Una semana en Espana!

(Translation: A week in Spain!)

The adventure began early in on a sunny Sunday, January 16th, 2011 to be specific. I was up at the ungodly hour of 7:30 to shower, pack and fetch a pain au chocolat breakfast from the boulangerie before heading to the metro. Our friendly neighbourhood Ryanair, which is much loved for its ridiculous cheap tickets, only flies out of Paris-Beauvais. To get to Beauvais however, you must first take a shuttle that leaves from the edge of Paris and travel for over an hour to finally arrive at the airport. It really shouldnt even be associated with Paris, its so far out. Anyways, you have to catch this shuttle 3 1/2 hours before your flight, and the shuttles are coordinated by flight so if you miss one you are in a tight spot. Based on this, it was mildly concerning that I found out while en route that the metro line 1 to Porte de Maillot/Beauvais Shuttle is closed until 10am on Sundays. Considering I had planned to be there before 10, I had to adjust my route mid flight and took the RER instead. The crew, of David, Annie and Lauren, all arrived just after 10 and we just made our shuttle that departed at 10:15. Close call, but no sweat. The airport, or should I say rickety metal shack that is Beauvais, provided no further problems, except selling these soggy pieces of bread that were supposed to pass as sandwiches. They were pretty rank, but c'est la vie. We departed on time just before 2 and we were on our way!

The flight itself went by quickly, thanks to fact I became immersed in my new novel, The Time Traveller's Wife, which I had picked up earlier that week at Shakespeare and Co. Before I knew it we were landing in Sevilla! We walked off the plane to sunny skies and warmth, no jacket required. Now this is what I was talking about! Next challenge: find the hostel. With the help of a white haired Spanish man with the most awesome, distracting moustache ever and David's spanish skills, we finally made it by about 5. We dropped our stuff and headed out into the pedestrian boulevard a block away from our hostel - Avenida de Hercules. We started it off with some tea, which was refreshingly less than 2 euros, rather than the standard 4 across the board that is Paris. I knew I was going to like this place. Annie and David were also raving about the olives. I am not a lover of olives, but I think it is a strong testament to how great they were by the fact that over the 3 days those two consumed 1.5kg of olives! Ridiculous.

After our coffee break, we decided to take a bit of a walk of the town. It got a little bit chillier at night so we had to don jackets, but it didn't diminish our great first impressions of our walk to downtown seville (about 15min from the hostel) and then back along the river. The lights on the water were amazing, and I was bubbly with excitement. Why, they even have the Sevilla version of the Velib! That means this must be a cool city. We stopped and had a beer on our way back. 1.5 euro for a half pint? I'll take that :) It was about 10, so an acceptable time by Spanish standards to eat dinner. I then got to enjoy my first real Tapas dinner spanish style. It was great, the fact that you can sample so many things for only a few dollars is such a great idea. The big hits of the first night were the ratatouille and a potato dish, and quite possibly the best mojito I have ever had. Afterwards, we just headed back to the hostel to crash, being pretty tired from the previous night's farewell party and the day's travels. We even payed tribute to Corina, our trip organizer who received tickets to Vancouver for Christmas and bailed on Spain. We vowed to have extra fun in her honour. Best to be rested for the days that lie ahead!

Monday:
So much for rested. Our hostel, which was a pretty legit place, had the unfortunate timing of having construction on the street outside, and renovations going on inside the building. These joyous activites became at about 9am. Not much sleep was happening after that, so we were forced to rise at that respectable hour and shower etc before going in search of breakfast. Stoked about the previous day's great weather, I put on a dress and stockings and headed out. No sooner had we finished a few baked goods and fruit though we were back at the hostel to put on pants! That first morning was a downright chilly and foggy. Not what we were looking for but oh well. We decided to head across the river to Triana. The part we were walking through was really weird. There were all of these Olympic buildings that looked like they had been built in the 90s and were now rundown and overgrown. (Apparently the facilities were made in an effort to get the Games, but they still haven't succeeded). There is no way to describe the sense of desolation other than Urban Wasteland. Not a pretty site, but kindof funny at the same time. Thankfully as we headed back across the river, the sun gods recognized our good choice of going back to Seville and came out and boy did it warm up! We walked through the shopping district, and I was seduced by Zara, which was so much cheaper than the stores in Paris. I picked up a pair of walking shoes since my keds now have holes in the soles from fall walking, before we headed for some tapas lunch on a boardwalk patio. Things were definitely going uphill, and Annie and I enjoyed some of the best shrimp I have ever had, accompanied by a melted cheese and raspberry sauce dip. Now that was much more like it!

