Sevilla

My friend Olivia and I decided to do a day trip to Sevilla. Sevilla is only an hour away from Huelva by bus. So after a late start due to a late night before, Olivia and I set out. We heard that there was an international food festival going on so obviously that was one of our top priorities. We grabbed a map at the bus station and began showing ourselves around the city, starting with a walk along the river park to the Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold/Gold Tower) which is an old military watch tower that the Ottoman Empire built in the 13th century. From there we walked into the city winding through cafe tables and shops until we made it to Plaza de España. Plaza de España! It was beautiful and huge. It's basically an enormous half circle government building full of columns and arches. There is a large fountain in the middle, and a canal that wraps around the inside where you can be all romantic and rent row boats. There are ornate bell towers that come up from the middle and both sides of the wrap around building and bridges that stretch across the canal. One of the most striking things about the plaza is the tile work. The cool tile design is everywhere: railings, posts, the ground, walls, etc.

We spent a lot of time wandering and taking pictures here then headed over to the food festival. This was great. There were kitchens from dozens and dozens of countries set up in the park. Olivia and I tried Indian, Mexican, Peruvian and South African. At the South African stand there we ordered a Montadito de Cebra (Zebra sandwich)! The menu at the USA kitchen was interesting; it had chicken nuggets, fries, hotdogs, and "Obama ribs" as the options. After vegging out here we explored the city more.
Sevilla is beautiful. It is a bit bigger than Huelva and has all of the beauty of Huelva x 50. We wandered through narrow corridor streets no wider than a normal hallway where plants and flowers hung down from balconies and stopped in shops that popped up along the way. Sevilla is known for its flamenco and we got to watch a few street performers put on a little show. Sometime I will have to stay the night and see a full flamenco show. Finally we stopped at the cathedral. This cathedral is the largest in the world, volume-wise. Its enormity is impressive. A wedding was happening when we visited but we still got to walk inside a little. The other famous site in Sevilla is an old Ottoman palace. Unfortunately is was closed by the time Olivia and I arrived. We still got to wonder around the outside its walls and towers.
After missing our bus we waited around in a park having our own little botellon (a common thing in Spain where young people drink in parks with friends. Sometimes these are really big and organized) with a box of Don Simon wine.  :)