Merida, Sevilla
This is part one of a two part post because Andalucia was
just that great, it deserves two posts.
This week we had one day of school (Monday) then Tuesday we
left at the crack-o-jack o’clock on the bus. First stop Merida. I had no idea
what to expect here, all I knew was that we would be seeing a Roman
Amphitheater. This place was awesome! Turns out this Amphitheater is one of the
best they had left in all of Europe, and we got to walk all around it! I could
not believe that people built this kind of stuff before tractors and cranes
existed. It was so beautiful, and so HUGE! Near the amphitheater was another large
arena, this one was for gladiator battles. We got to see the little rooms where
they kept the imported wild animals for the fights and the elevated floor for
draining/cleaning up the blood after fights. It was equally as amazing to see.
Then we walked to another part of town and in the middle of the winding Spanish
streets appears more Roman Ruins, this time part of the city plaza. There were
some pillars and walls, as well as a statue of a woman still standing, right
there in the middle of town.
After about an hour in Merida, it was back on the bus to
Sevilla! Sevilla is my most favorite city we have visited in all of Spain. If I
had to pick one place to live outside of the States I would choose Sevilla, no
question. Our first morning there we met up with our tour guide and that’s when
the fun began! There are a lot of really cool looking buildings that were built
for the two World Fairs and Olympics that were hosted in Sevilla. Some of the
buildings have been repurposed and others have just kinda been abandoned. One
of my favorite places in Sevilla is the Plaza de Espana. Fun fact: Part of the
second Star Wars was filmed in Plaza de Espana!! Just outside the Plaza is a
big green garden, which I will come back to… I really can’t do the plaza
justice with my words, you will have to go to facebook and see the pictures.
Next we saw the Alcazar, which was another beautiful
building with green, green gardens. It was so refreshing to see green! Southern
Spain is definitely more alive in the winter than Madrid is! There are a lot of
orange trees in Sevilla, and especially at the Alcazar. They are not the kind
you would want to eat though; they are a decorative breed of oranges. I tried
to tell people that, but no one listened and they all tried to eat an orange.
What a surprise, those oranges did not taste good at all! That was really funny
to watch.
While in Sevilla we also toured the Cathedral, which ended
with a trip to the top of the bell tower! It was a long, steep hike to the top
and there were a few British girls who continually announced things like “I
think I am going to die.” And “Great *bleep
my feet are going to break!” and “I CAN’T MAKE IT!!” It was hilarious! The
laughing made it harder to walk, because I could barely catch my breath from
laughing and hiking up the steep tower! Once we made it to the top - and yes
the poor british girls did make it - the view was amazing! We could see the
entire city, and the weather was good that day, so we could see for miles!
When we finished at
the Cathedral, we had some free time. Austin and I and some others from the
group decided to go to see the world’s largest wooden structure. Here is a link
with info and pictures, because it really is amazingly huge! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropol_Parasol
It was a bit of a
walk to get there, but we didn’t mind because we got to more of Sevilla! And we
found ice cream along the way, which always makes any walk better. Once we got
there we decided it was worth the money to go to the top. We paid the six euros
or whatever it was, and we got the walk on the worlds largest wooden structure!
Once again, we got a great view of the city, and we got to have a soda at the
bar up there. I am not into modern art and stuff, but this really was amazing.
I am so glad I have a smart husband who looks up stuff like this and takes me
to cool places!
Okay, there are two
more things I have to talk about in Sevilla. Bikes and Flamenco. First thing,
during our free time we decided to rent bikes for an hour and go back to the
Plaza de Espana to check out the gardens. I am so glad we did, because the
gardens really are beautiful. There were all kinds of birds and trees and
bushes that I hadn’t ever seen before (or maybe I just hadn’t noticed before)
and the more we rode the more we discovered. We found a little pond that is
home to a big family of swans. We also found little ivy covered walls, more
ponds, fountains, and a little plaza area were a lady was selling bird feed. As
you can imagine, the area was FULL of pigeons. And because I am the daughter of
Josh Cook, I decided to make a video of Ryan, one of the other kids in the
group, riding his bike through the area full of birds. Once he started towards
the birds the lady that sells the bird seed began hollering “NO SE LEVANTAN!!”
Apparently, people come and feed the birds so much that they are too hefty to
fly anymore. The closer Ryan got, the more the pigeons would try to hustle away
but not a single one could fly! Luckily he didn’t run any of them over!
Alright, last
Sevilla story! We got to see a real flamenco show is Sevilla! The birthplace of
Flamenco! We found a little old bar with a grumpy bar tender that has free
shows twice a week for paying customers. Austin and I tried some bull tail stew
and enjoyed the show! The dancer was really skilled, at least she was by my
completely non-expert opinion, and this show was easily one of the highlights
of Sevilla for me. The stomping/clapping, and guitar paired perfectly together
to create a mesmerizing show. It doesn’t get much more “Spanish experience”
than sitting in a crowded bar, eating bull meat, and watching Flamenco dancing!
Such a great night!
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