Seville!

Hello! Sorry for such a lag in posts! I was in Sevilla without a computer for three lovely days!

We started our trip Friday morning at 8am--meaning I had to wake up at 6am which was harder than it should have been, at the rental car place. We were expecting the worst of the worst as we had requested the smallest car available that could conceivably hold four people. We were greeted with the best thing in the world--Benny the Mini:

I know. Driving through southern Spain in a Mini Cooper. It was almost too much to handle. 

Getting out of the city was a nightmare. I was the only one in the car that didn't drive stick, oops, so my only function was to take up one of the seats in the back. After several lane-less roundabouts and some assertive driving we made it out onto the open road!

The drive was about 5.5 hours and we passed the time with a variety of interesting Spanish radio stations and snacks. Lots of snacks. We consumed, over the entire trip, three boxes of one particular cookie: Palmeritas

Arriving in Seville was just as stressful as leaving Madrid. Street signs, if there are any, are always on the sides of random buildings on either side of the road, so orienting oneself and making any planned turns is nearly impossible. Eventually we found our hostel and settled in. It was a room for 8 people, we took up four beds and had our own little nook. The bathroom was huge (!) and clean (!!) so that was reassuring. 

Seville is gorgeous. Every street is lined with orange trees: 

The first day we wandered around the city, and found several different restaurant and bars to relax in and several different beautiful plazas to explore. We went into a Flamenco dress shop, found some other boutiquey stores, and spent a nice night walking around.

 We eventually went to a free Flamenco show which was interesting! It wasn't as intimate as my experience at Casa Patas, but it felt just as authentic. There was a female dancer, a guitarist, and a singer who all snapped and clapped and played and sang to make something very emotional and fun to watch!

Somehow we also managed to "stumble upon" (how we didn't notice this thing before we did is inconceivable as it is huge) 

The next day we did all of the touristy things we had planned. First we visited the Alcazar (a castle) and its beautiful grounds: 

Then we went inside the cathedral and up the huge bell tower which was gorgeous. We could see the whole city and different pieces of the cathedral. 

All in all we had a great time. The last day of our trip we spent wandering around the city more and then driving back to Madrid.

More updates coming soon!