Carmona is a little town that I had heard was pretty, so I wanted to see it for myself. We planned to leave around 11am and catch the bus to Carmona (a quick 30-40 minute bus ride). We headed to the bus station, figured out where to buy tickets (on the bus), and waited. When we realized that all we had between us was 50 euro bills, we decided we needed change. Soooo we bought some chocolate. The guy we bought it from wasn't too happy that we paid with a 50, but...he still gave us change! With change for the bus (and chocolate to nibble on!), we sat and waited for the bus. We didn't have to wait long, and we hopped on and headed to our destination.
We weren't really sure what all was in Carmona, or where to get off the bus. So we picked a stop (where it seemed like most people were exiting the bus) and hopped off. My guidebook said that there was a Roman amphitheater and Necropolis in Carmona. So our first goal was to find these places. We walked around in circles for a bit before realizing that we had passed the amphitheater (it didn't look like much) and the Necropolis was on the other side of the road from it. We went to the Necropolis (which was under renovation of course, although a few spots were still open) and walked around. There were lots of people buried here (or their ashes were stored here) a long time ago. Now you can walk around in or peer into the areas where the bodies/ashes were kept. Pretty interesting.
After leaving the Necropolis, we headed to the historic city center. First, you enter through the ancient city gate in the city wall. Pretty cool. Usually these old walls are crumbling down and aren't really at the entrance to the city anymore. But this one is actually where you enter the city and is in pretty good shape. We mostly just wandered around a bit trying to figure out what there was to see. We ended up sitting in one of the town squares and eating my bocadillo (this time I got a tortilla bocadillo-soooo good), while watching a group of older ladies having a picnic there. So cute! After the snack, we wandered around some more. We basically got to the end of town, and went through another city gate. What a view! Lots of fields and open spaces. Quite beautiful. Then Sofie spotted some goats. Sofie loves goats. She couldn't handle just seeing them from a distance, so we walked over to them. On the way, a happy little puppy found us. He came running like a madman towards us, so excited to see us. He was jumping and biting and running in circles (hopefully he didn't have rabies...). After he ran away, we had arrived at the goats. Where we discovered that there were hundreds of them. Apparently we had stumbled upon a dairy goat farm. There was one lone little goat that was talking to us and following us. He didn't want us to leave :( But we had more adventuring to do.
We got back into the city center and went to the "market" area. This is a town square that is lined on all sides by storefronts (for food, etc.). Only a few of them were actually open. But the one we sat down at was amazing. We had walked by it earlier in the day and checked out all the food she had, telling the woman that we would be back later to eat. So when we returned and started looking at the food again, she asked us if we wanted to try __________ (I don't remember what it was called....or if I ever understood what she said). Said it was what everyone was eating that day. So we said sure! We sat down and she brought us a big ole bowl of soup. Calamari, potatoes, peas, carrots. YUM. She asked if we wanted anything to drink and we said we'd like some tea (she had dozens of Moroccan-style teapots). She asked, "Mint?" Again, sure!
Now, there weren't too many people around. There were basically two restaurant/bars open. There were two couples at Carmela's bar, and a group of people at the other one, in the corner of the square. While we were sitting down enjoying our soup and tea, the people at the other bar broke out into some flamenco singing. Amazing. We were eating some good food, sipping some incredible tea, enjoying the views and the ambiance of the town, and hearing flamenco. Best. day. ever. We didn't want to leave. So we had another pot of tea. And some dessert. She asked if we wanted anything else and we said that we wanted something sweet. She said she knew just the thing. And brought us something with neon green goop on it. Panna cotta with mint, apparently. It wasn't the best thing I'd ever eaten....but I ate it. We ate it all. And finished the second pot of tea. And realized we had to leave. We really didn't want to go.
Sofie and I have been lamenting over the fact that Sevilla just wasn't quite what we expected. We loved the small-town feel of this tranquil, quiet city. Where there aren't tourists (us) at every turn. Where town people converge in the little squares and nooks and crannies of the pueblo. Well we found it. Just not in Sevilla....
Don't get me wrong, I love Sevilla. It's just...bigger...or something, than I expected. I was expecting the Piazzas and music and markets and ambiance of Florence. Stupidly, don't know why I expected Sevilla to be the same as a city in Italy. And there are similarities. I just still haven't found "my" areas, where I like to go hang out and walk to. I still get lost all the time. And am getting tired of always having to speak Spanish (so I don't speak Spanish as much as I should). This is my version of culture shock I guess, just some tiny frustrations. But I have discovered the peaceful pueblos a quick bus ride away, am meeting awesome Spanish people to hang out with, am seeing a whole lot of this beautiful country (a lot of it on CIEE's dime, as they have all kinds of trips for us) and am improving my Spanish day by day (even though its not as quick of a process as I would like).
Now, if I could just find a good comfy pair of shoes so I don't want to cry every time I have to walk. Then maybe I could discover the parts of Sevilla that I've been searching for!
(más fotos aquí)
Cracks me up how many times you mention eating and/or food! It's awesome you have this opportunity and are willing to see the sights even if you have to do it alone. Glad Sofie likes to keep you company.
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