After lunch the group agreed that it would be good to go on the local free walking tour. I had been on one in Amsterdam, and it was one of the highlights of that trip. Not only is it a great way to see all the major attractions of the city and get oriented, but you also get to learn the history, context, evolution and fun facts that come along with those landmarks. I find them both fun and educational (wow I can't believe I just wrote that.) Anyways, we joined the tour at 3:30 and for the next three hours, walked all through the city. Seville was of great importance in the Spanish empire, being the first stop from ships travelling back from the Americas. It was very rich because of this, and gold is everywhere in the old buildings. It also has a unique mix of architecture because of the muslim occupation, large jewish population, and the reconquering of the region by the Catholic King and Queen Fernidinand and Isabella. There were lots of really cool neighbourhoods and streets. I love how so many of the buildings are while, yellow and pink, so vibrant. It really characterizes the life of both Seville and I think Spain. We went by the new Palace of Spain, which is incredible, and one of Europe's most expensive hotels, Alfonso XIII. Our guide was kindof eccentric, but a cool guy. Another funny thing was we happened to bump into Ai, whom Annie and I went to Marseille with, on the tour! She was travelling solo through Spain and then onto Morroco, having finished her term in Paris. Small world.

After the three and half hours were up, the crew was pooped. We trudged home, making a quick stop at the Dia (grocery store), to pick up some dinner snacks. I was pretty tired and lounged in bed reading for a while, but David and Annie roused me by challenging my competitive card sharp nature and I rallied. We enjoyed a few rounds for a while before getting changed before trying our night at the Sevilla nightlife. At our first stop at a bar across the way, we tried to come up with a nickname for Annie for the trip. I was Liberated Lauren, and I was accompanied by Debonair David. We were stumped in our name hunt. Our creativity hit a real low point when someone suggested Asparagus Annie. We decided to put the name game on the back burner for the time being and after the suggestion of our bartender, went over to this club called Jackson (the j is pronounced like a y). It was weird. There were pictures on the wall of a group of men discovering that their woman was a transvestite, and a plunger on the wall. Weird I tell you. It was dead empty when we first arrived at about 1, and then a huge group of strange men came in and befriended our group and wanted to take pictures with us. We decided pretty quickly we should see what else was happening around town and bounced. It was only 1am after all, very early by Spanish standards. We then went on the most epic walk for over 45min trying to find somewhere else, ended up somewhere in Triana before hailing a cab which was only 5euros between the 3 of us. Score. We didn't feel like quitting yet though, so we went back to Jackson. Thankfully our 'friends' weren't there, but it was still pretty sparse. We finally called it a night at 3 and walked back across the avenida to our hostel. Bed never felt so good. Bit of a fail on the nightlife factor Sevilla. On a monday too. Jeez.

Tuesday:
Darn construction at 8am was definitely not appreciated. I finally struggled out of bed at 9 am showered. David and I then headed up to Dia to get some breakfast supplies, and then Annie gracefully prepared a delicious scrambled eggs with cheese and peppers brunch complete with almonds, bread, juice and yogurt. It was gourmet, and it the spot. After clean up and a quick reading sesh in bed, we hit the road and were greeted by glorious sunshine and warm air! Finally! Tuesday was already a huge hit. We decided to investigate a bit more closely some of the cooler things we had seen on our walking tour the previous day.

