Sevilla and Cadiz - 1
I really did not get time last week to write about my trip to Sevilla and Cadiz. My colleagues in office were stunned when I told them that I was going to Sevilla by bus. Its just 6.5 hours in a luxury bus at the cost of 26 Euros. Cheap! The AVE costs around 60 -70 Euros. The difference being that the AVE takes you there in 2 hours at a whopping 350 km/sec. For me, the bus was luxury. Having traveled by rickety old buses on the bumpy roads of India, this was more than fine.
I left for Sevilla from the Mendez Alvaro bus terminal in Madrid. I took the bus at 11 PM and reached Sevilla at 5 30 AM in the morning. I made friends with a guy and we had a chat about Sevilla inside the bus station. I did not want to venture out as it was dark and cold. I met Seiko from Japan in the bus station. She was also visiting Sevilla for the first time. In fact, she is a real traveller and has visited more than 20 countries and has studied the history of South America. She was exploring things she had studied and was a real backpacker. The sign of a backpacker is a huge backpack, a shabby appearance ( not that they look ugly) and a copy of the Loney Planet. As always, I did not plan my stay in Sevilla, but Seiko had. We walked to Seviila Backpackers. Sevilla Backpackers Inn is located at the heart of the city on Calle Cago. It is a very nice place with free internet and free breakfast. In all backpacking sprit, I decided to take the cheapest option. A 15 Euro room. This was a mixed dormitory. A small room with 8 beds. I just had to stay for a day, so this was enough. I left my bags and decided to embark on my Sevillan adventure. As the Cathedral and the Alcazar was nearby, I decided to go to these places first.
Sevilla is beatiful! The people are wonderful. I felt a mix of tradition and modernity in the city. On one side, you have amazing architecture and horse carriages. In close proximity you have modern trams moving along. So this looks like a mix. Well, and entry into the Alcazar would cost 7.5 euro. I decided on not being miserly and I went inside. I am not too much a history guy. Nor have I studied art. Nor has anyone taught me how to enjoy art. Of course I like architecture, but I am not a person who stands in front of a painting studying every minute detail.
The alcazar not only has great buildings, but also a huge garden. The garden is lined with Orange trees and there are ponds everywhere. This is beautiful. After the Alcazar and the Cathedral, Seiko took me to the Museum of Indias. This has nothing to do with India. The archives of the Spanish conquest of South America is displayed in this museum. It was a good learning experience for me. I have learned about the British conquest of India and this looked similar. After this, we decided to go to the most famous bullring in Sevilla. Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza was bult in 1758 and is located just in front of the river.
We went to the riverfront and enjoyed the breeze. This is the place in Sevilla I love most. The name of the river is Guadalquivir and this translates in Arabic to ‘The Great River’. We sat there for a long time watching the kayaks and the boats.
It was time to leave for the Carnaval at Cadiz and we went to the train station first. The Santa Justa train station is a might one. But unfortunately for us, the last train from Cadiz to Sevilla was at 8 PM and this was too early. So we left for the bus station and took a bus. It takes 1.5 hours from Sevilla to reach Cadiz.
