I met my family at the train station after getting lost in Barrio Santa Cruz (the neighborhood the hotel is located in and the oldest neighborhood in Sevilla). I wasn’t exactly sure what time their train was arriving, somewhere in the 10 o’clock hour. For some reason I felt rushed, so I took a cab to the station and ended up having to wait there for close to 45 minutes. I saw them the moment they emerged from the train even though they were so far away. I could just tell it was my family because they were fluttering around and they had the most luggage of anyone else. I just stood up at the top of the escalator and waved down at them, then it occurred to me I could have helped them with their luggage haha. We had the dramatic hugging and kissing scene at the station…a few tears and lots of laughs. I could only imagine how tired they were and so we grabbed a cab. It was relatively cheap considering all the baggage and since we were staying in Barrio Santa Cruz, we had to get dropped off in a little plaza because the roads in the barrio are not made for cars, they’re very narrow with the buildings so close to one another some streets are only wide enough for one person. We made a few circles (it’s so easy to get lost), dragging all the luggage, eventually finding the apartment. We unpacked for a bit before we decided to go out for a late night walk. My family members were troopers tell you what! We walked down to the cathedral so they could see it and la Giralda lit up. Naturally, they were breathless…even I was. It still gives me a feeling of awe every time I see it. It was getting really late so we headed back to the apartment where my sister and I planned out things to do for the week and then we all went to sleep.
This morning we got up and bought some bus passes and took the bus to my barrio (neighborhood) Nervion to visit the Sunday Nervion market. My sister bought a bunch of scarves and we also bought some fresh fruit for the week. I’ve mentioned this marketplace before but to reiterate, it’s huge and they sell everything; clothes, fresh fruits and veggies, shoes, purses, jewelry, fabrics, toys…it’s insane. I wanted my family to see it because it can be pure madness at times with the kids running around and vendors yelling out prices.
After the market, it was lunchtime and my senora had prepared lunch for us. It was a nice day so we walked to my little tiny apartment and I introduced everyone to my host parents and my roommate. The kitchen is so small, it was amazing we all fit in there! She prepared the traditional lunch of southern Spain, paella con pollo (rice and chicken) and a Spanish tortilla, which is similar to an omelet. For dessert we had my favorite thing, mixed fruit smoothies. Yum. We stayed talking and picking at the meats and cheeses for a while before we headed out to my sister’s old barrio to see her old house.
My sister lived even farther out from the center of the city than I do; I had never visited this area before so it was neat to see. We stopped for ice cream/drinks and my sister explain just how everything she sees opens a floodgate of memories. It’s been close to five years since she’s been to Sevilla and she says a lot has changed, but a lot has stayed the same.
We wandered back to my apartment so I could pack some things for the week and then we went back to the apartment and crashed...even I felt jet lagged haha.
Tomorrow we are visiting the cathedral and possibly the bullring. We’ll see how it goes!
Lovin’ the fam,
Maribel