I had a full week of travels when my good friend Paige came to visit me from the States. It all began with an overnight eight and a half hour bus ride to Sevilla. Surprisingly, I was able to sleep for a good portion of it (probably about five hours) so it was better than anticipated. I arrived at six thirty in the morning and waited an hour for it to become light before heading out. My first stop was to the Opus Dei center that Tania had given me the address to, in order to leave my luggage with them since it was much to early to check in to the hotel. After meeting the nice ladies there, we went to Mass together and then I met up with Ean, a fellow BC grad, to get a late breakfast. After filling up on cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and tostada (toast), we walked around Sevilla for a few hours. Some of our stops included a church that had it’s statues for Semana Santa on display, a shop that had mini Portuguese custard tarts, Plaza de España, an Archeology Museum and 100 Montaditos, where we had a delicious lunch of multiple little sandwiches. Ean recommended the goat cheese, bacon and honey mustard sandwich and I’m so glad he did, because it is an unbelievable combination.
Plaza de España
Murcia got a spot in the plaza
In the evening I checked into the hotel and later met Paige at the train station. We met up with Ean for supper and ate at a fun Spanish restaurant chain called Lizarran. I went to one in Murcia once and it is kind of neat because it consists of tapas that have toothpicks in them and you select the ones you want and pay based on the toothpicks. After a yummy and filling meal, we went to a place that had a flamenco band and while the entrance to the performance was technically free (although you had to be early to get a seat) the juice I ordered cost seven euros. We were all expected to get a drink of some kind and it seemed like everyone around us also had to pay seven euros per drink so my juice cost the same as other people’s alcoholic beverages. Talk about the most expensive juice ever. However, the pricey drink was worth it because it was an extremely legit Sevillano flamenco show with locals getting up and dancing and “olé” ringing out left and right. When the singers were still going strong and it was after 1:30am, Paige and I decided to call it a night and walk the twenty plus minute walk back to our hotel. Considering I’d spent the previous night on a bus and Paige was dealing with jet lag, I was pretty impressed that we were able to stay up as late as we did.
The next morning, after sleeping in and going to a noon Sunday Mass at nearby St. Peter’s Church, we grabbed napolitanas (chocolate filled rolls) for breakfast on our way to the Plaza de España. Once at the plaza, we met up with Ean and rented a rowboat at a total cost of five euros to go from one side of the plaza to the other for thirty minutes. Ean did most of the rowing, but Paige and I both gave it a try for a little bit. I may have attempted rowing before, but honestly can’t remember it if I did, so it was kinda of a struggle. I am ashamed to admit that I sort of crashed into a couple of boats in the process. After the rowboat adventure, we found a nice restaurante for lunch in the old neighborhood known as barrio santa cruz, that is right next to the cathedral. I had a delicious lunch of tortilla de patata with a vegetable sauce, croquettes, salad, bread and sangria. You can’t get much more Spanish than that. We then went to Plaza de la Encarnación that is also known as las setas for the mushroom structure that can be found there. For a small price we were able to go up to the view area on top and just like our visit three years ago, the views were very nice. Then we said farewell to Ean who was returning to Toledo, and Paige and I spent the rest of the afternoon getting some ice cream, walking around for a bit and visiting the Opus Dei center. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Plaza de España to see it at night and relive our first time seeing it when on our second day in Spain we had an evening walking tour of the city that included the incredible plaza. Finally, we had a delicious supper at 100 Montaditos and that was also a nostalgic moment for us since it was at the first 100 Montaditos restaurant we ever went to and where we first fell in love with chocolate sandwiches.
A little BC reunion...
Lunch
The setas
Chocolate sandwiches yum
The next day we didn’t have too much planned, which always makes for a relaxing day. We visited the church right next to where Paige lived, Jesus de Gran Poder, and then wandered around for a bit before ordering the menú del día (menu of the day) for lunch. We got soup, croquettes (yes, again), bread and for dessert in typical Spanish fashion, fruit. Later in the afternoon we made a frozen yogurt stop at the setas, then trekked out to the walls of the city to see the Basilica de la Macarena which has the famous Mary statue known as la Macarena. Sadly, the church was closed when we arrived and as it was an hour long wait and we had plans to meet up with our host families, we had to miss it this time around. At 6m we met up with my host mother, Concepción. She invited us out for churros and chocolate along with her current exchange student, who is a junior at Benedictine College. Such a small world.
yogurt at the setas
After a nice visit with Concepción, we said goodbye and Paige and I headed to the Triana neighborhood to go to Mass and also see the statue of Mary known as La Esperanza de Triana. We went to one church, the church that the statue is normally at, but it wasn’t there, so we left and found an even bigger church about a block away, and sure enough the statue was there as well as a huge crowd of people. We knew something special had to be going on to draw such a gathering, and when a bunch of young men rushed to the statue as soon as the Mass concluded, we realized that they were going to process out with the statue and bring it to the other church. It was like old times, the two of us together in Sevilla and watching a procession similar to the Semana Santa (Holy Week) processions, complete with candles and a band. After watching the statue leave the church, we headed back across the river to visit Paige’s host parents, Rosario and Josemaría. We had a fun time talking with them and didn’t leave until around 10:30pm. Rosario remembered me from when I’d come to visit Paige, but Josemaría had no clue who I was until I told him that I’d studied in Sevilla at the same time as Paige. It was definitely the hair. That crazy curly permed hair of mine. Speaking of my past hair style, Tania saw some pictures of the glory days and came right out and asked me why none of my friends had told me it looked bad and that I should change it. Ouch. I do have to admit I’m glad to have the permed days behind me.
La Esperanza de Triana (Triana's Hope)
Processing to the other church
To end the night, we had a quick supper of pizza at Buoni’s, the first place we went out to eat in Sevilla when we studied abroad. This is rather random, but the pizza guy resembled the actor James Franco. Paige and I both thought the same thing upon seeing him, which just goes to show that there was actually a resemblance. Sadly I didn’t sneakily take a picture of him so I’ve got no proof to support my statement. The next morning, St. Patrick’s Day, we picked up napolitanas for breakfast en route to the bus station and caught the 10:30 bus to Madrid to begin the second part of our vacation. The second half will have to wait till I get back from Rome since I don’t have time to finish writing before leaving tomorrow. Wishing you all a Blessed Holy Week and (early) Happy Easter!
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