Stop 1: The Cathedral.
The largest Catholic cathedral in Spain and the third largest in Europe (after St. Peter's in the Vatican and St. Paul's in Rome), the Cathedral of Sevilla is massive, and sections are over 900 years old. It is really interesting because the one half is the remnants of the muslim basilica that survived two earthquakes. This side was deemed holy, and so rather than demolish it, the Catholics decided to incorporate it into their new monster. Even from the outside, you can see the switch in architecture from Moorish to Gothic. The gothic section however, is the most impressive thing I have ever seen. I can't even begin to describe the interior, other than everything was laden in gold, and altogether incredible. Religiosity is impressive. After touring the main building, we went up the bell tower, la Giralda. At one point, it was the tallest building in the world, and in Sevilla, nothing is allowed to be taller than it. The walk up to the top was a bit of a doozy, but worth it. Interestingly, there are no stairs in the tower, just ramps, this way a horse could take the bellringer up and down 4 times a day rather than having him walk. Pretty lazy if you ask me but being that I hate stairs, I was a huge fan of the ramp process. The view from the top of the building is also incredible. You see all over the city in all directions. It was quite marvelous. I especially liked how many rooftop terraces have swimming pools on them for the summer time, when it can get up to 40 degrees.

Stop 2: The Alcazar Royal Gardens and Palace.
After our tour of the Cathedral, we walked aross the Main Square to the Muslim Royal Palace Alcazar. You could really not ask for a greater contrast in architecture and decor than the gothic interior of the Catheral. All of a sudden you are surrounded by cool tiling on the floors, walls and ceilings, with many different patterns and colour schemes of blue, green, pink, yellow... all sorts. It was so expansive, and incredible. The palace also leads onto the most amazing gardens, with ponds, forests, parks, palm trees, ducks, peacocks and even a real live maze. Of course, like all of Seville, there was an abundance of Orange Trees. We'd been told they are bitter sour oranges not good for eating, and are mainly there for added foliage. Apparently all the oranges get harvested in March and sent off for marmalade. While resting, we finally sampled on, and confirmed that while very tart, also very juicy. I would have to say the gardens were probably my favorite part of Seville.

Stop 3: The Palacio del Toro.
That's right - next stop: The bull fighting ring. En route, I got another magnet for the collection, and a print of a flamenco dancer. We got to go on a guided tour of the Seville ring, which is apparently very prestigious, and see both the ring and all the rooms inside, a part of which has been turned into a museum. The costumes are brilliant, and no one had died at this particular ring until 1912, over 100 years after it was open. Not a bad record. Also learned that three fighters take on 4 bulls per match, and vy for accolades in style. All the bulls must be killed everytime. It was interesting to take in this unique aspect of Spanish culture, however, I don't think I would enjoy watching a live match. The run March through October.

Tuesday was definitely becoming the best day of the Seville portion. By this time it was 6, and we decided to try and get a bit of food before going to the contemporary art museum, or CAAC. Unfortunately, Seville really lives up to its gastronomic timetable and it is pretty much impossible to find a meal between 5 and 8. Kindof annoying of you're not on that eating timetable. After searching for food for awhile, we bailed on the CAAC and just headed back home to have some snacks at the room and chill, as we were all pretty weary from our big day. Being a tourist is pretty tiring. Tough life I know. Back at the hostel I read a bit and then we had some dinner at this small eatery down the road at around 9 that looked good, and lived up to expectation, Casa Paco. Got to sample some yummy cheese, a potato dish and these delicious honey-bacon wrapped dates. Heavenly.

After dinner, we followed the suggestion of our hostel clerk and trekked up to the north of the city to see a free Flamenco show. We arrived early and scored on some free bubbly, a birthday party was finishing up and birthday man was letting the drinks flow freely. We took our seats and watched an interesting traditional singing performance before the dancing began. The feet movement, and arms are so strong and empowering. I was also stumped as to the gender of our dancer, which made it even more entertaining. It was really nice to sit in a clearly very local performance, and appreciate the culture as they do. Intermission came at about 11:30, and all exhausted, we decided to head for home since it would be an early morning for all.

Looking back, Seville was the cultural side of Spain that I had wanted to see, and was very pleased with. Tuesday was the highlight, delivering good weather and awesome touristing. But I was excited for Malaga and its bill as the warmest winters in Europe, and see what it had in store to compliment the Seville portion.

Wednesday:
Annie got up early and peaced, as she was heading back to Paris to meet some Aussie friends who were staying with her. David and I, however, were now heading onto Malaga for another few days of Spanish adventuring. After breakfast we successfully navigated our way back to the train station and procurred our tickets and without any problems boarded our train just after 11. David and I were in different compartments, so I got to dive back into the Time Traveller's wife again. It is really good, if you like a good romance that is, which I do. I'm a big softie like that. I was constantly distracted from my reading however to look out the window. Train riding is such a great way to see the countryside. It was gloriously sunny day, and we sped past green field, endless olive groves and rolling hills. It was beautiful. I'm really glad we decided to move on just so we could take in this train ride. David came up and visited, but it didn't last long as I got pretty drowsy and dozed off. I woke about 30min late and we were surrounded by mountains! It was beautiful, an incredible transition. Landscapes have such a calming and joyous effect on my spirit.

