|
From Salema--we had to take buses all the way into Sevilla. There are
no train tracks that cross directly from the Algarve over to southern
Spain (but will be soon). So they arrange a bus, which I might add, doesn't
even run in the off-season, to travel this stretch. It was a very beautiful
ride, especially on the Spanish side as there were just miles of rolling
small to flat hills with flowers covering them.
However, we arrived in Sevilla around 1pm and at this time, it was precisely
99 degrees Fahrenheit. With our packs on, and walking the distance to
our hostel, it was excruciatingly hot to say the least. Our hostel wasn't
far from the bus station thankfully and I had made the reservations from
Salema. For some reason, Sevilla was really booked up when I had called--even
the only slightly recommended places, so we felt lucky to have something.
Whereas, a young American couple, with a baby nonetheless, we noticed
on our bus and also walking the streets from hostel to hostel were unsuccessfully
looking for an open room (at midday). We felt kinda bad for them-but not
as bad as we would feel for ourselves after our first night in Sevilla.
Our room was in a place called Hostal Lis II. It was on the 4th floor
(3rd to Europeans) with a window to the center atrium that was not open
to the air, but covered. There was no AC and only a small fan to blow
in air from the atrium into our room. It was dark, hot, very small and
had no privacy as the window had to stay open for some circulation, and
again no window to actual outside air. The best part was the last night
we were there when the power went off-woe is us, no fan meant that instead
of it being a doable 95 degrees it was around 105-yes-it was cooler outside.
Oh-this is at NIGHT people! We spent most of our days at sites and in
some air conditioned Internet cafes-which were the few AC'd places open
during the afternoon siesta. We now understood why a siesta is not only
needed, but could actually save your life. The only people you saw out
between 1pm and about 5 were mostly tourists sweatin' it out. The buildings
of Sevilla are also built high and close together so there is always a
shadow to which you can walk in (about 10 degrees cooler). However, with
the exception of Venice, Sevilla's streets were the most confusing, mishmash
of clarity in civil engineering I have ever seen. We did manage to find
a fantastic Cuban restaurant that we went back to each day because it
was so unbelievably good. The dressing for this salad I had there I have
yet to ever taste anywhere and I highly recommend this place to anyone
headed to Seville. It's in almost all the guidebooks (and indeed is probably
the only Cuban restaurant in Sevilla). We had a good time at both the
Great Cathedral of Seville-which is HUGE-and I believe is now considered
the largest in the world (from some recalculations that were done). They
have a tomb here of Christopher Columbus-but there is great contention
as to whether he's actually buried here. We headed over to the Alcazar
as well-which had a ton of leftover Moorish influence everywhere. Heather
was really into the giant tapestries that showed huge sea battles of the
Spanish Armada. Oh-and the winding market places of Sevilla have a little
bit of a fetish-a shoe fetish that is. At one point, we counted 7 shoe
stores all either next to each other or across from each other (this is
just on one street). Shoes are it in Sevilla. Both men and women were
dressed to the nines here. The women almost always look you up and down
starting with your shoes. The men were always just as snazzy, though their
machismo is never in question. And, even though it's a billion degrees
here, no one but tourists wears shorts. No one.
|
|
