Spain again!
SPAIN | Monday, 25 February 2008 | Views [252] | Comments [1]
Sevilla aka Seville- We got in around seven and couldn't find the hostel... The streets were mazes and they neglected to put any signs in visible locations. Hostel Nuevo Suizo was and old hotel converted to a hostel. We arrived tired and made a joke about giving us the closest room. He laughed and said we were on the mezanine, four floors up and no lift. Haha... oh you're not kidding. Great. Slowly, but surely, we made it up. Our room was a room built on the rooftop. The bunks were red metal and a bit rickety. It was now 8 and J wanted to sleep. I headed out and grabbed a coffee and cookie at a nearby cafe and talked to a girl about photoshop. The next morning we continued with our trend of doing our own things.. For me.. travel is not by the book... I don't just go see the sights.. I linger...i doddle, and one of the most important things is meeting people. I want to meet all kind of people and share stories and maybe remain friends. This out a new strain on our travel companionship. Since Sevilla is a labyrinth of hundreds of small streets I chose not too look at the map and just wander.... I found myself at a tiny tapas bar just in time to ease my hunger pains. Calamari and batatas Brava... and a cerveza of course. It was fun trying to ask the waiter which beer or how much... the language barrier made it a game, but luckily I hung onto a few words I learned living in california. I finally pulled out the map and found I was near a main river. I decided to walk along it and catch all the sights... the weather was lovely. I walked for ages and finally found myself back to the street we were staying on. Luckily Nuevo Suizo was in a fantastic location. They also had as much free coffee, cappuccino, teas, etc as you wanted... I was constantly wired. I talked to the receptionist, who was always on the phone fighting with his girlfriend, and he told me about a free flamenco place. I mentioned it to J and she had heard of it too. We decided to head out. First I played around with a new camera that I bought because my little one was stole in Madrid. I walked around the rooftops and took some fun pictures. On the way to the club we found a cute restaurant with really cute waiters and made a decision to have dinner there. They had many seafood options, but all covered in or made with Jamon.... which they don't think vegetarians can't eat. I felt like having a steak.. so I indulged in my craving. Out came a beautiful entrecote with grilled potatoes. It was delicious! We took our time and then headed to the Flamenco. By the time we found it there was only a couple of songs left in the set. The club didn't have a sing and all it's patrons were locals. The flamenco itself was powerful... it had a lot of emotions and was sung beautifully. There were no dancers that night. I convinced J to go into the bar and she perceeded to not talk to anyone. We called it a night... on the way home she decided she could try to be social and visit one bar.... we did. We took a taxi home. The next day there was a note by my bed saying she was sorry and that she has problems discussing and she will try. We took off the next day to Cordova for a day trip.
Cordova aka Cordoba- We started off by storing our things in the station and then walked about. There were oranges on every tree and I wanted to try one. I wandered onto this government building or school and in the gardens I found an orange and peeled it quickly and it was sooooo sour and bitter. The guard asked us to leave shortly after. Cordova is famous for it's Mosque that was seized by the Catholics and turned into a cathedral. I didn't notice until much late that in the pamphlet it mentions that they were lucky to have seized it because in the hands of the Muslims it might not have remained in tact and beautiful. Wow, can you say propaganda? We found a great place for tapas and dinner and shared a bottle of wine. The town itself didn't take more than a few hours to explore. J was drunk and I was tired and we headed back to the station and caught a night train to Valencia.
