Day 51- Hablo un poquito Espanol.

But as many times as you say it, the Sevillans continue their conversation with-or without-you. It´s really quite funny, and I continue to try to learn more.

Regardless, Sevilla is incredible. We arrived by bus from Carmona yesterday morning and found a hotel through an agency in the train station. It´s cheap and in a good location on a little tiny back alley/sidewalk floored with stones and lined with old plaster sided buildings built to human-scale.
Yesterday, Asli went her own way for most of the day and Hannah and I stuck together, all agreeing to meet back up at 7pm. Hannah and I stopped into a few little churches on the way, all very ornately decorated with intricate ceilings (plaster and gold leaf), three-dimensional free-standing Catholic sculptures, and coin-operated electric candles. Although the streets meet in interesting intersections and do not follow much of a grid, I´ve found it very easy to navigate with a map, and even without one by the end of the day. Our first big stop was the Catedral, which is the third largest next to St. Peter´s in Rome and another in London. It was only 1.50 to get inside, and very well worth the time. They had a sculpture and painting museum in the front, a treasury on the side, and a garden filled with orange trees (very prevalent in this region) boardering one side. Inside the cathedral itself, very high rib-vaulted ceilings soar over your head. There are about 12 individual chapels within the church itself, and each one is decorated with painting and sculpture which you have to observe on the other side of an iron gate. By far the highlight of the visit was climbing to the top of the tower, which provides a spectacular view of the city in all directions. Every quarter hour, the many multi-sized and individually named bells chime loudly overhead. We spent over a half hour up there before beginning our descent back down the spiraling brick ramp. We headed back out into the plaza and decided to separate for lunch. I ended up with a horrible iceberg salad, microwaved paella, and pre-packaged pudding, which was disguised on the menu board outside as a three course meal for 6 EUR. With my water and some kind of tax and service fee, it ended up being 9 EUR, and when I gave him a 10, he brought no change. Argh. Every dining experience can´t be a winner, I suppose.
I met back up with Hannah and we found ourselves in a garden with amazing trees that have tall, sculpted roots protruding at least a foot above the ground. There is a statue honoring Christopher Colombus in the center, and there I took a little siesta on a blue and while ceramic tile bench, until the many flies annoyed me out of my relaxation. We continued to the other side and found a large building with many early-20 year olds with backpacks entering and exiting. Being the clever one that I am, I came to the conclusion that it must be a university, and Hannah agreed, "Now that you say that..," and it ended up being the Universidad de Sevilla. We went inside and had coffee in the university cafe for .75! Incredible. We left and each got a helado before crossing a bridge that we hoped crossed over water, but was really just a glorified overpass. We turned around, walked back, bought Flamenco tickets for a professional show the following night, and went to meet Asli.
On the way, we saw two girls with backpacks looking lost, and I offered to place them on their map, but they ended up just following us to our hotel and getting a room there as well. We invited them to join us to go out later on, and they agreed that they would after grabbing a bite to eat. In the meantime, Hannah, Asli, and I hung out in our room and had story time courtesy of Hannah as she read aloud from "The curious incident of the dog in the night-time," which is hilarious. A short while later, Lauren and Clair, who are from Australia, joined back up with us and we all headed out to a taberna, or tavern. This is basically a bar where flamenco guitarists perform and amateurs dance along. We arrived about an hour or so before the show, so we just talked and hung out in the best seat in the house until the show began. Around midnight, all of the lights were turned down and the tavern remained illuminated solely by tea-light candles on the tables. The first guitarist stood in front of a statue of Mary and baby Jesus and started slowly plucking the strings, before introducing his powerful voice. Eventually, people began singing and clapping along and when the lights came up, the dancing began. We had learned the things to yell to the dancers from the lesson the night before, and paricipated with "Ole! Rubia! Morena! Bonito/a," though not necessarily all together. It was a great evening and we really look forward to the professional show tonight.
Today, the three of us had breakfast together at a little cafe, and my "Desayuno de la Casa" made up for yesterday´s lunch...eggs, ham, bread, coffee, and fresh squeezed orange juice for 5 EUR. We set out for the palace, or Reale Alcazares, through gardens and little streets lined with ceramic tile shops. The palace was really incredible-with many architectural influences, including Italian, Islamic, Classical and more (I´d be more detailed, but it´s not my forte). We took a tour of the royal families´ living quarters upstairs, and explored the many courtyards and gardens in between. Plaster moulding, stone carving with brightly painted negative space, topped with carved wooden celings and closed with iron gates and carved wooden doors set the scene. The jasmine-scented gardens were immense and beautiful to wander through.
Next on the list are the river, the Plaza de Toros, and the Flamenco performance tonight! Tomorrow: Granada!