Breakfast and the Metropol Parasol:
On the third day of our trip, we had fairly limited time (our bus to Madrid left at 2pm), so we made sure to tick as many things off of our 'to-do' list as possible. Personally, I was dying to visit the top of the 'Metropol Parasol' - that funny wooden structure I posted a picture of on day 1 - where you are supposed to get great, 360 views of the city. So, after a lovely breakfast opposite la Catedral de Sevilla, we went on our merry way to what the locals call 'Las Cetas', or the mushrooms to you and me. If I'm not mistaken, the ticket to get to the top of the Metropol Parasol was 3€, but that also provided you with a free drink voucher, which we wasted no time redeeming! The views were absolutely stunning, and the blue skies over Sevilla made the experience just that bit more amazing. The Metropol Parasol is a bit of a controversial topic in Sevilla (as you can see, it sticks out a bit like a sore thumb) but I personally think it's a lovely contrast to the gorgeous architecture to the city. Plus, it attracts tourists and provides on of the best views in Sevilla (Grace says she prefers the view from La Giralda, but then you can't see La Giralda so it's a bit of a toss up!) Like I said, the 360 views are spectacular, you can see La Giralda, El Alcázar, and many of the wondrous winding streets down below. Well worth a visit in my opinion.
Some sort of procession that we bumped into on the way to breakfast.
The trip home:
Before long, 2pm had rolled around and it was time for Catherine and I to jump on the bus that would take us back to Madrid. I was a bit uncertain to say the least, as the journey was going to take just over 6 hours, but to be honest, it went by pretty quickly. The bus was really comfy - a fair amount of legroom, free (if not slightly rubbish) wifi, and decent toilets on board made the journey much more pleasant than I was expecting. After 2 hours we stopped in the middle of nowhere where we had 15 minutes to stretch our legs, take in a bit of sun and grab a bite to eat from the cafe/canteen whilst they swapped drivers. Unfortunately, once we were moving again, I discovered that I had managed to buy perhaps the soggiest sandwich known to man (seriously, I couldn't even pick it up without it breaking), but luckily we had thought ahead and packed some extra snacks. After a few hours of napping, gazing at some incredible scenery out of the window, and watching the entire Top Gear Burma Special, the end was in sight, and just after 8pm, we we off the bus and headed home on the metro.
All in all, our trip down to the incredible city of Sevilla was one of the best experiences of my life - the city was amazing, the weather gorgeous, and I got to spend a few days catching up with my favourite girls over countless glasses of Tinto de Verano. If you plan on visiting Spain anytime soon, I simply can't recommend Seville enough. Hopefully you have seen from my photos what an incredible place it is, and if I have the chance to go back one day, I'll be jumping on that opportunity!
Thanks to the lovely Grace for being a great tour guide - if not a bit shaky at first ;) and if you want to see more about life in Sevilla, you can check out her YA blog to see what she's been getting up to!
I'm a bit bogged down with uni work at the moment, so nothing really exciting has happened since that trip, but if anything does, I'll be sure to update you all!
Until next time,
Isobel x
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