I was beginning to worry that for living in Spain, I wasn't experiencing
many Spanish cities. Luckily Taline came to visit and agreed to visit
Seville with me. Thanks Taline! First things first: Why do I call it
Seville instead of Sevilla? Ask Joe, but it basically comes down to the
fact that I am not Spanish, so I don't try not to say cities as if I
lived there. Take Porto or Roma for instance. Anyway, on to Seville.
For some reason I thought it'd be a good idea to book a 6:00am flight.
T & I used to run at 5:30am, so I must have assumed this made
sense. For the record, it did not. After only about two hours of sleep,
we made our way to the airport and proceeded to still not rest thanks
to the pure comfort of RyanAir. We managed to figure out the bus system
and made our way to the hotel by about 9am. Even though we couldn't
check in for a while, we were able to load up on coffee. Thanks B&B
Naranjo!
Given that it was raining on Tuesday, T & I decided to hit the Museo
de Bellas Artes de Sevilla, which was luckily only a few steps from our
hotel. This museum is supposed to be second to the Prado in terms of
importance, and given the number of Murillos and Zurbarans, I see why. It
was a beautiful collection and an equally beautiful space. I was really
sad that the 18th-20th century sections were closed, but the temporary
exhibition on Garcia Ramos made up for it.
Next we found a little restaurant nearby and mapped out our next
adventure, the Casa de Pilatos. This palace was billed as being one of
the most stunning in Andalusia, and it was also supposed to be free that
afternoon. Turns out it was not free, but it was stunning. We opted
for audio guides and took about two hours exploring the place. It
reminded me of the palace I saw in Marrakesh, except it was filled with
Roman statues and a second floor of impressive art. Seville clearly has
a heavy Moorish influence, which makes for a surprising mix of
architecture and art.
Upon finishing, we decided to try our luck at the Cathedral, only to
find it closed. It was really starting to pour at this point, so we
found a little "fast food tapas" place called Tapeaje, enjoyed some
Tinto Naranja, and called it a night by 9pm. Party girls we are, right?
In all seriousness, we were both exhausted and not fully with it, so I
think it was the right move.
*************
Wednesday morning was the complete opposite of Tuesday evening. Taline
and I were very well rested (um, 11 hours worth!) and it was a gorgeous
sunny morning. So, we opted to go for a run. If I'm being honest,
Taline opted to go for a run and I didn't want to feel guilty for not
joining her, so I went too. She was supposed to do 30 minutes easy, but
somehow I convinced her to do her hour run. This afforded us the chance
to run along the river, though some government-building lined streets,
and into the park to end up at Plaza Espanya. And, I didn't die
running! This was definitely a trip highlight and a fun way to see the
city.
After cleaning up, we headed to the Cathedral. First we stopped at an
outdoor cafe with a view of the Giralda and enjoyed some relatively
healthy veggie-friendly tapas.
Then we went to the Cathedral, which
ranks as the third largest in the world. As one would imagine, it took
us quite a bit of time to see everything. Some of the highlights
included the tomb of Christopher Columbus, the blind Madonna, and the
second largest pearl in the world resting atop a crown for the Virgin.
Armed with audio guides, we explored almost every nook of the building
before climbing up to the top of the Giralda. The views, as expected,
were incredible.
From there we hung out in the orange tree courtyard
before going to another restaurant to refuel. At this point we decided
we wanted to see a flamenco show, so we made our way through the Jewish
quarter to buy tickets at the Juderia de Sevilla for a show at the Casa
de la Memoria.
Here is where I admit my skepticism. I thought a flamenco show was
doing to be incredibly cheesy, but something I might as well see in
Seville. And now I admit how wrong I was. The show, composed only of a
guitarist, a vocalist, and a dancer was one of the most breathtaking
shows I have ever seen. It was so intimate and expressive and
emotional... and I can't even begin to express how stunning the dancer
was. Taline and I both agreed it was a (if not the) highlight of our
trip.
From there, we went to a tapas bar called Choco y Late and scored
with a delicious dinner. It was nearing midnight, and we were feeling
pretty proud of our late-night selves. Which meant it was time to go to
sleep.
************
For our final morning in Seville, I opted to have a long breakfast at
the hotel while Taline went for her run. Fully loaded up on
cappuccinos, we made our way to the Alcazar Palace and gardens. We
decided to forgo the audio guides and just explore on our own. I was
once again blown away with the extravagance of this palace. It reminded
me again of the palace in Marrakesh, but was nearly a thousand times
more intricate and beautiful. The best part was walking out to the
massive gardens, which went on for acres and acres. One day, when I am
mighty rich, something like these will surround my summer home.
After the Alcazar, we stopped in to the Archivo General de Indias, which
is home to Spain's historical archives documenting both its history and
its explorations to the new world. Much of the collection was donated
by Christopher Columbus's son. While T & I didn't understand the
exhibition thanks to the lack of English subtitles, we did learn a lot
about about the city during a short film about the archives. I'm glad
we stopped.
After that, we walked back to the water, enjoyed a
leisurely lunch, and then grabbed our stuff before heading back to the
airport.
I am so thankful I was able to explore this city, and even better with
Taline. It seemed most like Madrid, and nothing like Barcelona. I feel
like it was a good opportunity to see Spain from a different
perspective, and also learn how powerful the city was before its river
essentially dried up. I also enjoyed our slower pace and the opportunity
to really explore the places we visited. Overall, another great trip
and one more reason why I love Spain. Lastly, if anyone can teach me
how to flamenco, I'm ready to learn!
This is the view back towards the train station. 
This is the world's most amazing bakery which I passed both ways. I may have possibly maybe stopped at least once each trip. 
This is about 10 minutes into the walk to campus. Pretty, right? It gets better...
Getting closer...
I see it in the distance!
Walking through the park that was typically full of all types of adorable dogs. (Yay for the dog fix!)
There it is! The full journey from apartment to school is 2.2 miles, and takes about one hour. 
Pretty modern, huh? A bit different than McCombs...
Down the walkway towards class. On the left is Gloria's, a popular place for lunch that had unlimited wine and beer, which made for a fun 2:30pm class for many!
After our last class, the McCombs group took our last pictures at ESADE. A great group, a great experience, and with that - an MBA is done! 