Valencia- We arrived at about seven in the morning and cabbed it to the hostel. Home Hostel, the lift was broken and we were up two flights... not bad. The reception didn't make us wait for check in and let us settle in and sleep some more. The beds were super comfy and the rooms were nice. The hostel was in the interior walls, which were much prettier than the exterior. When we woke up we totally misread the map and ended up who knows where and found the modern art museum. The exhibit there was really cool. i don't remember the srtists name, but he had Shakespeare written in metal letters hanging from the ceiling... you had to walk through like they were beaded curtains and only noticed that it actually spelled out verses when you were a few feet back. We found a great place to have lunch and then went back to the hostel. We decided to make dinner there. The kitchen was really nice and there was a vending machine with beer! Wheuu! I met a few of the people from our room and we spent the evening chatting. We made plans to go to a Flamenco show together the next night. The next day was wonderful! I really love Valencia. I went to another art gallery and just spent the day in the park... in the evening I made dinner and then we headed to the show. I don't know how to describe Flamenco. The dancers look like they are sort of tormented, but it is beautiful. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. I have a video that I will have to email everyone. After the stage turned into a dance floor and the bar was packed. I met a super cute boy, Luismi. We spent ages talking and dancing and his friend was trying to tech me how to flamenco... fun! At about 2am we were pooped and called it a night. I passed out back at the hostel and woke up around 10 the next day. I went to some cool markets with a ton of indian vendors and tried out my hindi.. they were punjabi... we couldn't understand each other. Damn. I hung out with some gals and chatted with them about their travels and then we all got together and played cards. It was an early night as we all had to head out the next day. I was really looking forward to it as Denise, a girl I met In NZ, was meeting us in Barcelona.
Barcelona- Upon arriving we met two American glas in the train station and they were staying at the same hostel, Hostel Kabul, and showed us the way. It was in a fantastic part of town right off the main street, las Rambla. The hostel itself was chaotic. Jaymie booked the wrong date on accident and we lost our rooms and it was just a mess. After pleading to the receptionist he squeezed us in a twelve bed dorm.. yuk, but it was a place to stay and it was where Denise was meeting us. Jaymie insisted on meeting Denise at the airport as a pleasant surprise.. The times were wrong and we were there an hour late. Two hours wasted and by the time we got back to Kabul Denise was on her first beer alone.... aw. None-the-less we were so happy to just see each other. We sat down and grabbed two beers (one litre for three euro, WOW) and begin to catch up. She had worked that day and then flew to meet us so we had an easy night and went to bed early. The next day we headed out to see all the Gaudi work. We saw La Segrada familla, which took a good chunk of the day. It is unbeleivable...his multifaceted way of thinking was just so complicated and facinating. We found a veg friendly place and had a three course meal of deliciousness haha. We then headedback to the hostel and had a few beers, free dinner and called it a night. The next day we shopped, went to the picasso museum and walked around the Gaudi park. We found a resteraunt Denise's coworker recommended and tried to make a reservation, but they were booked. On the way back to the hostel we found a tapas bar and had some yummy seafood and wine. We decided to have a late dinner at another restaurant her coworker recommended (she's in the catering business). Back at the hostel we grabbed a beer and Jaymie disappeared to shower and nap. Denise and I talked for ages and it was really good! We got up to get ready for dinner and then headed out. i was a bit tipsy after my litre and on the way to the restaurant I spotted a piercing tattoo place. I went in just to chat with the piercer, Maximo, and we talked about this and that and then I got my lip pierced. it was a funny moment... Denise shouted 'no, Aysha, really? is it real?'. It did hurt a bit, but wasn't too bad. We had to wait for dinner and decided to share a bottle of sparkling white wine. Dinner was delicious... the restaurant was so cute. We were the last ones out. By the time we left I had a fat lip and looked like I had been in a fight. we went off to find a bar to had a drink before bed. We found an Irish pub of course and had fun. We were smashed and again were the last ones out. It was good to party again after so long. The next morning we agreed to wake up at eight and have breaky with Denise before she had to catch her flight home... I was abit grumpy due to the hangover and fat lip, but we managed =) I didn't want to let her leave, but she promised to meet us again in Germany or Czech. I went back to bed and woke up around eleven to a sweet Aussie boy, Tom, saying goodbye and to keep in touch. He gave me a 'Oh you poor thing' look and wished me well. I felt better by two and if I didn't smile, you couldn't tell I had a fat lip.... so I looked bitchy instead. I sketched a bit and read my book and met some hostellers to sit and chat with. This Italian boy was showing me a plastic elephant that someone had given him at a rave for luck and I pulled out my wooden haathi from India and he wanted to keep it, so I let it go and wished him luck in his travels... I should have bought a few of them. Next time. We packed up and cleft early the next morning for Marseilles.
Tags: Sightseeing
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