Sevilla: Day Two

I'm writing Day Two because I assume yesterday was Day One. This numbering business is similar to my opinion of cubism: over-complicated. Anyway, today was awesome!! What a different experience from yesterday! Wow.

I spent the day walking the entire city (my shoes are a mess thanks to España's beloved sidewalks). It was so much fun! I realize that I enjoy walking without direction, instead of walking and having to worry about a map. I feel like I end up seeing more of the city, both the tourist locations and not-so-tourist locations. I do end up having to consult a map by about 7 or 8, though, as I like to confirm that I have a way home before dark hits.

I wandered through El Barrio de Santa Cruz until I reached La Casa de Pilatos. Finding my way there through the narrow alleyways that are so small that cars aren't allowed in was a good time. I hit too many dead ends but that made arriving all the more worth it. Also, I got to walk through these huge plazas and outdoor restaurants and engage in conversation (or smiles) with more locals than tourists, which was nice. I don't know why I have a problem interacting with tourists, considering I am one!

I had lunch with the group that I met yesterday at a halal Moroccan place and had a chicken shawarma. They put all this fancy business in it, like corn and olives. Who does that?! But it was still tasty, and I snagged the second half to go so I can consume it in the quiet of my cute little single. Oh! I haven't described the hostel! It's adorable. And the man running it is such a little abuelito (grandfather, or "muffin"). I have a small, but comfortable room on the second floor with a slanted roof and a great view of all the rooftops in the northeastern portion of El Barrio de Santa Cruz. The bathroom is just across the hall and there is a sink in my room. It's not too hot nor too cold, and the best part is that the light switch is right by my bed so I can read in bed until the last second and then turn the light off without having to get out of bed! Genius.

Anyway, after our early lunch, I said farewell to them and walked to La Giralda, La Catedral, and El Alcazar. I decided not to do the tours today because they close at seven and I didn't feel that was enough time for me (as per my four-hours-per-site track record in Madrid) so I will get up early tomorrow morning, check out from the hotel, and head straight to El Alcazar when they open at 9:30 (insha'Allah). Then I'll tour La Giralda and La Catedral before leaving for Cordoba. My host in Cordoba said I can arrive at whatever time I want, which is an awesome concession and lifts the weight of having a no-room-for-wiggling schedule off my shoulders.

From outside, the buildings here are so beautiful. I really like the intricacies that have been preserved in the architecture, even after so many years. There are horse-carriage rides that begin outside La Giralda so there are at least five or ten carriages there at all times. The streets are cobblestone and many are lined with horse maneur (Papa, apples!) which doesn't bother me at all. It reminds me of Mackinac Island in Michigan.

I kept walking along the main calle and then I ran into my favorite part of today. La Biblioteca Publica de Sevilla! The public library. I spent four hours reading Becquer and started a novel called Desde Mi Cielo by Alice Sebold. Man, this library is huge!!! And all the literature is in Spanish except for a little section dedicated to foreign literature. I wish everyone in the world had free access to all the books in the world! From all cultures, in all languages, written by all people. How sweet would that be? Alas, for now, we must pay for them - either via airfare to visit them personally or via amazon where they can be purchased. There are some libraries in the US that will buy foreign books if they feel the purchase is worth it. That doesn't make sense to me. How could investing in any book ever not be worth it? The people in the library were so sweet and so helpful.

Something that I found really interesting was how, if a chair at a table (no matter how small) was empty, someone would sit down. People who knew each other didn't necessarily sit together. In fact, it seemed people were more comfortable sitting with strangers than with "their own kind." This is not something I've noticed in any other library I have been to, both on and off campus and in and out of the United States. There was also not an empty seat, ever. People were overflowing into the children's section and onto the floors. There were a lot of seats and to see so many people in a library, reading, learning, working - it was awesome.

When I left, I went back to La Plaza de España to take pictures as the sun began to set as well as El Parque de Maria Luisa (that's the real name of the park I was trying to remember earlier). It was pretty. I liked wandering both locations by myself, taking my time with photographs and stopping to hang out with kids along the way. Oh! In the library, I made a new friend. He is six years old and his name is Marcel. We read two books together and then I read some of Becquer's less intense poems to him. What a gem, that kid. I tell you.

I decided to make my way home at about 7:30 as I wasn't far. All the wandering around yesterday has given me a relatively solid sense of where I am and how I can get to where I need to be. It's a good feeling. I'm now here at the internet cafe and will probably head straight home after this. I need shower, pray, journal, and then get to bed relatively early. I'm excited to tour La Giralda, El Alcazar, and La Catedral tomorrow. Guess what? They have audioguides! Why do I love audioguides so, so much?

Alright, this is all for now. I'm glad today's experience was better than yesterday's. I went to Madrid after having looked over a city map a million times on the plane. I had an idea of what the city looked like on a grid on the first day and hit the ground running. I didn't have such a great first-day experience with Sevilla because I hadn't done my prep work. Again, this is just a hypothesis. We will test how true it is tomorrow when I insha'Allah arrive in Cordoba.