Seville, Granada, and a little more Valencia!

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Seville:

We went on our first little getaway from our home base in Valencia.  We took a train to Seville then to Granada and back to Valencia.  This was my first time being on a train (other then the BART system in Northern CA) and it was awesome, I really enjoyed it.  It was much better than an airplane or bus as you can walk around as you please, there’s a food car that you can go hang out in and there’s no attendants telling you to turn off your electronics.  Plus, you get to view the entire country as you go.

Seville, was absolutely gorgeous and has so much history.  However, the trash company was on strike so there were huge piles of trash everywhere!  Seville is known for having the largest cathedral in Spain and boy was it spectacular.  The architecture is unbelievable as well as all the traditions of the city.  Here I stayed in my first hostel and it was nowhere as bad as I was expecting.  We stayed in a 10 person room which consisted of five bunk beds and one bathroom.  The hostel organizes free walking tours every day that we took advantage of.  They also have a very small selection of breakfast such as cereal, toast and jelly, and coffee every morning.  We went to a Flamenco show that was very entertaining and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Granada:

Granada was absolutely amazing, and offered an excellent vegetarian cuisine for Jennison.  Finally she could have options and get full!  While there, I was able to visit the Alhambra, which consists of a palace, a castle, and amazing gardens.  It is said to be built to be the location of actual paradise.  It was originally built in 889 (that’s not a typo) and throughout different rulers it was built into this historic place that I have never seen the likes of.  The palace was designed in a Moorish style that has such very fine detail I cannot imagine how it was done, it is very beautiful and words cannot describe it.  My favorite part and also my favorite sight I’ve seen in Europe is the alcazaba or castle!  It sits at the highest point in the area in an excellent defensive positioning with thirteen watchtowers, you can see everything for miles from the main tower.  The hostel we stayed in was better then the Seville one as it had a bar, an outside terrace at the very top, and a huge kitchen.   

More Valencia:

For the Super Bowl we went to this American Pub, which may have been one of the only places showing it- we even had to buy admission tickets in advance!  Once we got in, we sat in the pre-planned area where we had scoped out a few days before.  At the table, four Spanish guys sat across from us. I said, “dammit, I was hoping to sit with Americans”. One was wearing an Eagles jersey, which I found funny, and another had a Ravens jersey, as he had just visited Baltimore.  We ended up making a table bet where we had the 49ers and they had the Ravens… that didn’t go well for us.  After talking for a while these guys turned out to be very nice, entertaining, and spoke English pretty well!  One of them has two season tickets to the local soccer team, which is one of the better teams in Spain.  Awesome, I really wanted to go to a game or “match” as they say.

Valencia Club de Futbol match at Mestalla

Finally we went to a Soccer game/match! The stadium is called the Mestalla and is the home field of Valencia Club de Futbol. With a capacity of 55,000 seats, it ranks as the fifth-largest stadium in Spain. It is also renowned for its steep seating and being one of the most intimidating atmospheres in all of Europe in which to play! Jennison had surprised me with a team Valencia Jersey and we all four looked great in our new gear.  Walking up to the stadium I had butterflies from excitement.  We were to meet up with one of our new Spanish friends and he was going to show us around.  While heading to our meeting point we saw an enormous crowd of Valencia fans walking toward the stadium together singing fight songs as loud as they could. I’ve been to San Diego, Dallas, Seattle, Oakland and have never seen such camaraderie, enthusiasm, and team spirit as I saw. Once in the stadium, I couldn’t believe the cheering, it was 90 minutes of none stop yelling.  Valencia was playing a “Champions League” game (different than their normal Spanish league) vs. the number one team in France and our team unfortunately lost.  Regardless, I had a blast and am looking forward to attending more games.

Hers

Seville, Granada, and more of Valencia!

WOW. I feel so lucky. Blessed. In awe of every moment, of every day. So often I look to Brian or the friends we are traveling with and say, “This is our life. I love our life.”

