This Thursday a me and a few friends decided to fly in to Seville for the weekend to attend Carnaval in Cadiz on Saturday night. I knew it was going to be a great trip because there were so many problems in getting there (i.e I accidentilly booked a flight for 2 hours prior to the one I arrived for and subsequentaly was forced to pay a 50E fee to change it-whoops!). However, I was able to maintain a positive attitude throughout the whole thing (considering that I was exhausted from Jacinto, my señor, waking me up 2 hours before my alarm that morning..).
It took me about 5 minutes to fall in love with Sevilla. I didn't realize how badly I needed to get away from Madrid and the big city life. The air smelled so fragrant and my lungs felt cleansed. The orange trees lined along the old streets below the moorish and spanish buildings were...... absolutely enchanting. I felt like I had only then arrived in Spain. We stayed in one of the nicest hostels I have ever been to called the Hostel Picasso. It's the only hostel that has ever told the truth about being centrally located, as it was only a block away from the Cathedral and the Alcazar. Since the other girls arrived before Laura and I, they made friends with some guy who manages the events at the hostels. Later that night, after a day of visiting the cathedral, drinking wine and eating tapas a few of us decided to wander around before going to bed. I took the girls back to a plaza that I had gone to earlier that day with my friend from acappella who is studying in Sevilla! We stumbled upon the BIGGEST botellon (which is a gathering of people drinking outside). It was so wonderful to have so many people of all different ages just enjoying wine and laughing and hanging out in the warm night. Everyone does everything outside, its very spanish.
The next morning we decided to take a train to Cadiz so that we could experience it in the day time before we saw it the next night at Carnaval. It took 2 hours to get there (1 hour of which was STANDING). There wasn't much to do there, but we ate fresh seafood and delicious paella outside in hot sun along the beach. That night when we were back in Seville, we went to a DELCIOUS kebab place with Manuel (the hostel guy) for dinner around 10pm (normal). It was so cheap and fresh and...sigh. Afterwards, around midnight, he took us to this very popular discoteca called Buddah. I danced from 1-5am. The next morning, we woke up around 11 and wento the Alcazar. I have neverfelt so relaxed in my life. There is something so overwhelmingly pieceful about the moorish style archecture and garden.
Saturday night my friend and I dressed up in our wigs and crazy makeup and boarded a bus for Carnaval. I have never in my life experienced such an amazing party. Carnaval is like Halloween on STEROIDS. Virtually everyone dresses up in elaborate costumes or masks/facepaint. It's no holds bar on the costumes. "Political-incorrectness" is encouraged. I'm obsessed with the botellon style of drinking, where everyone is congregated and socializing. The people of the south of Spain are the warmest and most social people I have every met! We made friends INSTANTLY every single time we talked to people. We set-up camp on a set of stairs near a busy street and took pictures with people in costumes passing by. We drank red-wine and coke, which is very popular over here and surprisingly delcious. Around 5am, we all stumbled back to the bus, covered in the chaos of the night. We got back Seville at 7am, and had to be out of our hostel by 11! Ay yay yay.
After a morning meal of starbucks, tapas and churros, we all dragged ourselve through the city wearing our shades to protect us from the slightest bit of light. We met up with Manuel, who let us walk his dog while he was off getting lunch with a visiting friend. The dog was suicidal, attempting to jump off ledges and swallow large sticks. We walked it around the Plaza España and saw all the beautiful mosaics of every major city in Spain. Que guay. We said good bye to the city at around 8pm to make a 10pm flight (that ended up being delayed until midnight!) We arrived back to a cold Madrid and had to RUN to make the Metro.
While I am in love with Seville, I haven't forgetting about how much I appreciate and enjoy all there is to do in Madrid.
Mas luego!
Nice, looks so clean and glad you found your city.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking that your Senor knew something about getting you up 2 hours b4 flight. I you had left then you would have made your 1st flight-scary!
Uncle John