Seville, Spain

For my last trip before moving home, I decided to do a bit of a solo adventure. I have been on many amazing trips, most of which just kind of happened - a friend suggested something and so we went. For this last trip, I really just wanted to go off by myself and do exactly what I wanted and go where I wanted. I visited three spots in Spain by myself before meeting Tori in Portugal. My trip began in Seville, Spain. 

I arrived quite late on Saturday night and took an Uber straight to my hostel (the driver was very handsome, I knew right away I was going to like Spain). I know what they say about time in Spain, but I was so shocked at how many people were out and about at 1:00 am. Like I'm talking normal people with kids, older people, people eating ice cream, walking dogs, etc. not just young, drunk people.

I stayed in an 8 person dorm room at Oasis Backpackers Hostel. It was a fantastic hostel. It had a beautiful rooftop terrace where everyone would lounge in the sun playing cards, reading, and relaxing during the day. During happy hour, and into the evening it would become a more social atmosphere. There was a small pool with questionable cleanliness, but most of us decided that at 34 degrees celsius, we didn't mind and just kept our heads above the water. The hostel had a bar that offered €1 sangria during happy hour which was really good and a fun way to be social and meet people. They also offered reasonable priced breakfasts; I got a tasty fruit/muesli bowl, coffee, and OJ for €4 on my last morning - delicious, cheap and handy. They also had good social areas to hangout throughout the hostel and they offered lots of activities. 

I slept in quite a bit the first few days there which killed me because I hate sleeping in, but the hostel had blackout blinds and extremely comfy beds which made it super easy. I think I was also super burnt out from work and it was probably good for me to take a break - the heat also didn't help. 

I learned that Seville is the sunniest city in Europe which definitely proved to be right while I was there. I spent a lot of time just wandering around the pretty streets. It was so beautiful, I felt I was stopping every two seconds to look at something cute and/or take pictures. The relaxed way of life was something I really enjoyed while being in Seville. I stumbled upon some beautiful Spanish artwork in a little square outside of the Museum of Fine Arts - Muestra de Arte Plaza del Museo de Sevilla. I walked past the Plaza de Toros (bull ring) and admired the building from the outside, I decided not to go in. I visited the Setas de Sevilla which were cool to see but I chose not to pay to walk along the top of them.

I wandered the stunning streets to the gorgeous Plaza de España - the famous Spanish steps. It is one of the most spectacular and famous sights in Seville. Several buildings were designed for the Ibero-American exhibition of 1929 in and around Maria-Luisa Park. It was designed in Spanish Renaissance style with a goal to make symbolic peace with its former American colonies. It is in the shape of a semicircle and is surrounded by a buildings used by the government. There are many benches and mosaic tiles surrounding the base of the building. The 52 frescoes depict the 52 Spanish provinces and the tiles are typical of Andalusia. There is a large fountain in the middle and round canal with many adorable bridges. Tourists can be found rowing boats along the canal, sitting on the steps listening to one of the many buskers, taking in a free flamenco show, admiring the stunning architecture, and more. This was one of my favourite places I visited. After visiting the plaza, I wandered around the nearby park and saw some cute buildings, fountains, tiled benches, birds, and gardens. 

I spent lots of time relaxing around the pool at my hostel and reading, it was almost too hot to be wandering the streets/doing activities. During happy hour, I would put my book away and socialize with people. 

I wandered across the river to Triana which is a super chill neighbourhood known for its lively market - Mercado de Triana - containing food stalls and small eateries. There are many restaurants and bars in the area along with venues presenting live flamenco music. There are also many shops selling ceramics in the area. I thought this area was really cool. I walked around the market then I got some delicious empanadas from Empanadas Malvón which I ordered completely in Spanish (Duolingo is paying off) and then I wandered the streets admiring the beautiful ceramic tiles that decorate the streets/buildings.

