Next stop in Spain: Sevilla
First, the trip to Sevilla was surprisingly enjoyable. I took the high speed train El Ave, and it was great! The seats were nice, there were movies playing, and it was similar to flying. The train hit 300 kilometers per hour, which was pretty cool, although you don't really feel it. For the trip, I had my iPod, but instead of listening to music, I decided to watch Wreck it Ralph and Jack the Giant Slayer...in Spanish. It was a little odd, but with my remedial understanding of the language, I made sense out of the movies and actually enjoyed them. I eventually arrived at Santa Justa station and walked to the hostel to check in and get some much needed sleep. The hostel's location was amazing. It was off of a pretty touristy street, but it was lined on both sides with orange trees, and was very near the cathedral.
Anyway, the next morning, I went on another free walking tour. This one was really great. The tour guide Felipo was Italian, and was very funny. We went to the cathedral, archive of the indies, the canal, the gold tower, Maria Luisa Park, and Plaza de Espana. It was a really great tour, and I surprisingly enjoyed learning about the history of Sevilla, especially with it's importance with sailors and the Moors in Spain. I particularly enjoyed Plaza de Espana, which was a filming location for Star Wars II. Like the Trinity College Dublin Long Room, I seem to run into Star Wars film locations.
After the tour, I went to a restaurant called Come y Calla (Eat and Shut up) with some of the people who were on the tour. I had some delicious eggplant based tapas there, then headed back to the hostel.
After returning to the hostel, I went back to the train station to reserve my Ave ticket, and this time didn't run into any strikes, so it all went smoothly. After that, I went to the world's only flamenco museum, which was awesome, as I'm crazy about music. The museum featured the dance styles of flamenco, the music, famous dancers, and the dresses and suits worn by the dancers. After that, I had some sangria at the museum. Last, there was a live show, where they had a guitarist, singer, and two dancers, one of which was the leading instructor at the school of flamenco associated with the museum. It was a great show. The dance seemed to me to be a mix of Indian film dancing, Native American tribal dance, tap dancing, and clogging. And of course, the music....oh the music, was SPECTACULAR!!!! My big regret of Sevilla was that I passed on buying some flamenco CD's. They were pretty expensive, so I cheaped out of buying one or two, which in retrospect was a terrible decision.
Anyway after that I had some dinner at a restaurant across the street from the hostel, then called it a night. The next day I took the train to Madrid. Overall, my impression of Sevilla was that it was amazing. I could definitely see myself living there, especially because it was 60 degrees Fahrenheit in late December. I loved the overall feel of the city, and it was just a great time overall. I wish I had planned my time to have more than just one day there. I guess that just gives me more incentive to go back though!
Next up, Madrid!
First, the trip to Sevilla was surprisingly enjoyable. I took the high speed train El Ave, and it was great! The seats were nice, there were movies playing, and it was similar to flying. The train hit 300 kilometers per hour, which was pretty cool, although you don't really feel it. For the trip, I had my iPod, but instead of listening to music, I decided to watch Wreck it Ralph and Jack the Giant Slayer...in Spanish. It was a little odd, but with my remedial understanding of the language, I made sense out of the movies and actually enjoyed them. I eventually arrived at Santa Justa station and walked to the hostel to check in and get some much needed sleep. The hostel's location was amazing. It was off of a pretty touristy street, but it was lined on both sides with orange trees, and was very near the cathedral.
Anyway, the next morning, I went on another free walking tour. This one was really great. The tour guide Felipo was Italian, and was very funny. We went to the cathedral, archive of the indies, the canal, the gold tower, Maria Luisa Park, and Plaza de Espana. It was a really great tour, and I surprisingly enjoyed learning about the history of Sevilla, especially with it's importance with sailors and the Moors in Spain. I particularly enjoyed Plaza de Espana, which was a filming location for Star Wars II. Like the Trinity College Dublin Long Room, I seem to run into Star Wars film locations.
The Cathedral
Just one of the hundreds (maybe thousands) of orange trees in Sevilla
¿Dónde
está
la biblioteca?
Maria Luisa Park
Plaza de España
After the tour, I went to a restaurant called Come y Calla (Eat and Shut up) with some of the people who were on the tour. I had some delicious eggplant based tapas there, then headed back to the hostel.
After returning to the hostel, I went back to the train station to reserve my Ave ticket, and this time didn't run into any strikes, so it all went smoothly. After that, I went to the world's only flamenco museum, which was awesome, as I'm crazy about music. The museum featured the dance styles of flamenco, the music, famous dancers, and the dresses and suits worn by the dancers. After that, I had some sangria at the museum. Last, there was a live show, where they had a guitarist, singer, and two dancers, one of which was the leading instructor at the school of flamenco associated with the museum. It was a great show. The dance seemed to me to be a mix of Indian film dancing, Native American tribal dance, tap dancing, and clogging. And of course, the music....oh the music, was SPECTACULAR!!!! My big regret of Sevilla was that I passed on buying some flamenco CD's. They were pretty expensive, so I cheaped out of buying one or two, which in retrospect was a terrible decision.
Anyway after that I had some dinner at a restaurant across the street from the hostel, then called it a night. The next day I took the train to Madrid. Overall, my impression of Sevilla was that it was amazing. I could definitely see myself living there, especially because it was 60 degrees Fahrenheit in late December. I loved the overall feel of the city, and it was just a great time overall. I wish I had planned my time to have more than just one day there. I guess that just gives me more incentive to go back though!
Next up, Madrid!
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