The art of travel planning aka How I choose Sevilla

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La Giralda at dusk


Sevilla's City Hall: the unique facade is due to the fact that they ran out of money before the entire thing could be ornamented



Reflections of Sevilla


The Cathedral's Door of Pardon
Inside the Real Alcazar

We couldn't go to Sevilla and not see a flamenco show..
Or visit a bar where the owner entertains the crowd with song and drink.


Following our whirlwind tour of Granada, we hopped on a bus headed west to Sevilla. How did we choose Sevilla as our next stop? Well, at the risk of exposing myself for the flake that I truly am, I will explain. We had limited time to work with, so I knew we could only go to two cities in Southern Spain. Granada has the Alhambra, so that one was a no-brainer. But, what about the second stop? I kept going back and forth between Sevilla and Cordoba (not to mention Ronda, Marbella, the Rock of Gibraltar and countless others). I researched online to see what each place had to offer, I questioned friends, collegues and strangers who had been to both and could offer some insight, I compared the prices and locations of available hostels, yet no matter what, they kept coming out pretty evenly matched. Then, one night, I got an e-mail from my evil friend, Lily. I had written to ask her about some Cuban slang she had taught Shawn having to do with a chair. He had forgotten it and I had no idea what he was talking about. Her reply: "El que fue a Sevilla, perdio la silla". This translates to "The one that went to Sevilla, he lost his seat", something she had most likely taught him after he had gotten up to do something and returned to find his seat had been swiped (probably by Lily, herself). I swear, it is much funnier when it rhymes, like it does in Spanish. Anyways, that is all it took. I took that as a sign, the scales had been tipped. Sevilla was in and Cordoba was out. So now, do you see why I laugh when people accuse me of being a great travel planner? I could brag about what a wonderful choice Sevilla turned out to be, with it rousing nightlife, arresting mosque-turned-Cathedral, picturesque Moorish palace and excellent food, but the truth is had there been a comical rhyme for Gibraltar, I would be posting monkey pictures right now. Not only that, poor Shawn might still have his chair.

Comments

  1. RamblingRolandJuly 20, 2008 at 11:52 AM

    You must teach poor Shawn the retort to the chair saying, which goes "y el que fue y volvio, a palos se la quito" he/she that went and returned fought it back.

    Glad you enjoyed the trip to Sevilla, and that you took in a Flamenco show.

    ReplyDelete
  2. bertiJuly 20, 2008 at 2:22 PM

    LOL...I had never heard the original saying, much less the retort. I will have to make a note of the Kansan, he is looking a bit tired from all the standing. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete

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