My Sunny November Holiday...

Bit behind on my posts at the moment, apologies. I'm pleased to say it's because I've been out and about on various visits so I have lots to tell!

Last weekend, Anna, Sinéad, Sam and I visited sunny Sevilla, the capital of Andalucía. Lonely Planet describes it as having "...more narrow, winding, medieval lanes and romantic, hidden plazas soaked in the scent of orange blossom than half of Andalucía's other cities put together." 
This, I can vouch for. We were overwhelmed by the scent that permeated the air everywhere. It sounds like an exaggerated, romantic notion but there really was the sweet, almost intoxicating smell of orange blossom and jasmine in every nook and cranny of the city!

It is a beautiful city. It reminded me how fortunate I am to be in the South of Spain for this part of my year abroad. I now really feel that I am encountering everything that I have read or seen about the quintessential Andalucía.

To completely go back on everything I just said, the first thing we did on arrival in Seville was go to Starbucks.

This little piece of home went down ever so well and I believe we visited this branch three times over our two-day stay. 

I must explain that this post is going to be picture-heavy as I was a bit snap happy on our trip. Aesthetically, I was particularly fascinated by the fronts of houses in Seville. They are not only very detailed but also all seem to be unique; I don't think I saw a row of houses with the same outer pattern in any of the streets we walked along.

And yes, that is the blue sky of a November in Southern Spain. I am not pulling your leg when I tell you it was over thirty degrees. 

The old fogies seemed to have their own private
shaded, gossip spot.

We wandered down the main pedestrian street, Calle de Génova, avoiding the trams, hurrying past the eerie human statues and inhaling the festive incense from the market. After a fleeting visit to the University, formerly a Tobacco Factory (how ironic), we headed to the Reales Alcázares de Sevilla. 

Similar to the one in my home town Córdoba, this is a royal palace which originally served as a Moorish fortress. My old pal Wikipedia tells me that the palace in Seville is the oldest of its kind still in use in Europe and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Oooh, fancy.

I'm finding it difficult to describe just how spectacular this place is without sounding false or cheesy. It really is hard; so just take my word for it, "wow" was the word of the day.

Patio de las Doncellas or "The Courtyard of the Maidens"

...apparently referring to a legend that the Moors demanded 100 virgins
from the Christian Kingdom of Iberia every year. Naughty.
Although it turns out this was simply a myth to reinforce the "reconquista" movement.

Even the wildlife was pretty special.

Adorable. He sat quietly, enjoying the sun whilst his
master painted.

After a glorious tapas-filled lunch we meandered through the streets to the river and stopped off for an obligatory ice-cream, making the most of the sun. We then had a pit-stop at our sweet, if slightly dingy, hostel before heading out for a scrummy dinner. 

You can't go wrong with profiteroles.

The rain came tumbling down on our second day in Seville but we had prepared for this with a trip to the Cathedral planned for the morning. 

It wasn't quite as breath-taking as the Alcázar but still had some impressive sights.

The tomb of Christopher Columbus, or what's left of him.
Some historians doubt there are any remains at all!

The ceilings absolutely captivated me.

The real fun came when we climbed the "giralda"; this is a former minaret which has now been converted into a bell tower.

I knew it was quite tall but they don't warn you that you'll be going up 34 floors beforehand so it was a little bit of a shock and a quick fitness assessment for me! The really peculiar thing about the tower was that instead of stairs, as I was expecting, you walk up on ramps. I later learnt that this was because it was made specifically to allow two mounted guards (that's right, horses) to climb and descend with (apparent) ease.

As you could probably imagine, the views were pretty good.

These people were obviously on a private tour -
just another reminder that Europeans are a little more
lax on health and safety!

Our final visit was to Plaza de España, Seville's famous square. It isn't actually a square at all, more of a semi-circle with buildings running along its curved edge and a moat just inside of them, punctuated by a few beautifully-designed bridges. Apparently it has appeared in many films and I even did a cheeky search on youtube and found it in Star Wars - ever so exciting for a film buff like me.

Row row row your boat.

Whilst we were there, three different brides and grooms came to have their photos taken outside the truly majestic buildings. I can imagine the weddings photos are something quite special. 

That brings the Seville chapter to a close. The sights, sounds and (intense) smells were so striking and I think this is a place that will stay fresh in my mind for a long time. I whole-heartedly recommend a visit; come rain or shine Seville is splendid.

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My Taste of Flamenco...

Andalucía is the home of Flamenco and so it would be silly not to experience it whilst I am here. Last weekend, some of the girls and I went to see a local show called "The Magic of Flamenco".

I wasn't sure what to expect and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It felt very authentic and gave me a great insight into the passion felt for Flamenco in the South of Spain.

The show opened with the stage bathed in an intense red light with a solo guitarist playing some, ever so Spanish sounding, melodies. Following this, a man who was quite clearly not a dancer (let's just say he blocked most of the light on stage) came on and began to sing. Now, I will admit, the singing takes a bit of getting used to - it isn't what we're used to in the UK - but it fits so well with the genuine Spanish ambience. Our only slight issue with this man was that every time he put a concerted effort into singing he contorted his face into a rather hilarious shape; cue fits of giggles from us - bloody tourists eh?

We were then treated to many different dances filled with passion and clearly buckets of talent. 

The vibrations of the dancers' feet on the floor was so atmospheric but the effect is difficult to describe - it was amazing.

Having learnt about "duende" in sixth form drama lessons and pretending I knew what it meant, this was the first time I felt like I could understand it. I assure you if you're looking it up now, any descriptions of it sound very vague so you should just pop to Córdoba and experience it for yourself.

Stolen from Flamenco website is this description of the Flamenco recipe: "Flamenco is made up of four elements: Cante - Voice, Balie - Dance, Toque - Guitar, and the Jaleo, which roughly translated means 'hell-raising' and involves the hand clapping, foot stomping and shouts of encouragement." For me, what was incredible was how all of this came together to produce a fluid, engaging performance. It almost comes across as though this people met five minutes before and decided to have a bit of a jig. However it is more a delicate weaving of different rhythmic patterns: magic. I particularly enjoyed the "hell-raising" Jaleo - I became very fond of the man behind me who shouted "Olé!" every few minutes.

Sorry for the poor quality of the video, I was clearly too caught up in the passion to be a skilled camera-woman. 

After the show we went for cocktails at a bar that overlooks the river. It was pretty busy but a lot more spacious than most of the places here so we really enjoyed it. Especially when the promoter gifted us some free bubbly! No complaints here!

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