A long, but comfortable bus ride to Seville, Spain. Molly has been here before and wanted to visit again........and yes, it is a beautiful city. The city is a maze of small, tight alleys, often one way and then massive, multiple lane streets with thousands of cars. The river divides the city and is a directional marking, along with the Cathedral in the middle of the old district. The architecture is amazingly beautiful on many buildings and some streets are covered by huge awnings to provide sun for the pedestrians.......and it is hot! 90 degrees..........atleast.
Our first day, we just walked and walked to get our orientation and perspective on the city. Our hostel is in a busy, downtown area, off a side street, which I never would have found if it wasn't for our taxi driver. We have free internet and wifi, free short calls home and fresh towels everyday. It is a fantastic converted old home, with 4 stories of wood carved stairwells and bannisters. The roof top is a place to sit, relax, lay in a hammock and drink your own wine etc. Saw a cockroach today, yucky, it dropped from the ceiling onto my computer and I screamed......of course it was during breakfast.....the hostess chased it around for awhile, but it was not seen again. Molly has been attacked by what we thought might be bedbugs.....the hostess assured us the bites are mosquito bites, but has moved us to a new room...............hmmmmmmmm........I have one bite..........they like Molly better.
Eric and Marie met us our firt evening here and we drank wine on the rooftop and met another couple from FLorida. Together, we all went out to tapas at about 11 at night. THe tapas here are wonderful, and amazingly an inexpensive meal, as compared to the tapas bar in Bellingham. It was fun to get lots of stuff and share it, kind of like chinese. We had chicken, potatoes, eggplant, pate, zuccini and a beef types to name a few. Tiramisu, cheesecake and mousse for dessert............the place was packed with locals, smoking, drinking and talking loud, which seems to be the Spanish way.
The next day, we tried the local bike share program. Here, you sign up with a credit card for one week, 5euros, and can use the bikes that are placed all over the city at little hubs. Each time you take a bike, you input your security number and each time you return it, you do the same. You do not have to pick up and return to the same hub. If you use the bike one half an hour or less, it is free. If you use it longer, you pay by the hour. The goal is to try to get from place to place in less than half hour and never have to pay more......great theory. So, this is what we learned>
Our first day, we just walked and walked to get our orientation and perspective on the city. Our hostel is in a busy, downtown area, off a side street, which I never would have found if it wasn't for our taxi driver. We have free internet and wifi, free short calls home and fresh towels everyday. It is a fantastic converted old home, with 4 stories of wood carved stairwells and bannisters. The roof top is a place to sit, relax, lay in a hammock and drink your own wine etc. Saw a cockroach today, yucky, it dropped from the ceiling onto my computer and I screamed......of course it was during breakfast.....the hostess chased it around for awhile, but it was not seen again. Molly has been attacked by what we thought might be bedbugs.....the hostess assured us the bites are mosquito bites, but has moved us to a new room...............hmmmmmmmm........I have one bite..........they like Molly better.
Eric and Marie met us our firt evening here and we drank wine on the rooftop and met another couple from FLorida. Together, we all went out to tapas at about 11 at night. THe tapas here are wonderful, and amazingly an inexpensive meal, as compared to the tapas bar in Bellingham. It was fun to get lots of stuff and share it, kind of like chinese. We had chicken, potatoes, eggplant, pate, zuccini and a beef types to name a few. Tiramisu, cheesecake and mousse for dessert............the place was packed with locals, smoking, drinking and talking loud, which seems to be the Spanish way.
The next day, we tried the local bike share program. Here, you sign up with a credit card for one week, 5euros, and can use the bikes that are placed all over the city at little hubs. Each time you take a bike, you input your security number and each time you return it, you do the same. You do not have to pick up and return to the same hub. If you use the bike one half an hour or less, it is free. If you use it longer, you pay by the hour. The goal is to try to get from place to place in less than half hour and never have to pay more......great theory. So, this is what we learned>
- Before you take a bike, make sure the seat adjusts, the tires are inflated and the handlebars are straight
- The orange thing in the receiver means it is broken
- Sometimes hubs have no space to return the bike
- Sometimes hubs have no bikes to take
- Always plan sufficient time to find a hub in a popular area
- Be brave on the streets, act like you own them
Molly was not very comfortable riding on the busy streets with all the people and the crazy drivers. The bike experiment did not last too long that day.
