Oh Seville! Thou art too beautiful!

I've been in Spain for about 5 days now, but the sheer amount of experiences make me feel like I've been here forever. As I move, through Spain, my first opinion about the country is further solidified; Spain's got some serious Flava!

I sit in a train headed to Valencia, with Marley and me playing on the train television. Trains in Spain have been amazing, really clean and comfortable, with TV screens playing a movie. They even give you free headphones on every journey. But as I head to my next destination I can't help but think off the 2 great days I have spent in Seville.

When I got off the train at Seville's Santa Justa station, and walked out as the sun was setting, I was at once hit by a wonderfully cool breeze. For the first time since I've been in Europe I had great weather; An amazing 18 degrees Celsius. Sitting on the bus, headed towards my hostel, I noticed a hectic pace in the evening rush of traffic. People walking around everywhere and cars honking. The way a city should be like. Noisy and full of color. Now walking on the street towards my hostel, in the Saint Sebastian Plaza, with trams going by in both directions, people on cycles frantically moving around, police cars on rounds, a gorgeous palace converted to a hotel on my left, tall palm trees swaying to the cool evening breeze, and plenty a person walking about, I was already in love with the place. Having grown up in a crowded city, where thousands of people flock together in markets, roads and parks, busy cities make me feel at home at once.
As I turned a corner, the sheer size of the Cathedral was overwhelming on first site. As far as I could see in the distance, I saw great towers of the magnificent cathedral, which might as well have been some king's palace. My hostel was right around the corner, and I went ahead and kept my stuff, freshened up and headed out to see the city a little, after consulting the receptionist, Elizabeth, a very friendly Kenyan.

By the time I left, mass was about to begin in the cathedral, and I casually walked in, and was literally awe struck. My vocabulary isn't good enough to describe properly what I saw. Ceilings reaching the sky, ornamental work all over and just the sheer size of it all, gave it a surreal feeling. I left within a few minutes thinking I'd come back in the day, but unfortunately found the main doors closed every time I tried after. My first evening in Seville was on my own. I had other friends who I had to meet up but I didn't know where they were living. So I was out there, with a city to be explored and a place to learn even more from! As I sat at a small cafe bar, eating my Chicken on a bed of fries with a cold cervecsa(beer) to go with it, I saw the evening traffic slowly pass by outside the window, I felt lucky at how I was able to experience such great cities!

The rest of the night I walked around and I walked around a lot. Left Right, Right Left, here and there, I would walk to whatever looked interesting and I stumbled upon some beautiful architecture, picturesque alleys and at times even the not so good parts of town. But what I love about wandering is that you get to watch; you get to watch everything; people, things,nature. It was a cool evening with the rain spitting a little, but as I came back home around midnight, I felt very content.
I was about to call it a night sitting in the lobby checking my email, conversing with the Spanish guy who was working the night shift in French mind you, 3 other kids wandered down from their rooms. As we sat in that small lobby, drinking, I got to know an Austrian, a German, an a Slovenian all studying in Lisbon as part of the Erasmus program(European Exchange) who had come to Seville for a break. As we sat there for 4 hours we talked about countries and cities and languages and everything that goes with it! A wonderful day in a wonderful place. I was falling more and more and love with Spain!

Another day, another experience to be had, the same city awaited, as the sun shone brightly on it. I was expecting to be joined by a group later in the day as they were arriving from Grenada. I left around noon to explore a little more on my own. Walking through Santa Cruz, in alleys so narrow at times that two people had trouble walking alongside, I waded past tapas bars and boutique stores that seemed to spring out of nowhere, intertwined with the lives of people who lived in beautiful homes in these alleys. Life existed in plenty here, and with the sun seeping though the narrow openings between buildings, everything from the plants to the people was alive. Looking for a place to eat, I found a place facing the wonderful historic hotel I mentioned earlier, out in the open, with the tram passing by a few meters away. It was called Boston Burger. I ordered myself a burger with fries and a coke, and sat there in the gorgeous sunshine relishing my meal. Even after I was done, I just sat there. As people walked by, or sometimes hurried by, I was still, absolutely calm and peaceful; Relaxed.

Around 4 my friends from tech had arrived and after exchanging a few stories from our previous travels, they were excited to explore the city, and I, having been in Seville for a day, became the automatic guide. We left again, and we walked again, past the same buildings, and through the same streets, but if was different. I sort of knew these streets now and it felt good. After walking through a few familiar places, we passed by a beautiful garden in the middle of the city to what is called the Plaza de Espana. A sort of regal administration building we knew before going in. From the outside there seemed like there was a lot of renovation going on, but one peek in the main door and our jaws dropped. A huge semi circular building, a mix of Islamic and Catholic architecture, with the most exquisite porcelain work all over. (I will insert pictures soon) We walked around for a bit, closely examining the different tile work which showcased all the different regions of Spain. This city wasn't seizing to impress. On our walk back home we saw boards advertising the Champions league prequarterfinal between Barcelona and Stuttgart and we knew we had to watch it at a bar. One side of the cathedral was a Irish pub called Flaherty's which had a huge screen set up, and the place was full of people. There wasn't enough space, so we requested a middle eastern looking gentleman if we could share his table, and he duly agreed. It turned out to be a great table. 2 of his friends came by and they were extremely friendly. They were all Moroccans who had been in Spain 3 years, passionate about football, and living life respecting others. Once I learned that they knew French (one of the 5 they knew) I was elated and brought out my French. It's interesting that in Spain I have been approaching people in French and not in English. And the pleasure that follows when someone does speak French is, a feeling you might have when you discover that a stranger you met knows someone who is dear to you as well!
After a 1-1 draw we bid to our new friends and proceeded to find a place to party in a big group of 8 which included the 5 of us from Tech and the three kids from Portugal I met the previous night. Though the town seemed absolutely dead as we walked everywhere, we had a very great time just getting to know each other. We came back around 4 and in my mind I knew this was going to be my favorite city in Spain! It has a feel to it, did Seville. Something that put me to ease, something that made me relax.

The next morning, another destination awaited, though excited at the prospect of discovering other cities, my heart was heavy as I had fallen in love with Seville! The train rolled out of Seville Santa Justa...Valencia and Barcelona awaited!