Chapter Five: ¡En Sevilla, perdió mi silla!

Two weeks late is better than never...

I guess there is really not a part two to my last post because Sevilla deserves it's own post because it is that amazing of a place. During our last weekend in Feb, a bunch of us(but actually there were like 18 of us total) went to Sevilla for an amazing weekend. We landed in sunny Sevilla early in the morning and got to our hostel before noon. The hostel had a sign greeting us which was really cute and we all documented it:

Once we got settled and checked in, we went to lunch because our first thoughts were obviously food. The tapas place we went to wasn't very good, but we got to sit outside and the weather was great so it was really nice to enjoy the sun. After lunch, we walked around for a little and looked in some cool stores with flamenco dresses. It was really nice out so instead of seeing the Cathedral(which i finally gave in to and ended up seeing on the last day) we sat outside by a fountain and I tried to tan. It didn't work too well, but at least I didn't turn into a tomato per usual. After our attempt to tan, we went to the Alcázar  and saw the gardens. They were beautiful and reminded me of the secret garden. It was really nice to walk around and I took about 100 pictures of it because it was that pretty.

I can't really remember what else we did during the day. I know we walked around a lot, got gelato, walked to the river, and somehow made it back to our hostel in time to get ready for dinner. We walked to this place called Colonial Taberna or something along those lines and ended up waiting around an hour and a half for dinner, but IT WAS SO WORTH IT. The honey eggplant was the most amazing dish ever and it was one of the best meals I've had so far. Also, the tinto de verano, which is basically like Sangria but even better was great. We were so full from our late dinner(that I think started at midnight or so) that we just went back and tried to hang out at the hostel. However, apparently it was quiet hours so we had to go to sleep. 

I was glad to get a good night of sleep though because the next day was actually one of my favorite days abroad to date. We woke up and seven of us went to go rent bikes by the river. I was SO happy to get the coolest turquoise bike ever to rent.

BEST BIKE EVER

We took our bikes and rode around by the river, to various parks, and through Plaza España. It sounds so cliché, but it was so liberating and made me feel just so purely happy to just be riding around this gorgeous city in 70 degree weather with my friends. It was such a great feeling and because of it, I would recommend to anyone studying abroad to rent bikes in any city, especially when its nice out.

After we sadly had to return our bikes, we got lunch(and delicious ice cream/gelato) and then met up with more friends to get drinks on a boat. Caroline, Brittany, and I decided that "tinto de naranja" or "orange wine" would be good, but obviously we chose the wrong beverage because it was disgusting and I couldn't even drink it. Fail for ordering beverages #500 of this trip. Still, it was nice to sit on the boat and relax.

After our relaxing boat experience, we headed to the bull fighting museum. We somehow ended up on a tour with a huge clique of people who loved bull fighting and had matching t-shirts to further elucidate their love for it. One of the men was nuts and actually climbed into the bull ring.

NEW BFF?

He was actually great and although the museum was kind of dull and traumatizing(dead bull heads are frightening), it was a cool experience. We went back and got ready for dinner and hung out on our roof terrace for awhile. For dinner, we went to a tapas restaurant and ate outside somehow finding a table for like 20 people which was impressive. After that, we went to a free flamenco show and it was so interesting. They sing and dance with such passion and it is all improvised. It was so great to see an authentic show.

After the show, we went to some bars on the river, even though I was exhausted, but how often are you in Sevilla? Somehow, we ended up at a gay bar that we didn't realize was a gay bar. Only us, but it was great.

The next day after an hour long search for breakfast food(rachel and I really wanted pancakes), we found a restaurant and had some brunch. Afterwards, Rachel and I wandered around Sevilla for like two hours trying to find our friends only to realize that they were at a restaurant right near our starting point. We enjoyed the day, saw the cathedral, got drinks and delicious sandwiches, and walked around the city. It was a great, relaxing ending to a great trip and I truly enjoyed it very much.

Oh and most importantly, on our bus ride back this kid stole this crazy mans seat and he started singing about how he lost his seat in Sevilla. Hence, the amazing blog post title.

Anyway, this probably has like 1000 spelling errors, but its almost two and I want to go to bed(aka watch glee).  Post soon about our amazing hikes and Becca visiting.

Peace, love, and can't wait for Heather to get here tomorrow. Hoping for a great, long weekend!

 

Adios!

-Lauren

PS: before I forget, here's an updated travel itinerary for the people who care(aka mom, nana, grandma and grandpa....just kidding hopefully my friends care )

This weekend: Long weekend in Barca #2

March 17-March 19: Dublin for St. Patty's

March 23-27: Prague(Mom and Brian come March 25 yay!)

April 1-3: Madrid with the fam and Elyssa :)

April 7-10: French Riviera: Nice, Monte Carlo, Cannes, St. Tropez(I think thats right?)

April 14-April 24: SB in Italy: Bergamo, Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre, Rome, Naples, Amalfi Coast. COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED!

May 6-May 15: So sad it ends, but then off to Cologne, Brussels, and Paris. Coming home May 15th, but trying not to focus on that because me encanta europa!

okay thats all, good night!