Sevilla, Spain

My next stop was in Sevilla.

Sevilla is a smaller city in the south of Spain known for the flamenco.

Photo: Flamenco dancer; a beautiful bridge in Sevilla at night

I stayed next to La Plaza de la Encarnación. This plaza was traditionally used as a market until they found that it contained the remains of ancient Roman ruins. So, in order to preserve the ruins and keep the area in use, they built a beautiful huge sculpture with three floors. On the bottom floor you can see the ruins, preserved in a little underground museum. On the top floor you can walk atop the sculpture and see the whole city from up high. The middle floor was converted into a shopping center.

Photos: Chocolate and churros with a hostel friend; La Plaza de la Encarnación

At my hostel I met a fellow American searching for a place to live in Sevilla. He hadn’t tried the traditional Spanish chocolate y churros (hot chocolate with pastries called churros—they are a bit like funnel cake in flavor), so we went out and tried them together.

Photos: Gardens of the Alcázar

In Sevilla I saw Santa María de la Sede, the cathedral with the largest area according to the Guinness Book that also contains the tomb of Christopher Columbus. I also went to see the Gardens of the Alcázar, which are these beautiful, extensive gardens which include Spain’s first tennis court and a real labyrinth.

Photo: Tomb of Christopher Colombus

Then I went out to a tapas bar to try Spain’s famous tapas and see a little flamenco.

Gibraltar

In Gibraltar I decided to try something a little different. Instead of staying in a hostel, I signed up for something called “couchsurfing.” Couchsurfing is an online community where you can find people living all over the world who have free couches available for you to spend the night, obviously with a bit of advance planning and the promise of company and good conversation in return.

Photos: Gibraltar - the rock!

I spent the night at the home of a Spaniard, originally from Madrid. He had a roommate also from Spain, and while I was there he also had two other couchsurfers spend the night, a gay couple from Italy. We had a really great time! I made American hamburgers for dinner and the Italians made homemade tiramisu. The next day, I went with the Italians to spend the day at the rock. We saw all the little caves inside the rock that British soldiers carved out so they could attack from up high. We also saw lots of cute monkeys, a small Moorish castle, and lots and lots of sun. I came back considerably sunburned.

Photos: Gibraltar - the monkies!

After Gibraltar, I returned to Sevilla briefly to see the Plaza de España and stay at a different hostel where I met an immigrant from Senegal who was working there. Since I am going to Senegal in January, I had a great time talking with him (in Spanish since that was our best common language).

One downside to hostels is this: although you meet lots of great people, you also meet some creeps. As I was walking into my hostel room in the middle of the day, there was a guy in the bed underneath mine jacking off. He saw me come in, was a little startled, and then just decided to… continue! Thankfully, my new friend let me and all the girls from my room spend the night in hammocks on the roof until they could kick the guy out the next day.

Lisbon, Portugal

I knew I wouldn’t really have time to see Portugal, but I thought I would wander over to Lisbon for a day before heading back to France.

Photos: Lisbon! Party 'til sunrise!

Since I had such a great time in Gibraltar, I decided to try couchsurfing again. I ended up staying with a nice Portuguese guy who had grown up his whole life in Lisbon. Since the city of Lisbon was destroyed in 1755 due to a combo earthquake, fire, and tsunami, it has much less to show for itself than other areas in Europe.

Photos: Couchsurfing friends and Lisbon's proud invention: pull-top beer

My couchsurfing buddy directed me well: the thing to see in Lisbon is the nightlife. It was amazing to me to see how the streets just filled with people. It seemed like nobody drank in the bars at all—they all preferred the streets!

On my way back from Lisbon I had to stop in Madrid for a day and a half. In that time I had the chance to see everything I had missed—the botanical gardens, the Parque del Retiro (Retiro Park), the museum Thyssen, and two exhibits in the cultural center CaixaForum: one for the earthquake in Haíti and one for the culture of Teotihuacan. Then... back to France to start my studies abroad and learn some French!

MY BLOG FOR FRANCE HERE!

Toledo, Spain

Toledo is a small city outside of Madrid known for it’s decorative swords and marzipan. It made for a nice little side trip outside of a crazy Madrid.

Photos: Castle in Toledo (left: made of marzipan, right: the real thing)

On the train to Toledo, I met a young Brazilian lawyer. We spent the day touring the city together on foot. We made great time and were able to see several museums, cathedrals, a mosque, a synagogue, and the Alcázar.

Photos: Beautiful Toledo!

Toledo was by far the most architecturally beautiful city I saw during my trip. It was here where I tried Gazpacho for the first time, a cold tomato soup that is also very typical of Spain.

Photos: Beautiful Toledo!

We quickly learned that the Brazilian and I were both headed to see a bullfight the next night at the same locale, and we planned to meet up afterwards for dinner.