Ok so one cannot live in Europe and travel to London, Paris, and Rome without hitting SPAIN! Yes it has taken all these months to finally make but I did make it and had a great week there. I had a break between quarters at my school so I decided to travel long before I even purchased tickets to Spain. But something great happened, my cousin and fellow blogger Maya accept a great opportunity to teach English in Spain. This is a win win for me and her! lol She moved to Sevilla, Spain the beginning of October right after returning home from our time together in Morocco. Two of my best friends study abroad in Spain during undergrad so it was great to be able to get a taste of their experience.
Sevilla!
The home of Bullfighting, Flamenco Dancing, Sangria and Paella! Who wouldn't love this place. Sevilla is considered to be very Spanish, to me this meant nothing since I didn't understand the difference of other places in Spain but I will get into that later with Barcelona. As soon as I arrive as every typical European airport there is no customs, no check, no nothing (guess they are on break with the Italians lol). I find the shuttle bus that has a schedule outside the airport this was very easy to find and navigate by myself. I needed to kick in my 3 years of high school Spanish classes and that 1 yr relationship with the Puerto Rican boyfriend I had back in college to help a little. Made it to the main square, Padro San Sebastian where all the trams and bus run to connect to the bus to my cousin's flat. Sevilla is a small charming city. There are lot of the same characteristics that I see in Florence, Italy that I loved about Sevilla. There is less tourist here I am pretty sure due to the time that I visited and that it is pretty South of Spain not close to other major Spanish 'touristy' places like Madrid. Well if you don't by now I love learning the history of the area that am visiting and being exposed to the culture differences that makes that place that am vising unique. My cousin and I did the Hop On Hop Off tour which was really good since I am able to see all the areas in 2 hours and knew where I needed to come back to do a little shooting. Then before she went off to work we had good lunch with a little Flamenco Dancing performance. See below. It was great. Didn't know what to expect. Loved every minute of the passionate music and the dancer. This is a must see if in Spain. Later after walking around I did a free tour of an area called the Triana. This is where a lot of the gypsies lived and worked and the home of FLAMENCO! It was interesting to hear the story of Moors and the rich mix from Morocco in Spain and it was evident all over the with architecture and symbols and symbols I noticed from my recent trip in to Marrakech. I enjoyed my long walks around the city. One of my favorite places there was Plaza de Espana loved the building and felt very connect to the architecture and the colors and essence of the flamboyant culture that you hear about when you think of Spain.
The time with my cousin was great as well. Seeing her with the friends, she have made so far, and in her element with the culture she love was great. So proud of her for moving out her, I am know I am crazy for doing what I did but its good to see that some people are as crazy as me. lol. Seeing here speak fluently made me want to take my Italian serious. She getting her groove in her new Euro life quickly and was able to do a few things together. We had our Paella at the Festival of the Nations, this was a market place in the middle of a park that was currently the hit of the town while I was there (lucky me) and highlighting different places with large Spanish decent being represented. They were selling food, dancing, selling their local drinks it was great to experience. Although the many Spanish people are near and far from Spain they come in a large variety of shapes, colors, and sizes because of their different heritage being so intertwined with many people from native land (indigenous), the Spaniards, and Africans but the language, food, and music whether you are talking to some from Mexico, Colombia, or Madrid is what connects them and that was beautiful to see.
Next stop BARCELONA!!
Here are some pics of us:
Flamenco Dancer
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