October started off with a bang as CIEE took us to Sevilla. Rather fortunately, I had already visited this lovely southern Spanish city just over a month earlier so I had a good idea of what to look forward to. Also, Nicky G, a friend of mine who I’ve known for many a year, was studying there so I would get the chance to see the city from the side of a semi-local. We arrived at El Prat early in the morning for our short 1.5 hour flight down south. Having slept very little the night before (such is the life of a barca boy), I passed out immediately on the plane. Upon arrival at the airport, we took a bus to our hotel, Hotel Alcazar, and checked in to our rooms, mine I shared with Fil. The hotel was very old and beautifully decorated and well located as well, just on the other side of the Palacio Alcazar. The touring started immediately as we met our guide (who was friendly but a little bit on the boring side) and headed over to the Catedral y Giralda, two of the most famous sites in Sevilla. Christopher Columbus and some family members as well are all buried inside the Catedral and the view from the Giralda tower was magnificent (see pictures). An overwhelming and huge cathedral (one of the largest and oldest in Europa), it was nice to revisit it as it was impossible to absorb it all the first time I was there. After the tour ended, I met up with Nick and we started our adventure. We got free fanta at a local festival and then walked to some of his favorite shops and stores. We both got 5 euro futsal shoes at this sports store for the game later that night. After, we grabbed a quick bite at a local street fair (which are apparently very common in the small streets and neighborhoods of Sevilla) before heading back to Nick’s residencia (where surprisingly there are only Spanish students and it is located in a house) where I met some of his flat-mates. He wolfed down his meal and we ran 2.5 miles to the concrete field where we would be playing futsal that evening. The futsal game was a blast. I had been playing a little in Barcelona but the speed and skill of the players at this game was spectacular. It was quite the workout and so much fun. After, we ran back to our respective places to shower and get ready for some nightlife. After one of the fastest showers of my life, I met up with nick and we headed down to the club street to try our luck at Aqua (apparently the premier place in Sevilla) with some of his Spanish friends from the resi. Unfortunately, we got rejected (my first time at a club in Spain) because one of his friends was holding a drink, something that is apparently taboo in the club world. Instead we headed to Buddha which turned out to be an absolute blast. The club was 3 main floors, the middle of which lead out to a balcony where there were Moroccan style beds that you could lay and sip a drink in the warm late summer breeze of the city. It was decorated with an Indian/Middle Eastern feel and was pretty packed. We danced for a while on the second floor before heading upstairs which turned out to be pretty empty. We lived it up, taking advantage of the space to dance (we went pretty crazy) and even engaged in team dance offs with some Spanish guys and girls that seemed to know what they were doing (but don’t worry, we took them down). At around 4:30am, we both decided it was time to go and I took a short cab ride back to my hotel.
Waking up Saturday at 7:30am to get ready for the trip to Cordoba was pretty tough after such a late night out, nonetheless, it happened. Fil and I quickly got dressed, wolfed down some breakfast, and hopped on the bus for the trip out. I quickly passed out seeing as I didn’t get much sleep the night before. In Cordoba, we started out passing by the outside of the famous mosque-turned-Cathedral and headed into the heart of the old city. We took a tour of the call, the old Jewish neighborhood and one of the last three remaining synagogues in Spain. Most of them were wiped out during the expulsion of the Jews after 1492. It was a very spiritual experience that I enjoyed tremendously. After, we walked through some more of the small streets typical of the former capital during the Muslim regime and explored the former mosque. The mosque, which is now a Cathedral, was absolutely beautiful. Having an appreciation for Islamic art, many of the elements of the old mosque remained in this cathedral. After finishing up our tour of the museum, we ate some traditional Andalucía tapas and then hopped back on the bus back to Sevilla. After a quick rest in the room, we headed to see flamenco with the program. The performance was magnificent. We sat in the front row in front of the stage. The show took place in an old converted Jewish synagogue/home. It started with a man dancer who was then joined by a female dancer. Their form and skill was unbelievable and well exceeded the performance that I had seen my previous time in Sevilla. Having not eaten in a while, we made our way over to San Miguel where I enjoyed delicious pasta with seasonal mushrooms before hurrying out to meet up with Nick. Nick and I met up at his residencia and one of the workers at his resi took us to Club Mojito, a salsa dancing club in the heart of Sevilla. We tried our luck at the tough dancing style and enjoyed ourselves tremendously. We were fortunate to have his friend to help us out and also to get some lessons from some of the older women in the club. Exhausted after a long day, we left and strolled through Betis street and the river area before I headed back to the hotel.
Sunday we were up early again for our tour of Real Alcazar. The palace is absolutely magnificent (see pictures below) but it was disappointing to have to rush through with the tour. I was fortunate enough to have gotten to go at my own pace when I visited there with Elissa only a short month before. After relaxing in the gardens for a while, we grabbed a delicious shwarma meal and went to the airport for our flight home.
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