La Vida Sevillana

February 16th-19th, 2012

Calle Alfonso XII

Finally, after 5 months back in Spain, I returned to my first Spanish home: Sevilla! In case you didn't know, Sevilla is one of the most magical, charming, beautiful cities on the planet. Call me biased, but you must see for yourself. 

So Andrea, Ester, and I took off for Carnival weekend and headed south. It felt so nice to be back in Sevilla and I knew immediately that I would have a new-found appreciation for the city where I studied. 

Back in 2008, I was in Sevilla for only a short 6 weeks studying in a University of Florida program. During that time, I made several close [American] friends and traveled with them almost every weekend. The only thing I regret from that trip is not fully immersing myself and meeting more Spaniards. Now that I've been living in Spain and have seen a lot more of what the country has to offer, I can appreciate Sevilla on a whole other level. 

For the most part, my memories of Sevilla came immediately back to life. However, there were a few new additions to the city that, of course, I didn't recognize but were fun and interesting to explore. For example: this is the new and modern architecture of the square that is now called "Plaza Mayor." Up until this point, Sevilla was unique in the fact that it never really had an official Plaza Mayor and some Sevillanos still reject this modernized obstruction as a true part of their city. Pride complex you say? Nahhhh, not in Andalucía.

We ate our weight in tapas at the Sevillana favorite, Coloniales. Usually I like to take pictures of the decadent plates before they become empty, but we were all too busy stuffing our faces to take a picture when the plates were full.  Use your imagination.

Hostel Life: Bunk Beds 

At La Carbonería- a must for any Sevilla travelers. Every time I've been to this bar, it has been packed and featuring free and authentic Flamenco entertainment. Sometimes Flamenco guitar, singing, or dancing... and sometimes all three!

Thrilled to be escaping the Madrid winter if even for just a weekend, we took advantage of our hostel's roof-top terrace everyday.

Plaza Nueva: Just like I left it

The sun is sunnier in Sevilla.

Avenida de La Constitución 

Taking a closer look at the Gothic architecture of the Largest Cathedral in Spain [3rd largest in the world] Catedral de Santa María de la Sede in Sevilla. 

In case you're curious, the largest Cathedral in the world is Basilica di San Pietro in the Vatican and second is Basílica de Nossa Senhora Aparecida in Brazil.

La Giralda

Sevilla la Maravilla

Crowds assemble in Plaza de San Salvador in the afternoon when the weather's just right for some cañas and tapas.

Walking tour:
Calle de los Besos

No me ha dejado

Puente de Triana

The last morning while Andrea and Ester were on the rooftop being the sun goddesses that they are, I went for a stroll around my old neighborhood for a little bit of nostalgia.

Rio Guadalquivir

You know you've had a great weekend getaway when you resentfully get onto a bus on Sunday morning that takes you back to one of the best cities in the world where you are so fortunate to live. There's something so special about Sevilla that I seemed to have forgotten, but this short visit was just the reminder I needed.

Shout-out to my UF Study Abroad in Sevilla 2008 amigos with whom I fell in love with this country.