I did a group tour of the Cathedral, La Giralda (bell tower) and the Alcázar. Once again, the tour was super well done, the people were friendly and the guide was entertaining and informative. The cathedral is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, it is stunning, I love the Gothic style so much. Supposedly 20% of Christopher Columbus is buried inside the cathedral while the rest of him is in the Dominican. 

We climbed La Giralda which uses 34 ramps. The Muslims used to use to climb the tower many times a day for their call to prayer and so they used donkeys to take them up the ramps to the top. The views were incredible from the top. 

We toured the Alcázar, which is the oldest royal palace that is still in use in Europe. I was very intrigued by what I learned of Spanish culture. The influence in the architecture from the Muslim rule, before the Christians took over fascinated me. The mix of Christian/Muslim elements made the building incredible beautiful and interesting. I really loved visiting this palace. After the tour, I got a snack and then got lost exploring the beautiful gardens for a while. It was so beautiful here!

After my tour, I headed back to the hostel and ended up meeting some guys at happy hour and they invited me out with them for the evening. One guy was from Denmark and the other was from Germany. We went to a free flamenco show at La Carbonería which was amazing and then went for tapas. After, we went to La Bartola and had tinto de verano and delicious food, it was really fun!

Food, Drinks & Nightlife: 

I had a coffee and croissant for €4 for breakfast at Pikis Labis next to my hostel. I stopped at Bar Zafiro and had the best fresh orange juice of my life, fantastic green olives, and patatas bravas while enjoying some people watching. I ended up getting a kebab for dinner one night with a group of people from my hostel. Travelling is so cool, a bunch of strangers from different walks of life all hanging out together and getting to know each other, I love it. 

A few of us from the hostel ended up at Cocktail Bar Puerto de Cuba Premier which is literally a rooftop bar in a department store. When you arrive you have to walk through the store - past security guards with guns - which almost feels like walking through duty free at the airport, but after talking an elevator you find a rooftop cocktail bar. We admired the view and had a drink, they also bring you complimentary candy to eat. After, we headed to Alameda de Hercules which is a popular garden square/one of the oldest boulevards in Europe and is the centre of nightlife in Seville. We stopped at Copa 66 to chat and have some drinks. I love meeting complete strangers and having deep life conversations and hearing their life stories and then never seeing them again. Next, we went to 1987 and Liam got us two tequila shots for €5. We danced and drank. We tried to go to a nightclub, but we couldn't get in as a person in our group was in swim shorts. I did the octopus dance move in the middle of the street in the middle of the night with a stranger. It was a fun, spontaneous night with great people! 

I went on a fantastic tapas crawl. One thing I found difficult about solo travelling in Spain is eating tapas. The idea is that you get a few different tapas to share among a group of people and when you are by yourself that is hard - you get too much food and it is expensive. So to fix this, I decided to do a group tapas crawl. It was a highlight for sure! Our guide Fernando was amazing, there was a lovely family from Boston and a Canadian couple from Quebec. The food was amazing and I learned so much fascinating history. It was also very cool to visit super local tapas places, rather than touristy ones. Where we went/what we ate:

• Liberatorio - Queso, salchichón, caña de lomo, manzanilla
• Acerao - Espinacas con garbanzos, queso payoyo, tortilla de patatas, chicharrón, vermut
• Maravilla - Carrillada, ensaladilla, croquetas, tinto de verano limón (I learned, that though many people think sangria is Spanish, it is not. The original Spanish drink is Tinto de verano (summer wine). It is red wine mixed with lemon fanta or soda as a way to drink red wine in the summer heat. Over time, tourists added fruit and cinnamon and turned it into sangria. For the rest of my trip I ordered tinto de verano instead of sangria as it is cheaper and honestly tastier)
• Freidura - Cazón en adobo (Dogfish shark marinated in vinegar and spices - meant to preserve it in past times when there were no fridges - oh my gosh it was delicious)
• Gigante - Torta de la abuela, cava