Spain: Tapas and Castles

Hola from Spain!

We arrived from Dublin to Sevilla on a Ryanair flight at 1PM on Sunday. There was an immediate change in feeling for both Mikey and I upon entering Spain. First, Mikey can speak the language which is super helpful, and I can pretty well understand it with my Italian background. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, it felt like summer as soon as we stepped off the plane. No more rain and cold! Sunny and warm with low humidity made it start to really feel like a summer vacation.

We took a bus to the hostel and dropped our things off in our room. It was one of the coolest hostels I have ever stayed in. Very nice and modern, friendly staff, clean, small rooms, and instead of keys, they had fingerprint scanners to enter the rooms. If you're ever in Sevilla, stay at Toc Hostel!

We then walked to Plaza de Espana, a massive horseshoe shaped castle-looking thing that was absolutely breathtaking. Similar to the Cliffs of Moher, it was one of those 'wow' moments where we both just didn't want to leave. We walked around there for a bit taking pictures and checking things out, then went to what the guy at our hostel called 'the mushroom.' Essentially, it was a giant webbed metal structure that kind of looked like a mushroom that you could stand underneath and go up in for a beautiful view of all of Sevilla. We thoroughly enjoyed that, but we were starting to get hungry.

The hostel suggested a tapas place all the way on the other side of town, so we started walking. We got there at 6:30 before the reminder came that Spanish people don't generally eat dinner until 9PM or later. The kitchen didn't even open until 8:30. We decided to wait it out until 8:30 and went to a cafe down the street for sangria and carrot cake. An oddly satisfying combination.

When Duo Tapas opened, we had a feast. We had green mustard chicken, beef and potatoes, patatas bravas, some sort of salmon dish, and sangria. It was absolutely delicious, and in true Spanish fashion, we made the meal last for almost three hours. Anyone who has spent time around me eating knows that it is an accomplishment for me to eat so slowly!

We had a very early bus the next morning, so we went back and went straight to bed after talking to the host at the hostel, Tomas, a young Italian who had also just graduated and decided to move to Sevilla for work. I got to practice my Italian a bit with him too which was nice!

After a three hour bus ride, we arrived in Granada at noon and went straight to our hostel to drop off our things. We were greeted by a zany Spaniard named Gregorio who told us all of the best spots for tapas and stunning views of the Alhambra, a giant castle-fort at different times controlled by the Moors and Catholics, thus having very interesting and varying degrees of art and architecture. Mikey and I had in mind that we wanted to visit the Alhambra before we came, but we didn't know that we needed to have bought tickets far in advance. Gregorio had a solution for us, which I will get to in a minute.

We then went out for some lunch and wandered the streets, hung out in a few plazas reading books, and then went with some people from the hostel to see the sunset over the Alhambra from a massive hill. Then we went out for drinks and tapas, getting home around 1AM.

I mention the time, because Gregorio's solution to our Alhambra problem was to arrive there at 6AM and wait in line. We arrived around 6:30, and luckily I was the only person to originally notice that in addition to the ticket window, there were ticket kiosks where you could use a credit card. So we were first in line! At 8:30, quite tired but still in awe, we entered the Alhambra and began exploring the palaces and gardens of the castle. Each portion was more breathtaking than the next. We stayed for three and a half hours admiring the architecture, nature, and views of Granada. It was absolutely incredible.

By that point, we were exhausted and returned home for a nap. With a brief break out of the room because of the cleaning crew, we slept from 1PM to 7PM. Now, we're getting ready to watch another sunset with people from the hostel, then more tapas and sangria is the plan. Should be a fun night! We go back to Sevilla for a day tomorrow, then fly to Barcelona for a few days. I'm so excited for Barcelona, but still trying to delay my excitement for Rome! My great friends Colleen and Mike Beazley who I met in Rome made a dinner reservation for us there, and I can't wait to see my friend Mitch and my friend Liz from Saint Louis, who by chance will be in the city the same days we are.

The only other thing of note over the last few days is the realization that I have seen hundreds of people during this trip already, interacted with dozens, and there are so many people in this world who have stories and troubles and joys. I was sitting on a bench watching people go by and I started wondering what they do with their lives or what motivates them. It was a weird fleeting thought. I would never see the people passing by again, and they all had somewhere to be, something to do, people who loved them. It was just odd. I think too much sometimes!

That's it for now. Will try to blog at the end of Barcelona. Thanks for reading and sorry for the length!

Hasta luego,
Ryan