“Now more than ever do I realize that I will never be content with a sedentary life, that I will always be haunted by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere.” ~Isabelle Eberhardt
I have fallen in love with Spain. I might have mentioned this in my last post, but it's confirmed. I wish I could stay here forever. The culture is absolutely spectacular, the food is amazing, the people are fun and free, and it's appropriate to siesta every single day!
I love it!
I wish we had saved more time for Spain, but I guess that just means I'll have to come back. Shucks!
We arrived in beautiful Sevilla in the evening of Thursday, July 12th. It didn't take us long to fall into the Spanish swing of things. After a short siesta we were roaming the streets of Sevilla, sipping sangria, and eating tapas. Delish!
Sevilla is such a beautiful city!
The city thrives in its Arabic history and greatly benefits from the architectural influences. Even the largest cathedral in the world, Catedral de Santa Maria de la Sede, that's right in the middle of the city has Arabic influences. We learned that when the Christians took over they simply built on top of the standing structures instead of destroying them. It's such a sight to see! Archways, painted tiles, pillars, and amazing detailing everywhere brings the city to life in a way nowhere else has. It was fun to just get lost in the streets or the Jewish district and admire the views. Orange trees are scattered throughout the entire city which helps to cover the smell of horse poo and adds another element of beauty. The oranges are also used to make the city's gin, Beafeater.
We were able to tour the Reales Alcazares (the royal castle), take a city walking tour, visit and learn about the Jewish district (Santa Cruz) with its powerful history, spend some quiet time in Plaza de Espana, and shop a bit! We also met some fun party goers from the hostel. We found a pub crawl with them and joined the locals at the clubs until sunrise! We took it slow the other nights...enjoying fresh sangria, eating tapas, and seeing a Flamenco show!
When in Spain right?
The craziness didn't stop in Granada either, but to be honest it probably won't until we board our flight back on Tuesday.
The entire Andalucia region doesn't seem to disappoint! Granada was our second stop in the area and was just as beautiful as Sevilla. Granada is smaller and has much more of a Spanish feeling to it. As with Sevilla though it also has boat loads of Arabic influences still. I just wish we could have seen more of it! We started our stay here with a walking tour that began just 40 minutes after our train rolled in. And that 3 hour tour was the extent of our sight seeing. Horrible to admit, but with an even worse reason. I guess the night life caught our attention in Spain and carried us through Granada...all day and night long! We/I had to have an entire day to recuperate. I'm too old for this young party seen I guess!
Nevertheless, Granada was absolutely spectacular! We'll just will have to make another trip to visit the Alhambra and other "unmissable" sights. Oops!
I'm starting to get sad when I think that we fly back in just 5 days. 5 days! I know it will be nice to be home, but I'm loving this lifestyle and only now starting to feel like I've got the hang of it. Ahh.
No more sad talk though! We have had three great days in Barcelona with Madeline and will travel as a team of three to Valencia and Madrid before saying adios to Spain and hello to America on Tuesday.
Love Life and travel.
Travel please! There is so much to see, explore, and experience! Do it!
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