And more

I just left Sevilla, one of the most romantic cities in the planet, so they say. And I loved Sevilla. We didn´t start off on very good terms, because when I arrived, Sevilla said to me, "Hello, I am Sevilla, and this is what I am all about!" and...yeah, what that means is that I got lost immediately. Sevilla, as I learned from the walking tour, was originally an old Jewish and moorish town, and to add protection for their Catholic-dominated city, they constructed labyrinthine streets all over the place. Some streets will be relatively straight, but from one end to the other, you will come across five different names for the street. By the end of my stay I thought it was funny, and a humorous challenge to get from point A to point B (C,D,E...), but when you get out of the bus station looking for your hostel and get lost within five minutes...not the best first impression.

But I loved Sevilla! The city is beautiful. There are lots of hidden plazas with orange trees and cobblestones, and fountains everywhere. The gardens, which were created for kings and queens, are also extremely well-kept, green, and refreshing. My favorite part of Sevilla undoubtedly was the Plaza de España. It is a giant, semi-circular structure adorned with mosaics of all the different provinces of Spain. There is a false river running through it, which brings added romantic air :). Also...little tasty tidbit for you: bring to your mind "Star Wars Attack of the Clones". I know, it was probably the worst of the series, but I remember the battle scene was really good. It was filmed in the Plaza de España! I have to admit I was sitting in this beautiful Spanish monument taking in the breathtaking architecture of this place...and I couldn´t stop thinking about "Star Wars." I got to visit a galaxy far far away!

I´m trying to decide which I liked better, Sevilla or Barcelona. It´s an easy comparison, two Spanish cities. But I realize that part of what made my stay in Sevilla so great was the fact that I met a lot of people in my hostel. I hadn´t met anyone in northern Spain because there aren´t any tourists in northern Spain, plus I had some unfortunate accommodation (in Burgos I was in a hotel, which for a backpacker, just felt plain wrong; and the hostel in Madrid was owned by a creepy old guy who would watch me walk to the bathroom, and there were drunk Europeans next door to me). In Sevilla I was greeted by a warm lobby with other English speakers and accidentally went on a tapas tour for free. As for Barcelona, for one thing, it was my first big European city, and for another thing, I was happy to see it again. It´s just something to consider when picking favorite cities. I really did love Sevilla because it was so beautiful, though.

This whole trip has gone really fast, so fast that I still can´t believe I´m actually in Spain doing this. I´m sure I will be quite satisfied upon my return, I´m not even worried about it. Part of me is tired out and looks forward to setting my clothes and drawing stuff in one place instead of a backpack, and the other part of me just wants to keep going forever.