Seville

This city is our teenage summer camp romance. A lovely time that ended way to quickly, and you have to hope that they show up again the next year.

We had heard from many other travellers that Seville was the place to be. The home of Flamenco dance, small twisting streets, a vibrant food scene, and massive landmarks that dominate the city! It would have been so fantastic, had we not got sick.

It was my (Graham’s) birthday when we arrived, so we went on a tapas crawl. We took on three different restaurants, eating all sorts of different foods, and whatever to drink that came with it. I accidentally ordered beer for the table at one place, lots of sangria, it was great. The hit tapas were a chickpea spinach dip, orange jam, the various cheeses, the beef cheek, and the tuna tataki! Cam got an education in Spanish wine at the middle location as she made a wonderful selection for the table.

Halfway through the tapas run we took a stop at Palace de las Duenas, an old rich person house with many courtyards. This one was not a major royal residence, and it felt a lot more humble. Lots of intricate art for sure, but it wasn’t taht egrigious. It was a fantastic time looking around through the lovely courtyards.

My birthday was wonderful, and I’m so happy my friends came all the way out to celebrate it with me. It really means a lot to me.

The second day though, oh boy. That first night really. Both Cam and I (and only us) came down with some sort of stomach bug. I spent the whole night sweating, and Cam throwing up. We got maybe three hours of combined sleep. As a result, Cam made it five minutes into the day before calling it and heading back to the hostel to recover. I didn’t do much better. I took a stroll down to Plaza de Espana, seeing the cathedral, university, and other sights along the way, before the 40 degree heat became too much and I retired for the day. I got to see a little bit of street flamenco (The Argentine Mafia, as our future cooking class host called them. Not real flamenco!) so that was nice.

The evening consisted of heading to Anette and Jose’s house on the outskirts of town to learn how to cook a few Spanish dishes. This was great fun for our now rested bodies. We got to learn a lot about Spanish cuisine (Jose’s disgust when we mentioned paella was certainly something. Apparently its only good in Valencia). We made a cold tomato soup, fish and potatoes, and a french toast type thing for desert. Chatting with them was lovely as well, and they gave us a lot of inspiration on life. Jose didn’t speak much English, and we don’t speak a lot of Spanish, so it was a little tougher to communicate with him. Anette was inspiring though! She seems to have her hands in so many cookie jars, and has just gone for what she wanted in life. She is from Calgary originally too! Small world.

That’s Seville in a nutshell. A great birthday run through the old town, a wonderful cooking experience, and absolutely nothing that Seville is known for in the tourism world. Maybe next time, or next year.

We say goodbye to our friends here, as they are continuing to Lisbon and Paris before heading home. It was so wonderful having them out, and we will see them again on this trip somewhere hopefully.

Now, time to slow the pace in an oft visited Spanish town. See you there!