We arrived in Malaga at about 2, and negotiated the bus route to our hostel without much trouble, minus a close call with a pickpocket who tried to get into my purse, but I caught him as he was going for the zipper. It was my first brush with theft in Europe, and it that's the only one, I will be very thankful. It was still a bit unnerving though. I quickly shook it off and David and I presented ourselves to Picasso's corner and dropped our stuff off in our blissfully quiet private room. We got some directions for lunch spots from the extremely helpful and friendly guy at the front desk and ventured off. 5 min later we were walking down a street lined with cheap and good food restaurants. Now this was more like. Malaga had beaten the food difficulties of Seville instantly! We enjoyed glasses of wine on the pedestrian street. I also got to sample paella, a traditional safron risotto with seafood and chicken. Very very yummy. After lunch, we walked around the heart of downtown, and discovered it was a pretty small place, but really nice, before heading to the Picasso Museum. Malaga was his hometown until 19 years of age. It is also the hometown of Antonio Banderas! But back to Picasso. The building was quiet and this museum didn't provide too much background on him, but it did present the works in interesting thematic and periodic ways. I have to say, for all his fame, Picasso, and this whole cubism thing, doesn't really do it for me. But I felt visiting the museum was part of my cultural duty. There was also a cool, if a bit dry, temporary exhibit on children's toys and art. The best part of the whole place however, was in the basement. There, you can see the old walls of the historic city, and you can see how the city has just been built on top of for centuries. These walls dated back to the 6th century!

After exiting, David and I decided it was beach time, despite the fact it was about 5 and daylight was waning. We walked along the park lined boulevard towards the port and then to the beach. I had another one of those ahhh water moments. The sounds of the waves is so soothing, and the fresh air always invigorates. We took off our shoes, played on a tire swing zip line and just walked along the beach as the sun went down. I love sand between my toes, and dipping them in the water. Thank you Meditarranean. It was awesome.

We walked back to the hostel and got a bit lost along the way. This was good though, because we ended up getting some Churros at a small cafe, a traditional deep fried dessert covered in sugar. Yet another part of the Spanish checklist completed. Back at basecamp, we checked emails, read etc and then went and sat at the bar of the hostel. Mad props on Picasso's corner for the awesome lounge area and bar. Euro glasses of amazing sangria and for only 5 euros, daily dinner! I went for it and enjoyed the delicious chili con carne with homemade guac and tortilla chips. Very delicious. We sat chatting with a middle aged woman from England/New Zealand named Rita, for a bit. After we met a Canadian and an American. The American, whose name escapes me, was going to work on a horse ranch in the south for four months. The Canadian, Rob, is from Markham and actually goes to Queens (commerce) and is in Europe doing a semester in Vienna. He was travelling around Spain and the south of France solo for two weeks before classes started. I really liked this aspect of meeting other people at the hostel and hanging out. Really cool vibes. David, Rob and I then went out for a beer across the square. It was so much fun having someone to talk about home, and Kingston with. We called it a night around one.

Thursday:
Free breakfast of toast, tea, juice etc was served until 10, so David and I got up and took advantage of that, and complemented with our own almonds and clementines. After getting dressed, we invited Rob to join us on a tour of the old castle that is up in a huge hill close to the sea. Highlight of the trip! As we walked along the escarpment walls, which were built to the contours of the hill, and explored the inner portions of Alcazaba, I was blown away. It only got better though as we walked further onward and upward to the Gibralgaro. On one side, stunning views of the Meditarranean and the coast line, on the other, majestic hills and the city spreading out behind you. Add in about 20 degree weather and bluebird skies and I was the happiest camper ever. All the climbing up was rewarded, and then some. Most of the buildings date back to the 11th century, in Arab times. At that point, the sea reached the lower wall of palace, which are no longer in existance. This is the kind of sightseeing a I love. Sorry museums.

