Seville Part 1: Too Damn Hot

Ciao Stranger,

What has happened to me, how is it possible that I'm writing about something that happened almost a month ago? What have I been doing for the past month?! As a brief overview, I went on a two week trip during Easter break to Spain and Portugal and the 2 weeks following that, I've just been chilling in Rome (more specifically my room, 宅ing it out watching TV series all day and all night. Yes, the old Michelle is back again...but do not fret, this will not continue. After 3 months of continuous running about, I think I may have exhausted myself and the initial endorphins of coming to Europe have gone away. I've started to take for granted the fact that I'm thousands of kms away from home, in a faraway land. Instead of going out and exploring all the cracks of Rome, I hid in my room and was hypnotized by my computer screen and comforting bed. My resting phase will end soon and the adventurous Michelle will be back...soon...

April 10: Thursday

Because Kenneth and Abriel decided after that they would only join from Madrid, Sean and I went off to Seville (South part of Spain) first, ready to be amazed. Initially I had no plan of ever going to Seville.  Why I didn't even know where it was until the Singaporean guys showed it to me and when I saw pictures of this place, I knew I had to add it to my list. With no expectations, we arrived at Seville at lunchtime with our Airbnb host awaiting us with his charisma and a 30 degree weather. Look how stylish the room is! Definitely my cup of tea. 

Our host Ricardo, is a Italian that grew up in Rome, travelled to Seville and fell in love at first sight, or in his words, first smell with the city because there seems to be an abundance of orange trees in Seville that fills the air with a sweet yet citrusy aroma. I won't lie, Seville is probably the best smelling city I've been to so far. When Ricardo's aunt died and left him a stash of money, he moved to his favourite city, and used that money to buy the apartment and the mac desktop. Ricardo, I like your style.

Sean commented that we should wait until 4pm to go out and walk around the city. I looked at him in bewilderment and insisted that we go out and explore at once, not wasting a second. Real smart of me because I almost passed out from the heat. I didn't realize just how hot the sun is in the afternoon (I haven't been in weather like this for a year now) and when you're walking right under it without drinking enough water, you get something called a heat stroke...Lesson learned, either drink a litre of water before you go out, or hide from the sun from 2-6 pm in Seville. While walking around starving, Sean and I found a local restaurant that exuberated a local vibe. Look at everyone sitting on the steps! How original is that? I wonder if this idea can be incorporated into restaurants in North America...hmmmm. Grab some tapas, sit anywhere with an open seat, drink some wine, chat and in 20 minutes, you're out of there. I absolutely loved it.

 

Spain is well known for its jamon (dried cured ham served in thin slices), and you can find them hung in ALL the restaurants. They are even sold in supermarkets for just 100 euros for one leg (?), which would probably feed me for 5 years. You can tell this place has good jamon from the number of them hung.

We ordered a variety of tapas (how Spanish of us). Closest: tuna cake made of salty tuna paste, mayonnaise, and bread. Middle: Jamon sandwich with chips. Farthest: Potato salad with crackers. The food was quite salty for my preference in general but pretty decent. I would go back there again, more for the atmosphere than the food.

We walked around the centre after our late lunch and unintentionally found the Seville Cathedral, the largest Gothic cathedral and 3rd largest church in the world. Inside, you will find the tomb of Christopher Columbus. Shocking isn't it, a well known Italian explorer, buried in a city most people may not even have heard of.

All over town, you will find alleyways coloured in red and yellow (colours of Spain) with ornate street lights. If I was a movie producer, I would definitely film in this city. There is so much character and flare in every corner. This was exactly how I imagined Spain to look like back in the days, but a polished up version of it. There weren't that many tourists around which may have been why I loved it even more. I walked around feeling like a local (until I had to open my mouth and ask in my pathetic Spanish "donde esta xxx").

I didn't know what this was at the time but I just had to take a picture of it because it stood out so much. According to Wikipedia, it's called the Metropol Parasol, the world's largest wooden structure. Apparently you can go to the viewing point at the top, I didn't know of such a thing at the time. If I ever go back again...

I can't stop taking pictures of the street. Seriously, how awesome is this view? Each building has their own personality to it, and they're all painted in such vibrant red/orange/yellow shades. I would never get sick of this. Imagine walking on down this street with the sun over your head with the slightest hint of oranges in the air. Perfection.

After walking around for hours, hunger finally crept up on me around 8pm. We decided to eat at a cafe/restaurant. At 8pm, the sun was still blasting its rays. No wonder people eat at 10pm here, the sun doesn't set until 9:30pm, and you only feel the need to eat once the heat settles down. We ordered a paella because we're in Spain after all. It was alright. I think food here in general is a tad bit salty for my taste buds.

After dinner, I dragged my physically drained body to the bus stop and went back to the apartment. I fell asleep with my legs twitching from the countless hours of walking. I am getting old........