It is amazing how you can return to a place after many years and experience it differently, with a whole new perspective. I wonder if it is evidence of a shift within oneself or if it is just simply, different. About seven years ago I traveled with my best friend to Europe and spent about a month in Spain during our three-month adventure. Spain had little impact on me at that time in my life. I remember the food was not impressive, I was not especially interested in improving my Spanish, and the people did not stand out to me either. What a difference our current experience has been!

Seville. Ahhhh, Seville. We arrived at night from a seven-hour train ride and found an amazing restaurant close to our hostel that had a whole section of the menu that was solely vegetarian options. Needless to say, Brynn and I had a feast! We knew our hostel was close to the famous cathedral so we decided to see if we could “run into it” by roaming the adorable streets surrounding the old city center. Boom. There she was. Glowing yellow, the Giralda seemed to be floating in the sky and it was unclear which was swimming above our heads- the clouds or this enormous tower.  Again, my breath was taken away. Seeing this magnificent example of Gothic architecture at night, absent of tourists and the general hustle and bustle of the plaza made a lasting impression. Seville will forever be remembered in this way.

We spent our only full day in Seville on a great walking tour of the city and attended a Flamenco show at night. This was the first time in my life I realized that men in heels can be sexy! Flamenco- how have I not adopted this art into my everyday life? A combination of all my favorite types of dance- tap, the Irish Jig, salsa, interpretive dance...

After our short trip to Seville, we took the 3.5 hour train ride to Granada. Another place I had visited on my last trip to Europe, but one I did not remember well. We chose a hostel right in the historic Albaicín district, heavily influenced by its Medieval Moorish past. We enjoyed our time at the hookah bars, teashops, and shopping in the bohemian street markets filled with leather bags, gorgeous handmade tapestries, and funky clothes. The best part about Granada? Home of tapas, in the most traditional sense, it is a law in Granada that whenever one orders a drink at a bar or restaurant, food must be served with the beverage. This was a tradition put into place many years ago in order to keep the locals from getting too drunk! You truly do not ever need to pay for food in Granada! I found a great tapas bar, Babel World Fusion, which provided a list of about ten different types of vegan and vegetarian options for tapas. We were in heaven here. This has definitely been our favorite city we have visited thus far.

We returned to Valencia after five days of traveling and we were happy to be home- having our own bathroom once again, the ability to do laundry, know our way around the streets, and to be reunited with our fourth flatmate- Lauren! Home. A word we may use loosely when traveling because anytime you spend more than a few days in a place, it truly does feel like home J. There is something about this city. I cannot put it into words. It is not the most beautiful. Nor the most famous. It does not have the most history. Or even the best food. But, for me, it is exactly where I know I am supposed to be.

Every choice we make leads us in a new direction. Whether it is fate or pre-determined, I cannot say. However, there have been many times we have turned a corner or randomly selected one café over the other and in hindsight, I see proof of how this little choice may forever impact our lives. For the Super Bowl we searched the Internet for a bar in our neighborhood that would be showing the game. We selected Portland Ale House. On this night, we ended up sharing a table with four Spanish guys (who were rooting for the Ravens…. Booooo!!!!). Brian was disappointed at first that we were not sitting with other Americans for this very American tradition. It did not take long however to see that it was going to turn into a great night and an even more amazing friendship. Since this night, we have spent much of our time in Valencia with our new Spanish friends- trying out new restaurants, singing Karaoke at a local pub, sharing stories of our families and relationships, watching futbol and cooking tapas together in their homes, celebrating birthdays, and even planning trips to other parts of Spain and Europe. It is a beautiful thing how one choice can change your life. These people have already made an impression on my heart and will for sure be the highlight of our experience in Spain.

Highlight: I have loved sharing in many of Brian’s “firsts” here in Spain. This last week was Brian’s first real train ride and his first time staying in a hostel (a 10-bed co-ed dorm with strangers from around the world, sleeping in bunk beds, sharing one bathroom…). We have all decided however that we may just be getting too old for this whole hostel situation… 

Seville Catedral

Brian's first hostel experience!

The Alhambra, Granada

Shopping with Brynn in Granada!

Our new Spanish friends!

Our first Valencia futbol game at Mestalla Stadium