Sevilla update...

!HOla¡

Well, I couldn´t recommend a city more than Sevilla I don´t think...it´s day 2 of 3 here and I still have a lot to see of this country, but this is definitely one of those places that makes you feel like you have seen everything and could go home happy if you really had to! I am so truly in love with this place...I have a krink in my neck from looking at all the AMAZING buildings and cathedrals and palaces, I can´t walk for more than a few minutes to stop and stare....it is such a vibrant, exciting, Spanish city...We went on one of those organized bus tours today, which I have never done, but it was well worth it...you could spend forever and a day walking around in awe, but never knowing the story behind the many places you´re seeing...this gives you an insight to the jewels and exciting history of what you´re looking at...One place we visited was the old 1992 Expo grounds...I felt like I was in a perfect setting for a horror movie...for some reason, they have let almost the whole area go to pot and all these huge buildings that promoted the future of Spain are overgrown with weeds and are crumbling only 14 years later (tax dollars anyone??)...among all these decaying buildings is a very old building that houses Christopher Columbus´ tomb...I am sure he would be sad to see the state of his surroundings...but I enjoyed it!

I am tired today..all the walking we´ve been doing with all our overpacked bags in rain (in Granada) and then heat (in Sevilla), trying to find hostels day in and day out and from sightseeing...buns of steel baby! On the 6th and the 8th are two national holidays....in Spain, what this essentially means, and like in many countries, is going to church, spending time with loved ones and then some massive partying to chase it down with! And in true Spaniard style, if there is a holiday, let alone two in a week, they take the days before and after the holiday off and it´s called a puente (bridge)...it´s crazy, I have often wondered how Spain functions so wonderfully...when do people work around the puentes and siesta?(such a North American perspective, I know)

Today, we were having lunch near the awe-inspiring cathedral here and we could here cop sirens and people chanting...there was a long protest parade going by and from what I could read on their signs they were separatists showing their support for the separation of Andalucia (the province I am in) but without further investigation, I don´t know if that´s right or not??

Last night, which was our first here, we walked around all day, just checking out the myriad of twisting, fascinating streets...when it came time to drink some more and it was evening, we found an outdoor restaurant and setup camp for a couple of hours watching the hundreds of people walk by...Spain is incredible this way...everyone but everyone comes out...families, from babies to grandparents all come out together and it is so lively! Everyone dresses to the nines ( excluding Shiloh and I in our sandals, a total faux pas for style it seems here) and just walks around in all the squares, eating and drinking, going to all the outdoor bookstores, or shopping at all the outdoor kiosks and markets...it´s beautiful too here right now, because although you can tell that it´s Christmas soon, it´s not gross commercialism...it´s lights strung up on all the orange trees and singers and families and socializing...I could have stayed watching this all night...I wish I could store sleep and run off of it for a week...it seems a shame to go to sleep while I am here...

I am also, like elsewhere in Spain, enjoying how completely romantic it is...not for me , but for young and old couples...married with children or not, it feels like the public displays of affection are something we are really missing at home...you get the feeling that someone who may have been married for 20 years, just got married yesterday...everyone is playful, holds hands, kisses each other and flirts...it´s inspiring and rejuvenating...it´s the place to holiday should a relationship be on the rocks is my advice...

I see the sun hitting the cathedral from outside the window at the cafe and think I should sign off so that we can enjoy the sunset down by the river Gualdalaquivir (sp?) and do what else but have a glass of wine (I´m banking on a free tapa for supper tonight...Shiloh is is my sugar mama today and I think her cash is gone for the day)

I feel like there is so much more to say, but it´s only because I have been in a state of awe for about 27 hours...

Will write when I get to Barcelona in a couple of days...

Take care all,

Savannah