Feb. 9-11
Granada is only a two and a half hour bus ride from Sevilla and since this past weekend was Carnival we decided why not spent a few days in Sevilla and bus down to Cadiz for Saturday nights’ carnival celebration. When I say we I am referring to me, of course, and my current roommates in Granada, Nina and Kate. We took a bus from Granada on Friday morning arriving in Sevilla around 12:30. We dropped our bags off at the Airbnb which was a very interesting place. It was a very nice house but the women renting it out rents out each room to different groups of people but everyone shares one bathroom! It was chaotic, but it’s Spain and cheap and my expectations are never very high. I try to keep my expectations on what the Airbnb or the Hostel will be like a bit low. When I book I look for good ratings and good reviews, but I always keep in mind that it might not be as I expected. Anyway, after dropping off our bags we walked about five minutes to Plaza de Espana (my favorite plaza!); its amazing, beautiful semi-circle building covered in decorative tiles, a river with adorable row boats and huge open middle of the plaza with a fountain, bubble blowers and performers.
We ate lunch in the plaza, wandered around and took a quick row boat ride, which was cheap and definitely worth it! After, we walked to the Cathedral, saw the outside of the Cathedral as well as El Alcazar. I have been to Sevilla once last semester and went on a tour of both, incredible architecture and time spent. We stopped for drinks and bread at a random tapas bar and headed to my favorite look out point in Sevilla, Las Setas. For three euros you get to go up on this giant metal structure nicknamed Las Setas or The Mushroom for its curves and large supports, you get a postcard and a free drink along with entry so its more than worth it and the view is unique as the structure itself.
By then it was 6pm or so and we headed back to the Airbnb to get ready for dinner and whatever we decided to do that night. We met up with some of Nina’s friends who were visiting from where they are studying abroad in Madrid and Barcelona. Together with them we got a dinner of sushi, which I am not a fan of at all, but it was cheap and there were too many people to satisfy and two of the people in our group have very specific restrictions: we had a lactose-free and a gluten-free person. I ordered avocado sushi and it wasn’t anything I’d want to eat again but I’m sure it was good sushi. The restaurant was very nice and everyone else seemed to really enjoy their food. After dinner we wandered around to find a bar where everyone ordered a drink; I got wine. The bar closed pretty soon after we got there so we walked toward what we thought was a club, but we ended up walking quite a ways because all the places we looked up turned out to be closed when we got there. Eventually we ended up on Calle Alfalfa where there were a few bars/clubs with people inside and mingling about outside. The first bar we tried was playing YouTube music videos on the TV and speakers and there were very young kids there so we went to another where there was a Spanish singer and guitarist playing and that was pretty cool! We hung out for a while there but ended up taking a taxi back at 2:30 am or so. I went to bed almost immediately after we got back.
The next morning we were able to sleep in until about 11 am when we were awoken by a baby crying somewhere in the house and the landlady cleaning. We got a nice easy breakfast at a cafe across from the University. I got toast with cinnamon and honey and and orange juice that was really delicious.
Nina and Kate then met up with Nina’s friends again to visit El Alcazar. Since I went the last time I decided to roam the city. I walked around and browsed shops and just enjoyed the nice weather until they finished the visit and we met for lunch.
We had lunch at a great Italian place near El Torre de Oro. By the time we finished lunch it was about time to get back and get ready for Carnival. We took our time walking and stopped to watch some street performers dancing, but we got back with plenty of time for costumes and makeup. I didn’t take any pictures really in costume and I have no clue how that happened! Regardless, I was a dinosaur and had a dinosaur onesie that I bought at Party Fiesta in Granada, Nina was a unicorn and Kate was a dragon. It was kind of cold since it’s on the coast and it’s February so the costume was nice and warm and comfy! We took a bus with Discover Excursions from Sevilla to Cadiz and we got to Cadiz around 8:30pm. There we tons of people right when we got there; everyone dressed up in all kinds of costumes wandering around aimlessly and drunk. The main congregation was around the Cathedral, but unlike I expected there was no music and no one really doing anything but standing and drinking. I thought there would be dancing and music or something, I’m not really sure. I found my other friend Alex when we got to the Cathedral and hung out with her the majority of the night. We didn’t do much of anything, walked around the island for a bit, went down to the coast, got hit on by lots of guys, drank some, saw some pretty offensive costumes and some pretty hilarious costumes… it was not the experience I really expected but it was great and I’m glad I got to be a part of a Spanish celebration.
Our bus with Discover was meant to leave at 3 am to go back to Sevilla but for unknown reasons we had to walk 30+ minutes to the bus and didn’t leave until almost 4 am, the two hour bus ride to Sevilla was fast since I fell asleep almost instantly. In Sevilla we only had a five minute walk to our Airbnb where we passed out and slept for five hours. At 10 am we got up, packed and headed to the bus station for a quick brunch and then we were back on a bus to Granada. Another amazing weekend!
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