crowd favorite over here. Anything in garlic herb mayonnaise is a crowd favorite to be honest. Three portions for 6 people was a little greedy I guess and the patatas aioli didn’t sit great with me as we moved onto Buddha bar for a little dance action.
Saturday we enjoyed a cup of coffee & a napolitana in the glorious 75 degree Sevilla sunshine before heading over to the 3rd largest Cathedral in the world behind St. Peter’s in Rome and St. Paul’s in London (I will have visited all 3 by the end of this adventure!) La Catedral–Great name, even greater view from the top of it. If you made the trek up the 34 ramps (they count for you) you have an amazing view of the entire city from all sides! After enjoying the view & making our way back down, we picked up bocadillos, the poor Spanish imitation of deli sandwiches, and headed to the park for a picnic. While eating our sandwiches Freddie & I concluded that we would both kill for a little of his mom’s Cape Cod Chicken Salad, or anything from his deli in all honesty. Spanish food is awful. We checked out the Plaza de Espana, basked until sunset and then reenacted Freddie’s 40 minute daily hike to his apartment complex. I’ve never been more grateful for my 15 minute walk back and forth to my metro stop daily.
After another less then satisfying dinner on Saturday night, we ran into something that I had never before experienced while in Spain, and I hope to never run into again. Seville is where Flamenco began and on Saturday night, Freddie had hoped to take us to an authentic and famous Flamenco bar called Carboneria. After getting a little lost on the way there we finally arrived around 11:30. Freddie and his friends walked in before me and when I went to walk in, the bouncer stopped me and said “Hoy en dia, no.” meaning—‘today, no’. I was so shocked that I had been stopped I couldn’t even come up with the word WHY and I’m pretty sure my face did all of the talking. Figuring it was because he had heard us speaking English while waiting in line, I thought I would surprise him with my Spanish. I finally barked “why?” in Spanish hoping that it was just because the club was too full. The answer I got however was the same one I had received a mere 2 minutes before. By this time Freddie had turned around and come out to see what the matter was, and when he realized what was going on he began asking why as well. The man was still unable to give us a concrete answer, and finally Freddie asked “is it because we are Americans?” because it was clear by that point that it was, and after acting appalled that we would even ask, he called Freddie a Fascist and we went on our way.
Seville’s beauty lies in its Spanish authenticity, but at the hands of this Spanish city I’d had my first “ugly American” run in. Freddie was so apologetic, but in all honesty, sometimes you need to be put in your place and that experience was definitely a wake up call. Americans aren’t liked everywhere, mainly for their stereotypical ignorance with language and at times selfish & know it all attitude. Most people I have encountered here are fluent in 2 languages, sometimes 3 and have traveled 2x as much as I have. That is one thing I find admirable about Europeans, for the most part they refuse to be content in the “my country is the only country attitude” and this is something that Europeans definitely find Americans to be living in. After being in Spain, I’ve definitely learned to appreciate America for the speed at which things are accomplished, the incomparable work ethic, and general conveniences and luxuries of life. However, if we hadn’t been speaking English in that line we may have gotten into that Flamenco bar. I’m glad we didn’t, it may have been the lesson I’ve learned these last 8 weeks.
Sunday was the nicest day of the weekend and we laid out by the river taking it all in—75, sunny and humid—like Westhampton on a nice day in June! Sundays are always bittersweet, by then I’m usually ready to get back to my cozy little apartment in Madrid, the familiar and the routine that I’ve developed there, however, it’s always hard to say goodbye! I had really appreciated Seville for its true Spanish identity, but I was more content then ever to come back to Madrid where I felt welcomed and at home! Talk about bittersweet, I’m at the halfway mark on this little journey of mine and I booked my flight back to the US two nights ago almost in tears. The thought that this Spanish love affair has a definite end and it’s SOON, is frightening! I feel like I just arrived and have really developed a great relationship with my family here. So much so, that when I told my Spanish mom last night that my flight home was on May 20th she looked disappointed and asked why I wasn’t staying until June! That day is going to be filed far in the back of my mind, and I know that the emotions I’m drowned with that day will be a mix of pure excitement and joy along with complete sadness and dragging my feet to leave. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to eat dinner at 6pm again…I’ll deal with that when I have to, but from now until then, there is many a sunny day to enjoy and many a trip to take!
This weekend: Cordoba and Granada with BC in Madrid!
Next week(end): St. Patty’s Day in Dublin, Cork & Galway, Ireland!
March 27th: San Sebastian, Spain’s coastal wine country in the North!
April 2nd: 9 days in GREECE for Spring Break!
