Sevilla, in which we froze because our hostel had no heat.

Looks like Paola and I chose the correct destination for the December Puente. After basically every flight to a destination north of Madrid cancelled (Gatwick, Amsterdam, etc) to ruin the weekends of all the kids in the program (not to mention once we got there we learned that there was an air traffic controller strike over the Puente) we decided to a) travel south to Andalucía (where it is warmer!) and b) travel on the ground (by train).

So we went on our merry way - first to Sevilla for two days, then onto Granada for three. We took the early train to Sevilla, and found our way to our hostel, which was a bargain and you could tell. We first visited the Alcázar, or old castle/fortress. We took a guided tour, and basically learned that half the palace was a bad copy of the Alhambra commissioned by a Christian king and the other half was built by Carlos I on top of the older part of the palace built by the Arabs. The gardens, however, were probably the most impressive part (it also helped that the sun came out and we were not quite so freezing as before).



Next came the cathedral, in which we wandered around the whole thing listening to our audioguía since Amalia was not there to point out all the important features. We saw Columbus' tomb, which was quite the imposing structure, and we visited the famous Patio of the Oranges, and then climbed to the top of the Giralda, or bell tower, or former minaret of the mosque that used to occupy that spot. Lovely views of the city and all we had to do was walk up 34 ramps, one on each side of the Giralda, and ten stairs.

Columbus' Tomb

The Giralda

The view

We got some other lovely views the next day from the Torre de Oro right on the river. We also had chocolate at Valor, got a teensy bit lost, got yelled at for eating pipas on a bench, bought Christmas sweets, walked through a belen (Bethlehem) market (where Paola got Spanish Christmas songs stuck in her head and, by extension, so did I), and had some DELICIOSO cous-cous with honey and balsamic vinegar at this little restaurant we stumbled upon on a street called Calle Franco.

Torre de Oro

We also saw the Plaza de España, which is about ten bazillion times cooler than Madrid's Plaza de España, because this one has a lake. The building is filled with government offices, and all around are these little tributes to major Spanish cities in tile. All the good ones are there, and there are little benches and even a map for the geographically inclined. Paola has family from Alicante, in Valencia, so she took those photos. I had to settle for Madrid, since that's the only city I can claim any sort of connection to.

Finally, we went to see the Virgen de la Macarena. We took a bus since it was on the other side of town, but it came highly recommended. It was...meh. I mean, maybe if I was any sort of Catholic I would have a bit more of a reaction. It seemed like pretty much any other Virgen, richly decorated and all, but nothing too special. I do like its name, however, and if I may make a suggestion, we could liven it up with a little song and dance number from the 90s... On the way back from the Macarena we had quite the Spanish lunch - standing at a bar eating tapas, feeling super authentic.

A bit blurry, but you get the idea.

We ended up catching the early train the next morning for Granada, because we felt like we'd seen pretty much all Sevilla had to offer. Also, we were cold and our hostel did not have heat. On to Granada!