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Travel blog número dos- Seville!
Two days in Seville- god where do I start. A beautiful mix of meeting awesome people in a fabulously social hostel, and seeing one of the coolest oldest and quaint cities in the world sums it up. And lest I forget Halloween.
Stayed at a rooftop hostel called La Banda- Taylor stayed there a week prior-and it was the highlight of Seville. Arrived by train, navigated the local bus system with the help of a Brit on the bus-walked down old cobble city streets past an enormous famous cathedral to walk through an ancient Romanesque archway to finally find my home. Walked into a hostel to find Thom - a lovely Brit with welcoming smile and lovely demeanor. Yes this is going to be a great stop.
La Banda is run by three British guys who just "bought" the hostel 7 months ago - and it has become the most popular hostel in town per word of mouth only. From my 6 bed dorm room- I could hear the clip clop sounds of horse buggies traversing the streets and the tolling of the cathedral in the distance every 15 minutes- it was a slice of heaven.
Immediately met three Australians who were in my bunk room- one guy Jarrah had studied at UNSW in Sydney where I had studied abroad years ago who is now a tech genius- oh and he's 22. He just turned down a HUGE job from London Google- to continue to travel for he says he has plenty of time in the future for work- this is his time to travel. I love this mentality.
One girl Sarah, Aussie #2, was traveling for 3 years ... 3 years. She's been in Spain for two months and leaves for morocco in a couple days- she's worked out a deal to allow the hostel to let her stay a week or two as she helps out so her room and board are free. Immediate kindred spirits - we are immediate friends.
Another Aussie girl Jess- 28-had just finished the camino - the walk on the northern coast where she became a pilgrim one week prior. She was heading in a days time to Peru via Barcelona to complete her next hike conquest in machu pichu. She's also done base camp Everest. Total unassuming bad ass. Great sense of humor. We played a****** (ahh drinking card games of college) til 4 am one night exchanging stories amongst us.
The last of the crew is Ollie- a 19 year old Aussie #3-in his gap year- a year off between high school and college. He's been on the road for 5 months now. He's done 13 countries -including running with the bulls. Another kindred spirit.
Most Aussies do 5-6 months at a time. They have it right. One month away for me seemed like a drop in the bucket of the places they will see and experience I'm just amazed at the sense of adventure the Aussies have. I also thought what my family mainly my mother would think if I took 3 years to travel- she'd prob have a heart attack.
So for two nights we banded together spending some solo time seeing the sights like the cathedral- the third largest in the world where C. Columbus is buried. It's enormous - and unbelievably beautiful. I walked 35 flights up the Giraldo tower to see the view of Seville as the bells tolled 330. Also plaza espana- an insanely beautiful park with gorgeous fountains, tile work, horse-drawn buggies, canals and bridges- one bridge Lucas filmed a Star Wars scene. It's that pretty. There was a Ukrainian rock star filming a rock video when I passed through.
I also walked about 3 miles along the river to try and find this old abandoned monastery that is now overrun by orange grove trees and feral cats - rec by Sarah the 3 yr traveler. Never made it- so I hung out with my feet dangling over the river waiting for sunset watching paddle boats and canoes go by surrounded by all the other locals - many many lovers along the water hanging out-- and making out-- spaniards love their PDA. The first time I felt lonely.
To get out of lonely moments - you find your crew back at the hostel- It was time for Halloween festivities. And it was time to celebrate.
The hostel has a happy hour on the roof for 50 cents sangria- 50 cents... Awesome. Then after happy hour the Banda crew makes a delicious dinner on the roof and serves us all the while we are socializing, trading travel stories, solving all the worlds problems and generally just having a great time. Our view is of the glowing cathedral in the distance just a block away- it's like a movie set and I swear you not I watched a huge meteor fly through the sky confirmed by three other travelers on the roof- magical. Dinner is served at 10 pm and we all go out afterwards through the windy streets of Seville getting lost in tapas bars, nightclubs and hanging out in the streets. Arrival back to the hostel ranges around 430/5 am ... But we are all together and this is very commonplace in Spain. I kinda love it. We walked by a nightclub at 430 am and there was a line 50 people deep- these people like to party and could potentially put NYC to shame. Big statement.
The Brit la Banda guys loved our crew so much so they decided to go "off duty" and take us around one night- to a collection of "old man Spanish bars". My favorite night by far- a locals experience. The whole time Im trying to figure out how I can defect and move to Spain to open up a hostel and have this kind of life - it's that fun. Ah well it's good to have dreams.
That's the most of it from Seville- I may return to the hostel on my way back to Barcelona- maybe I'll meet Abby there. Either way, I will come back to this city in the future. Fabulous experience.
Cadiz is next for a quick one day/night stop before my trek to granada. Yikes I'm within two weeks. I already don't want it to end. Can I do a gap year at 36? Lol.
Onwards amigos.
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