I'm kind of a lazy traveler, which is why I think the idea of slow travel appeals to me so much. I like just going to a place and pretty much doing the things I would do if I were at home - shop, cook, eat, watch TV. But I realize I have this opportunity, here in a very different part of the world (for me) and I should try to see some things besides old episodes of The Real World.
So, today after the gym, I decided to go to the train station. I was planning on killing two birds with one stone. I decided I needed a haircut and found out from this website with info about Seville that there was a hair salon in the train station. So, I thought I'd go there and reserve more trips and also get a haircut.
Well, I got to the station and the hair salon seemed to be no longer. It was still on the map in the middle of the station, but when I went to where it was supposed to be, there was an ice cream shop and a cigarette shop.
So, instead, I went and tried to book two more trips - one to Cordoba and Granada, and one to Cadiz.
I've been struggling the past few days trying to plan these trips. It's hard. Aside from the usual complexities of making travel plans, I also have to work around my Tuesday skype call with my therapist and I need to be here next week to get my ATM card. So, I decided to go to Cadiz this Saturday. It will be a day trip and I'll bring my bike. From what I've read, Cadiz is a beautiful city and it's on the ocean. If I get bored looking at churches and buildings, I can ride my bike along the ocean. I think it will be a nice day.
Then, towards the end of September, after I am sure I will have my ATM card, I am going to go to Cordoba and spend a day there and from there to Granada where I will spend two nights, giving me a full day to see Granada, plus some time in the morning before I return to Seville.
Also involved in all of this planning is me trying to use my Eurail Spain Pass. I got a pass that is valid for a two month period and I have six days of travel. What that means is that in any one day of those six days, I can take as many trips as I want (or am able to). So a round-trip to Cadiz, and a trip to Cordoba and then Granada count for one day. I'm trying to get my money's worth. I think I have. So far I've booked four of the six days. The other trips being from here to Toledo on my way to Madrid in October, and then from Madrid to Barcelona. I have two more days I can use and am thinking I will take some trips from Madrid to the north of Spain.
So, after waiting forever to book these reservations (I discovered the morning is not a good time to go to the train station to book things - when I went before it was a little after 4 p.m., right after siesta, and there was no one there), I set off to find a hair salon.
Now that I know the bike route, I was able to go from the train station to the center and I parked my bike at Plaza Nueva, a nice plaza that is covered in marble (it's wild to see marble just in the middle of a plaza like that). From there I walked and found a hair salon and got a decent haircut (even though it's not exactly what I wanted) for 10 Euros.
After that I had lunch, which was okay, but nothing to write home about. It was a little cooler today and it was nice to sit outside until a table of three women sat next to me and smoked about a pack of cigarettes together....
I came home and took a nap, read my guide book and watched some Real World and Weeds and then decided to go out for a ride. I was planning on going to the bull ring yesterday and I never made it, so I decided to go today.
I had a nice ride along the river and arrived at the bull ring with no problem. I walked in paid for my entry and went in. I entered with some other people.
It was pretty impressive to walk into this ring that reminded me of so many movies I had seen of gladiators, bull fights, lions, etc.... Everyone who went in with me was just kind of standing around and I walked down and found that I could go inside the building beneath the seats. I went in and found a museum. I walked through the museum and passed a little tour and then found where they keep the horses, and a little chapel. I ran into the tour group again and the guide asked me if I was with a group. I told her I was alone. She told me I had to be with a group. She pointed to a red door and told me to go back to the entrance and join a group.
I was a little irritated. This was one of those cases where they had rules that I didn't quite understand.
I went back to the entrance and told them what happened. They told me I had to wait 10 minutes for the next group. I showed them my ticket which had the stub removed and said, "can I enter with this?" and the woman said brusquely, "yes, don't worry" - this was all in Spanish, and to me it sounded very brusque.
I was feeling kind of irritated about the whole thing and thinking about how my interactions with Spaniards had all had the same kind of brusque, unfriendly kind of feel to them. I guess it's cultural and I am used to sunny American fake smiles or Japanese uber politeness. It's just a different way of being, but it kind of rubs me the wrong way.
Finally, at 7:10, they opened the doors and my new group entered. I was with a group of Italians and a smattering of other nationalities.
The tour guide was very businesslike, brusque, unfriendly. She gave her initial spiel in Spanish and then someone asked for English, and like a robot, she repeated the whole thing in English. She did not look like she was having fun.
And so we went, through the same parts of the bull ring, the museum, the horse stables, that I had been through on my own. At one point, when everyone was busy snapping photos, I walked up to the guide and asked her, "How many times do you have to say this in one day?", trying to connect with her on a more human level. I got a slight smile from her and she responded, but I didn't understand what she said. And then she went on giving us the tour in Spanish and then English.
It was interesting, but seeing the heads of those beautiful bulls on the walls, I felt really bad for them. I don't think bullfighting is a good thing. I don't want to see a bull fight.
I rode my bike to the cathedral and from there walked to the restaurant where I had tapas the other day. It was just opening and they were not set up yet, so I went and sat at another place and decided to try something new. This place did not have tapas, but they had half-rations of food. So I ordered a half ration of papas bravas (potatoes with a spicy sauce) and gambas con ajillo (shrimp with garlic).
They were both really good. The potatoes seemed to have been boiled and came with a pink sauce that had a slight kick to it. The shrimp were in a little dish filled with butter and garlic. I had two glasses of sangria.
I could really get fat eating this food it is so good. I still have food in my refrigerator, and since I had two meals out today, I think I will probably have to eat in tomorrow (and then on Saturday eat out again).
Time is flying really fast it seems. I have a few trips planned and am working on a few others. I'm also going to start looking at places I can go by bus - some towns that are called Pueblas Blancas (white villages) - I am not sure why, and possibly a beach. And, I am pretty certain I'm going to book a trip to Morocco in October before I head north to Madrid.
So far my hope that I would somehow meet a Spaniard who would take me under his/her wing and give me an insider's view of Spain seems very elusive. I'm finding the men very unattractive and finding people in general not very friendly. Oh well, with the internet, Lonely Planet and my bike, maybe I can do just as well on my own.
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