I´m sitting in the tourist office enjoying an hour of free internet. This is the first place I´ve heard of this, very nice! Spain is connected.
I´ve done some walking already this morning, and plan to do a lot more. It is just amazing to walk around these street! Everything is beautiful, and it is very sunny and just a little warm. I am so glad to be here! I just wish it was easy to upload pictures … I have a couple places I´m going to check for connectivity.
There is one thing I have to admit. I have been to Starbucks more since I´ve been to Europe than I ever have in the states! They are everywhere, even here in Seville. Why I go there, I don´t know, guess it´s a familiar face. I am going to try not to go back, now that I´m here and am finding my way a bit more.
After I’m done checking email, I´ve got a couple hostels mapped out. I´ll see what they look like and probably check into one of them. Then, go back to the hotel and pick up my big backpack.
Yesterday, I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. The train ride from Liverpool station was quick and packed. I grabbed a bite to eat once I got to the airport after checking my 13 kg bag. Security was a breeze. Stansted was really not a bad airport. I had heard bad things … I guess compared to Rome Fiumicino, it is luxurious …
There was no que when I got to the gate. I traded cordial glances with the 3 other folks sitting around, I sat down and started reading. Then, about 45 minutes before we were to start boarding, the fire alarm went off in the wing where I was. Great. They had to evacuate the whole place! But, it was a false alarm and we were back inside queing up no problem 20 minutes later. I didn´t lose my place or anything. Just a little bump in the road.
The flight was fine. The Ryanair planes are definitely bare-bones, but ok for a two-hour flight (and for 36 GBP booked less than a week before). I arrived safely, grabbed my bags, got on the bus and then had no idea where I was going. I knew the bus went to the train station, but then missed getting off at the stop as the train station did not look like a trains station (i.e. I didn´t see any trains). Then I realized the bus wasn´t going the way I needed, so I got off a couple of stops later. I had no map with me, but the bus stops all have really nice map behind plexiglass I got on a bus that I thought was going the way I needed, but it was going the exact opposite. The driver kicked me off and tried to tell me which was the train station was. I went the direction he pointed, and eventually found it. One cool thing, while I was waiting at the wrong bus station, right across the street was a HUGE football (not American) stadium and the roar from the crowd was amazing. And the singing! Too cool.
The streets felt pretty safe. They are all well-lit, and in that part of town, very wide. The dirt on the street reminded me of Phoenix. Everything covered with a fine layer of dust. I got to the train station and decided just to take a cab. I was getting tired, it was late and was ready to be at the hotel. It was a good call, the cab took me right there and the driver even knew a little english. The fare was only 6.48 € and I tipped him 1.
I checked in and was glad to be there. It was quite a nice room for 39€! I took a nice long hot bath and relaxed. I slept very well!