Sevilla, Spain

Thurs 24th April

A few years ago my cousin, Amanda, decided to do a semester of studying Spanish in Sevilla, Spain. She came back to the states fluent in Spanish and sporting a level of fashion that convinced me Sevilla was on my list of places to visit. As one of our fellow campers put it, "You will find more history and culture in Sevilla than the entire country of New Zealand or the USA." I think he may have been right.

In Porto, we'd run across a few English speakers who recommended Sevilla but warned us that it was a tourist trap. I can see what they meant, but I still think it's definitely worth a visit as it's one of the friendlier, beautiful and laid back cities to visit in Spain. Just watch what time of year you visit! We arrived in late April and it was 34 degrees celsius -- the hottest temperatures we had encountered on our trip so far.

Our campsite was about a 30 minute ride away from Sevilla and thanks to my hundreds of mosquito bites, I was feeling a little apprehensive about venturing out in public. Thirty-one years old and a zit still makes me feel self-conscious, much less 300 hundred welts swelling on my face. I whipped on the biggest sunglasses I could find and we hit the city tour bus to soak in as many sights as possible within 24 hours.

Sevilla has it all -- from one of the best bull rings in Spain to a labyrinth of cool shops and cafes hidden down narrow streets, you could easily lose yourself in this city for days and not get bored. I loved it and wished we had longer to visit here, and had my cousin Amanda to show us around.

But one downfall is not really its fault. It's the number of American exchange students living in this city that transform how you view the local life. We were shocked by the number of 20-something American voices in the streets on their mobile phones saying, "Yah man, what happened in class today? Dude... I'm walking around with Trish cause we just couldn't make it to class. It's too hot yo!"

My end opinion is to definitely visit Sevilla and enjoy its beauty, but avoid April when American spring break hits and June - August during the heat of summer.