Days 2 & 3 in Sevilla and Day 1 in Córdoba

Anavi and I left our hostel on Tuesday morning in search of breakfast. Not many restaurants beside the fast food chains and expensive brunch places were open so we decided to go back to the restaurant we ate at the previous morning. We made our way to that part of town only to find that it wasn't open yet. Starting to be slightly hangry we went to the first open place we found which was a few doors down. As we sat down at our table, our new friend Jin walked in. We waved him over and invited him to eat with us. Towards the end of breakfast, our conversation turned to what our plans for the day were. Anavi told Jin that after a free walking tour, we were going to book tickets for a Flamenco show. He excitingly expressed that he wanted to see a Flamenco show as well. I invited him to join us and he readily accepted. Since our walking tour was about to start, we all decided to meet back at the hostel after to go get tickets together.

We got to the meeting place for the walking tour and were greeted by two familiar faces: Garv and Janessa. Janessa was in our walking tour the previous day and Garv we went out for drinks with Jin the previous night as well. We all were happy to see familiar faces. Our walking tour took us to see wonderful sights in Sevilla but talking and getting to know Garv and Janessa more was the best part. 

Garv, Janessa, Anavi, and I walked back to meet Jin after the tour was over. Garv and Janessa wanted to come to the Flamenco show as well. We all met up with Jin and walked to book our tickets together. Realizing we were all hungry, we found a restaurant to eat at.

Janessa, Garv, Anavi, and I at lunch.
Jin was taking the photo. 

With the three of them new to Spanish cuisine, Anavi and I ordered a meal of popular tapas and black rice paella for us all to share. This was my first time having black rice paella and it was delicious! Over our delicious lunch, we laughed and talked as if we'd known each other our whole lives.

Feeling the need to walk off all the yummy, filling food we just ate, we went to Plaza de Epsaña. This place is breathtaking. It was made as an apology from the Spanish government to the colonized countries would the Spanish had wronged. The real motive was to make money but the government said that to make the rest of the world think they were being nice.

If you know who walked across
this bridge in Star Wars, I commend you.
If not, marvel at the pretty bridge.

Fun fact!! When George Lucas came to Sevilla, he fell in love with this plaza and used it in a scene in Star Wars Episode II. Thank goodness for Janessa because no one else understood the excitement I was feeling about seeing this in person but her. Garv, Anavi, and Jin have never seen Star Wars. I know, what a tragedy. But Janessa and I appreciated, marveled, and fangirled over this beautiful place.

There is a tiled section for all the major cities in Spain. Anavi and I felt obliged to get a picture with the Barcelona. We have Jin to thank for this wonderful photo of us.
Don't let him tell you otherwise but he is a wonderful, professional photographer. He took pictures of us all throughout the day. Here is his website which I highly recommend. 

Www.janghyunjinphotography.com

He has the rare ability to truly capture an emotion in photos. Please take a few minutes and looked at his photos, you will not be disappointed.

We decided to stay till sunset because we wanted to see the plaza at night. When we decided this it was about 4:00 pm so we had just over an hour and half left till sunset and we spent it taking photos. And not just any photos! Janessa taught us all how to be in a panorama photo multiple times. After we did a test photo, we were hooked. We took so many of them and had so much fun doing so.

Our fight scene panorama picture. 

The sunset was beautiful to watch from the plaza. As the sun went down, the plaza began to be lit by the lamppost lights and it seemed to be a new place. It was as beautiful as the one before. Soon after sunset, we left the plaza to get gelato before the Flamenco show. 

The Flamenco show was like nothing I've ever seen. There was a guitarist, a singer, and two dancers. One man and one woman. They both danced with such power and passion. I have no idea how they move there feet that fast. I was mesmerized by every step they made!

To extend our wonderfully fun day even more, the 5 of us went to get drinks at the same place Jin took us to the night before. We again sat and talked for hours. It was Janessa's last night in Sevilla and we all were so bummed. For one last time in Sevilla together, the next morning we got breakfast before Janessa caught her train to Madrid. Though it may be awhile, we will all meet again.

After breakfast, Anavi and I went to el Alcázar de Sevilla and el Catedral de Sevilla. First we went to the Alcázar which is an old palace. The architecture is highly influenced by Muslim designs and colors. The ceilings were the most impressive part. They were all so intricate and colorful. Though they were impressive my favorite part were the gardens. 

Our siesta spot.

The Alcázar has the best gardens I have seen this trip. Each one is slightly different than the one before it. There are trees galore and beautiful plants tucked in every nook and cranny. We found a secluded bench in the sun to sit on and each took a small siesta soaking in the warmth and fresh air. 

Toby!

Anavi and I made a friend in the gardens. His name is Toby and he is a duck. Toby followed me around for a good amount of time before going to follow his friend Peter the peacock. Yes we named them and no we're not ashamed of that.

Next we went to el Catedral de Sevilla. This cathedral is the largest gothic cathedral in the world. I also think it is the most impressive cathedral in the world. I loved La Sagrada Familia but in my opinion, this is better. Each inch is covered in intricate detail and has obviously been made with passion and love. We went up one of towers and were able to see the entire city from the top. We could see for miles in every direction.

Once we climbed down the 35 flights of stairs, we went to the newest part of Sevilla to explore. We walked around there for a few hours before going back to our hostel where we ran into Jin. We talked for about an hour before he left to meet his friend for dinner. As he was leaving Garv showed up. We had a drink with Garv before heading to bed because we had to be up early to catch our train this morning to Córdoba. 

Anavi, Jin, and I

As we were about to leave this morning for Córdoba, Jin stumbled out of bed. I asked him why he was up so early and he said he woke up to say goodbye and walk us out. As I began to respond, Garv walked in. He just got back from a fun night out. We said goodbye to him and headed out. Jin walked Anavi and I to the corner. There we took a selfie (cause we realized we hadn't taken one yet!), said our goodbyes, and parted ways.

Our train left right on time. I sat next to a guy who used the window curtain to cover his face from the rising sun. I silently laughed to myself. He just looked so ridiculous with the whole curtain wrapped around his head. Turning away from him to try and stop the laughter, I put on my headphones to listen to some music. About 30 seconds later I fell asleep. I love my train naps. They make me feel ready for the rest of the day.

We arrived in Córdoba around 9:45 am and made our way to our hostel. Our room wasn't ready yet so we left our bags and went to find a place to eat. We found a place called Marta's and both ordered café con leche and churros con chocolate. The churros were huge! I was not hungry until dinner time.

From Marta's we went to walk along the old Roman wall. It was interesting to see how such a historical piece of architecture has been turned into a modern day building. The Roman wall today is one of the walls of a hotel and restaurant.

From the wall, we walked to the river where we sat for about an hour. 15 minutes or so into sitting by the river we start to hear sheep. Their baa-ing kept getting louder and louder. We looked to our right and saw a massive flock of sheep and goats of all different types. They were eating all the weeds and high grass that covered the river banks. This reminded me of the sheep that are used like this behind my grandparents house to keep the grass short.

Saying goodbye to the sheep and goats, we walked farther down the river until it was about the time our room would be ready. We got to the hostel and the receptionist said that we had been upgraded for free. We paid for an 8 bed dorm room and got upgraded to a room for just the two of us!!! It is so cute and charming.

After checking in we went back out to explore more of Córdoba. We walked for hours, turning down random streets, just walking where ever we felt like. Around 8:00 pm we got dinner and headed back to the hostel for the night.