We had already decided the previous evening we would take a taxi to our accommodation as getting ourselves equipped with a map and some directions would be quite difficult in the early hours of the morning. We got to the taxi stand and showed them the address of where we wanna go, the taxi drivers then went about showing us how to walk there! We asked if they could take us, maybe they don't understand our English, but in the end we got a hand drawn directions and four very confused pilgrims making their way to the hostel.
As we were walking along, one of the electronic signage showed time and date. At 5ish in the early morning, the temperature reading was 28oC!
I was thinking what sort of oven had I gotten myself to?!
Luckily for us we did not get too lost before we arrived at Triana backpackers. It has a 24 hours reception, there was someone there to welcome us in. However there was a confusion regarding the rooms, the man thought we were checking in on that morning and arranged for us to have some beds, but we were booked to be checked in only in the afternoon.
In the end we asked to man there if we could please be allowed into a common area to sit and relax until the sun rises. The man was quite shocked and kept asking "you don't need to sleep?!"
Here we are in the early hours of the
morning relaxing on the rooftop of the backpacker.
In the end we all actually did need some sleep so we crashed on the sofa and hammock there. I think they must have had the hammocks specially made as it was much larger than the ones I have seen in the stores. In the summer heat of Sevilla the hammock were cool and comfortable.
We woke up the next day to a hot morning sun at 9am. My thoughts again "this will be a very heated experience!".
We took ourselves back downstairs where another man was working at the reception, we asked for permission to use the bathroom to brush our teeth as we are not officially checked in until after 1pm.
I have found most hostels are very obliging to their clients before and after the stay. Even in Zurich we were invited to rest in the guest lounge before our flight and use the Internet.
After getting ourselves marginally tidied up we headed out to find some breakfast. The man at the reception recommended breakfast at a bar in the local mercado about five minutes walk away.
We knew it was the right place when we saw only locals eating and the man behind the bar spoke not a word of english. The food was hearty and affordable.
The bar has tables set up beside the walkway of the market, the adjacent stores sell bread and fruit. It brings back memories of when i was still young mum taking me down to the cafe in the markets in HK. This one is a lot drier and smells much better!
Our next target was a close by RENFE train ticket agent to reserve tickets to Madrid. With all pilgrims heading there over the next few days, this was our first priority. Unfortunately, the agent there informed us with the eurorail pass we can only secure the seats at the main railway station that is at the edge of the city.
We headed out to the city centre instead. By this time the day was already heating up. In Spain, one has to learn the skill of walking always on the side of the street where there are shade. It took me a little while to understand why in some streets there are nobody walking around, simply because everyone is avoiding streets where there is no shade.
After visiting the information centre to get a map, we parted ways with Martin again and headed out to the train station.
We took the C2 circular route bus to the train station, we worked out that if all four of us take a taxi the cost will work out nearly the same.
The train station in Sevilla is very modern, well air-conditioned with very modern facilities. So far the best train station we have visited in Spain.
I like the ticket waiting system in most of Madrid train stations, instead of waiting in line, visitors get a ticket from a booth and can wait seated. No pushy people and no need to stand for half an hour.
After the ticket was sorted it was already lunch time, as soon as we stepped outside we found the heat unbearable, my trusty yellow umbrella got taken out to provide a small oasis from the sun as we cross the coverless carpark to the bus station back into city centre.
There was hardly anyone on the street, even the horse carriages were shaded under a tree. No one except tourist ventured out into the afternoon sun. The temperature reading was 37oC!
We finally found a restaurant with air conditioning to get some lunch.
Both Vincent and I had a tortilla Espana (spanish omelet sandwich), it had lots of potatoes in the egg so the whole sandwich was quite filling. I think half would have been enough for me as lunch.
The place was also an ice-cream parlor and the both Vincent and Dominique had an ice-cream sundae.
Next we visited the Cathedral of Sevilla. The entrance was 8 euros. The Cathedral do not charge for entry at Mass times, however during the day they open up the treasury and other side rooms for viewing. The fee also includes entrance to the top of the Giralda Bell tower.
Here are some photographs of the Cathedral. This building is a mixture of architectural design from different periods, I think most architects and history students will find this building very interesting.
The church was massive once all the side rooms are opened. We actually did not make it up the tower due to time restraint which was a pity.
The day was very hot even inside the church, it got a little better in the Orange Tree Courtyard.
Note the floor with the Mosque tiled aqueducts and patterns.
It was 5pm so we headed back across the river to check ourselves into the backpacker.
Crossing the river I felt like I was in a very hot sauna room. Heat was radiating from the floor, the sun was burning brightly at the top of my head, even the wind blowing in from the river was hot and dry. A clear reminder we are actually very close to Morocco and the African Continent.
Surprisingly our backpacker was very cool without air conditioning. The backpacker was an old style Sevilla building, designed for ideal air circulation, there is a covered central courtyard that promotes air circulation. Very clever.
By this time I was hot and sweaty so a wonderful cool shower was in order. I actually couldn't figure out how to use the tap for a while, instead of one side being hot water and the other being hot, there was one side with the adjustment of water flow and the other the temperature. I didn't have my glasses or contacts in and it really surprised me when I got burning hot water when I turned the heat up thinking it was just the hot water tap!
After a nice shower, I wandered up to the shared kitchen and lounge to meet our fellow backpackers, there I met our first backpacker from HK, Daniel.
It is rare to find HK backpackers because in general they do not have as much holidays as we do, therefore when they travel they mostly follow tours to save time.
He was really friendly and we invited him to join us later to see a Flamenco show the receptionist showed us. However he said he has walked all day and was really tired and declined.
The show was to start at 10.30pm and it was still early, so we took another walk around some of the shops before heading to the flamenco show and some tapas.
It was located in a very quiet street, at first we couldn't find it until we asked for directions from the local shop owners, the locals tell us that they usually open five mins before the show starts. We were still half and hour early. Therefore we decided to find some dinner.
This led to a very amusing experience. We found next door a Japanese restaurant doing a buffet dinner for 7.90 euros. We thought, this was a good deal, so we walked inside. The place was decorated as a japanese restaurant but turns owners there turned out to be Chinese, so we asked them in Chinese what there is to eat, they said we can have buffet or meals. We had a look at the buffet and lo and behold, all the food except for a plate of sushi was all Chinese food too!
In the end we decided although it was not technically Japanese the buffet was still the better deal. Here is us at dinner.
At 10.40pm we headed back out to the Flamenco show, but the door was closed. We tried knocking and nobody opened for us. We thought they must have a stringent entrance rule but there was no sound coming from inside. We were all very disappointed and decided to head home.
On the way we past a bar with the owner sweeping the floor, we decided to brave venturing in to inquire about the mysterious flamenco show.
Turns out the dancer was in fact on vacation and the show was closed!
We all had a good laugh about it, Martin suggested that since there was no show someone should dance it anyway, this is when we coined the term 'chimenco' or chino flamenco!
Back at the backpacker we bumped into Daniel again, we swapped travel stories and had a really nice time chatting away until the night watch person came in to tell us to quieten down.
We all decided to go on the free walking tour together for the next day.
Although it was not a very eventful day, but with the early arrival, I was totally exhausted by the time I hit the bed.
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Location:Plaza de Ponce de León,Seville,Spain
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