We were all riding a bit of a high as we pit-stopped at the hostel around 1 so I could grab my book and sandals. We grabbed doner pitas for lunch and then headed for an afternoon at the beach. This was turning into an amazing day. Sandals off, sand sun, skirts and tshirt, it was pretty fantastic. The only downer was me getting lost in though while walking right along the edge of the water and not noticing my camera fall out of my sweater pocket while it was tied to my purse. I noticed when we reached the breaker rocks, and after a brief panicked search, found it about 50m back. In the water. Damn. I pushed it from my head, not wanting my annoyance at myself and sadness ruin this perfect afternoon, and dove into my book. Reading on rocks to sound of the waves hitting them? Yes please - now this is vacation. We stayed for about an hour, and then headed back to the hostel around 4. I showered, and then went up to the rooftop terrace to read in the hammock. This was the life.

As the sun went behind the rooftops and it cooled down, I retreated inside and Rob and I went for a walk to try and check out the main Church. Unfortunately you had to pay 5 euros, and it was under construction, so we decided to pass on it and check out a different one, Santa Maria, a little bit farther away. Spanish churches are kindof funny because the religious figures in the scenes depicted in the alcoves are always crying, as if in anguish of the sins of the people. I hadn't noticed this in French churches. It was interesting. I also picked up magnet number 2 from Spain, and a funny postcard of three matadors to send to Vince. We bumped into David just as we finished buying our souvenirs and walked over to this tea shop that the hostel had recommended, El Harem. It was down a small back street, clearly a locals spot. It had a very middle eastern feel, with low tables and cushions on the floors. The menu featured over a hundred different flavours of tea, I went with one that was a green tea with white chocolate and I can't remember what else. It was very nice. We sipped our tea and chatted before heading out for dinner, to a recommended restaurant, Pepa y Pepe. It was pretty good, and I got to enjoy lots of seafood, including shrimp and calamari, alogn with those delicious bacon wrapped dates. I am going to miss tapas, that is for sure. En the way home, we hit stopped for churros again, and this time we got to dip them in chocolate. Sinful I tell you. I love food. It was quiet night back at the hostel lounge, with a bit of sangria and cards before calling it a night at 1. It was another great day, and David and I had accomplished all of goals for the trip: Sangria, tapas, paella, churros, beach, sandals, Picasso, hike.

Malaga was a nice balance to Seville. While Seville was really great, with the buildings, Malaga definitely was just so perfect in the abundance of food, cheap wine and sangria, the hike, the beach and most importantly, relaxing. Often vacations leave you more tired than when you arrived, which is both good and bad. This trip had a perfect balance of sitting back and escaping the hustle and bustle of Paris, while also giving a great look at another European country, and made me appreciate the diversity of this continent.

Friday: Breakfasted and checked out of the hostel in good time to catch our bus out to the airport. We arrived good time, and went through security at a leisurely pace, and I enjoyed a salad lunch and made some blog notes while David perused the duty-free olive oils. I strolled up to our gate to board a bit in advance, thinking to myself that this was the most relaxed airport experience ever. Think again. The attendent is about to let me through when she realizes I hadn't had my visa section stamped. I had completely forgotten, since I hadn't had to go through check-in since I had my printed my ticket myself to save 40euros and didn't have to check any baggages. David hadn't had to worry since though American, he has a Swiss passport. The hadn't caught it at security. So now I had about 20min to run with my bags to the farthest terminal to get my ticket stamped and get back through security. You better believe I ran. I made it with 3 min to spare, sweating profusely. Lesson in travel number 5: always read the fine print on your tickets. Fortunately my careless error hadn't had negative consequences, and I got on the plane and the rest of the 3 hour flight went by uneventfully, where I finished my book :) and penned notes for this post. (Sorry its so late going up, I have no excuses, I just couldn't get myself into the blog writing mood.)

Hasta luego Espana! It was great making your acquaintance and I hope to visit you again someday :)

P.S. You now know what has happened to my camera, hence the lack of pictures in this post as well. I got home and charged it and it has passed on. Big bummer. I have ordered a new memory capturer, which should be arriving any day. Once that happens, Iwill be able to put in my memory card from my old camera and finally load them. So pictures to follow! xx