Reunited!
Our yummy brunch in Sevilla — complete with a veggie avocado toast, a croissant with chocolate, banana bread, and a breakfast bagel!
Our trip to Sevilla started very early in the morning as we had to catch a train from the Madrid Atocha station. The ride to Sevilla took a little under two hours, with many stops along the way including one in Córdoba. Since we left so early, we decided to catch brunch in Sevilla and found a charming restaurant in the center of the city. After walking around for a bit, we made our way to the Alcazar of Sevilla (Moorish palace) and explored the cathedral.
For lunch, my wonderful host family drove down from Badajoz to join us. Catalina, the older of my two host sisters, could not join us unfortunately due to her summer camp schedule. I was met with a warm hug from Carmen and smiles all around from Roberto and Laura.
Our lunch was a wonderful spread of tapas at a Spanish tavern in Sevilla. I got some very yummy honey-roasted eggplant and some patatas bravas (cooked potatoes with a spicy Brava sauce). After lunch we decided to walk to the Plaza de España in Sevilla — a beautiful semi-circular open space near Sevilla’s big park (the Maria Luisa park). There were tiles in the plaza to represent each of Spain’s provinces, and we quickly found the Badajoz tile!
Before walking to the plaza of course, we stopped by an ice cream place that we “happened” to encounter on our walk. After debating my host dad Roberto on why frozen yogurt is better than ice cream, I was ultimately persuaded to go in and get ice cream with everyone instead of chasing down a frozen yogurt shop.
The weather in Sevilla was especially hot this day — I believe it reached a high of 46 degrees Celsius! We were parched by the time we finished our walk and returned to the center (it was around 4pm at this point). I bid a sweet farewell to my family and we knew we had to start walking back to the train station. I wasn’t too sad, as I knew I would be seeing them again soon (nothing planned, but just a hope).
Our return journey by train was all-the-more interesting, as our train stopped several times long the way because of mechanical issues. What was supposed to be an 8pm arrival in Madrid became a 10pm arrival! This did turn out for the better, as the sun sets very late in Spain anyway and 10pm is one of the more preferable times to be outside walking because of the lower heat intensity.
My host family and I in an ice cream shop (with Walter), the Plaza de España, the Badajoz province plaque in the Plaza, a selfie of me and Carmen, us at the Plaza, and a selfie of us at the Tavern restaurant!
I had such a wonderful day trip to Sevilla and I can’t wait to explore more of Andalucía.
Hasta el próximo <3