"I seemed to catch a momentary glimpse, a sort of far-off rumour of the Spain that seems to dwell in everyone's imagination. White sierras, goatherds, dungeons of the Inquisition, Moorish palaces, black winding trains of mules, grey olive trees and groves of lemons, girls in black mantillas, the wines of Málaga and Alicante, cathedrals, cardinals, bull-fights, gypsies, serenades--in short, Spain."
This is more or less what dwelled in my imagination before coming to Spain, and the region I visited this weekend, Andalucía, is from where all these images come. Sevilla (Seville in English) is the city of bull fights, flamenco, tapas, and sunny sunny sunshine. Unfortunately for me, it is also the city of throwing up from a stomach flu.
Therefore, I will not be able to recount very thoroughly the beauty and wonder of Sevilla and Córdoba, the nearby town we visited one day. I shall only be able to give my own experience, which was not always pleasant.
I got up extremely early Friday morning to make my way to the airport by 7 a.m. (Metro-train-airport). The flight went smoothly and upon arrival we all loaded on to a coach bus to make the hour-or-so-long bus trip to Córdoba. I started feeling ill toward the end of the trip and made a dash for the bathroom the second we got there. I did not throw up and thought maybe I didn't need to anyway. Instead, I threw up a few minutes later in the street. I then proceeded to throw up several more times before finally getting to go back to the bus and sleep later that afternoon.
Córdoba has a giant mezquita, one of only a few mosques left in Spain. The conquering Christians put a big cathedral in the middle of the mezquita to demonstrate symbolically their power. The town has little medieval streets and all the buildings are painted white and covered with flower pots. It is very pretty and I hope to be back when I am feeling 100%.
On Saturday I got up and ate my first food in over 24 hours. We all went to the Cathedral of Sevilla, the third largest in the world after St. Peter's in the Vatican and St. Paul's in London. It was large and pretty, not unlike most cathedrals. Among its highlights is the tomb of Christopher Columbus.
After the cathedral, which was freezing cold, we went to the giralda or bell tower. This is the one of the few parts left over from the original mosque. We climbed to the top and saw some excellent views of Sevilla. It is not actually stairs but instead ramps, so that horses could come to the top in the days of yore.
We had a "pausa" for lunch and went to the Plaza Nueva. This was in contrast to the Plaza del Salvador, where everyone drinks all afternoon. The latter plaza was covered in bottles and other miscellaneous debris. But both plazas featured lots of children running around happily.
We continued from lunch to the Alcazar, a beautiful palace where the Spanish royal family actually stays when they visit (supposedly). It is almost impossible to describe how intricate and unbelievable the Islamic designs are. The palace was built for a Christian king but was completed by Muslim artisans. Hence it is called "mudejar."
After wandering through the gorgeous palace we wandered through the gorgeous gardens. The weather was beautiful and sunny and warm. I had such a lovely time, despite being really ill.
Flamenco shops are everywhere throughout Sevilla and this is one we poked into. We were flabbergasted by the prices. Each of these dresses costs upwards of 700 euro!
I started feeling bad again Saturday night and had to stay in. Sunday morning we got up, had breakfast again, and went on a walking tour of the Jewish neighborhood and the area around the Parque Maria Luisa. We had lunch at a little place in between the hotel and the park but I was not up to eating yet. Here I am with Ally, Patty, and Caryn on the Barcelona bench at the place where they held the 1929 world expo in Sevilla.
That more or less concludes Sevilla. We flew home as the sun set over Barcelona and I thought, not for the first time, I am so glad to be here.
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