Sevilla.

We arrived in Sevilla at the Prado Station after a 4 hour bus ride from Granada. We made our way to our hostel, called The Garden Backpacker hostel, via the bus. Again, I regretfully forgot to take pictures of our hostel. It comes in close second to my favorite hostel though... the staff was amazing--SO friendly. There was a nice kitchen with marble countertops, and a patio outside where you could eat. There was also a garden on the roof, which we foolishly never went to see... We stayed in a room on the second floor with 4 beds (seemed to be all Ikea furniture, even the light!). Our fourth roommate was a korean girl who was not friendly at all. Barely said two words to us the whole time! Then she has the nerve to hog the toaster with a zillion pieces of toast the next day. Rude.

Anyway, we had very little time to spend in Sevilla (about 24 hrs).. So our first day, after dropping our things off at our hostel, we went immediately to the Alcázar palace. But of course, we had to get lunch first, and ended up getting bocadillos from a little store with the nicest woman who owned the place. Seriously, she was the friendliest woman (her mom hung out at the store too, sitting in a little chair by the door)! MP and I spoke to her in Spanish and she made us fresh bocadillos! Needless to say, we returned to get bocadillos the next day before leaving for Madrid :)

The Alcázar was amazing. We followed yet another one of Rick Steve's self-guided tours of the palace (which is still in use as a royal palace!). It was so confusing. We got lost several times but eventually got through it. While I was standing in front of the central courtyard, I thought it looked awfully familiar.. And then I found out why in Rick Steve's book: King Pedro had hired Muslim workers from Granada to "recreate the romance of the Alhambra" in Sevilla's Alcázar! And we were just there the day before! I realized then what an adventurous and fast-paced trip we were having. One day, Granada's Alhambra, the next day, Sevilla's Alcázar. Crazy.

My favorite parts were all the ornate details in the walls and the garden.

Later, we struggled to find a restaurant to eat dinner at (so many places were closed! I think because it was August and prettty early to have dinner on Spanish standards). We eventually found a place and Stella tried paella for the first time. Disappointing experience...sry Stells!

After dinner, we rushed back to the hostel to get ready to go to a Flamenco show! It was an unforgettable experience. The dancers' outfits were gorgeous and fun, the music was played/sung live, and the dancers were just incredible. I don't know how they move their legs that fast. I remember in my 3rd year of high school, we learned the Sevillana, a type of Flamenco dance, and had to perform it on stage (my group won!). So it was especially special when we the dancers did the Sevillana! MP and I were thrilled :) Of course, there were a couple of really good looking dancers who definitely caught our eyes. hahaha. always. Got some good pics of them too!

In the morning, we went to see the cathedral (3rd largest in Europe, and largest Gothic church anywhere!) and the Giralda bell tower. Christopher Columbus is buried there! Very cool. After looking around (with the help of Rick Steves. Again), we climbed the bell tower to the very top! It seemed like a never ending spiral of stairs. You just keep going up and up and hope that the top is getting near. But the view was spectacular.

We rushed to grab out stuff from the hostel, get some snacks, our bocadillos for lunch, and head to the Plaza de las Armas bus station and catch our Socibus to Madrid! Sevilla, check :)