Spain part 4

DAY 11: Our last day in Sevilla. So sad. I really love this city. Barcelona is amazing, the architecture is completely unique and spectacular, but I could actually see myself living in Sevilla. Dad and I got up late in the morning (dad actually slept till 9!) and went to the same breakfast place we had been to the day before, a little cafe near our hotel. I saw a few more of the same cafe downtown, so I figure it must be the Starbucks of Spain. I had a very tasty apple bread and a soda to wake up. We took the bus into town again. Our first stop was the Hospital de los Venerables, which once served as a retirement home for old and poor clergymen. It was very nice, had a lovely courtyard. It also had lots of paintings in the interior and a very ornate chapel. For lunch we went to an incredible little restaurant, I wish I could remember the name. It was in one of the many plazas, and specialized in olive oil. I had anchovies and tomatoes in olive oil, and creamy and sharp cheese made with sheeps milk. After lunch, dad and I toured La Catedral y la Giralda, which dates back to the 1400s. The cathedral displayed incredible architecture (as all of them have), but what really stood out to me was a group of demonstrators/protestors who were living in the cathedral. The story is this: over ten years ago, in 1998, a group of miners found themselves out of work after an accident in a mine. The miners, who had been working for the government, had been guaranteed different and full employment in another mine. The government then backed out of their agreement, and all of the miners became unemployed. In 2007, a new agreement with the government was reached, and again, the government did not uphold its end of the agreement. This year, the miners began living in a small space inside the cathedral. They have cots set up with sleeping bags and a few essentials. Twenty-five of the miners have been on a hunger strike since June 25, 2009. The situation was very sad to witness, especially to see the lengths that the former-miners would go through to hold the government to their end of the agreement. After dad and I left the cathedral, we walked down to the Parque de Maria Luisa, which was, without a doubt, the best part of the day. The park was enormous and tropical, with ponds, bridges, incredible vegetation, many birds including peacocks, and the Plaza de Espana, a huge semi-circular buildings which is impossible to describe without seeing it (I hope my photos can do it justice). The building contained images in blue tile to represent the different regions of Spain. We finished the night with dinner at a little restaurant; I had cheese, olives, fish and white wine. The food here is soooo amazing!

DAY 12: We got up at a reasonable time (around 8 am) to catch a train to Malaga, a city on the coast. The train ride took three hours (we left around 11), and again the countryside consisted mostly of olive trees. I had found the third Twilight book, Eclipse, in a bookstore at the train station, and read the book before the nights end. I am SUCH a nerd, but I heart it. When we arrived at Malaga, we went to an American style restaurant for lunch, where I had a burger and fries. My colitis went absolutely berzerk. It had been doing so well on the trip (after my first few days), I was shocked to see how bad it got so quickly. Prior to going on this trip I had stopped eating most gluten (especially wheat), which basically was keeping my colitis in check (with the aid of my nine pills per day). But on the trip I had eaten plenty of baguettes, which didn´t seem to upset my stomach at all. And yet, one burger and fries sent my system into total shock. When we got to our hotel in Malaga, I spent most of the remainder of the afternoon in bed, which worked out ok because dad took a siesta. A bit later we went out for dinner, where I had anchovies with olive pate, and baby eel in garlic sauce. Dad got a salmon, tomato and cream cheese salad. Dinner was delicious, though it didn´t do much to aid my colitis. On our way to and from dinner, dad and I could barely make our way though the streets because they were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with teenagers. It was actually incredible. I´ve never seen anything quite like it, except perhaps at a Dave Matthews concert. There must have been hundreds of teens within a 1/2 mile radius! That was enough for me...time for bed!

DAY 13: Our first full day in Malaga...gotta admit, its a tad disappointing coming from Sevilla, but I think just about anywhere would be. The food is meh (although dinner last night was very good). Today breakfast consisted of a croissant, lunch of anchovies and beef, and dinner in a Greek style restaurant. Decent but not nearly as mindblowing as Sevilla. Part of the problem could be that my colitis is still in attack mode today, so its harder to enjoy the food. Dad and I started the day at the Picasso Museum, which has over 155 works of his art. Although the museum did not have his most famous works, it did have a nice crosssection. I had not realized Picasso had lived to be as old as he had. He was born in 1881 and died in 1973, he also died wealthy and famous, quite rare for an artist. After the museum dad and I went to Picassos place of birth; he had been born and raised in downtown Malaga. Around 1 pm the rain started in, and did not stop for the rest of the day. Dad and I went home for a siesta, and a little BBC television, and came back out for dinner time. When we woke up this morning (the start of day 14), it was still raining, so I hope the rain lets up today! Fingers crossed :)