Sundays in Seville are like no place I have ever been. Every shop, store and business is closed. The only places open are cafes, restaurants and bars and people are everywhere. Sundays are a day for people to get outside, roam the streets and have long conversations with friends over tapas, beer and wine.
Last Sunday I had a general plan to stay in, do homework and study. Then I looked outside. It was a perfectly cloudless day, the sun shone brightly as a cool breeze blew through the streets. As November begins, bringing cold weather and rain, I realized that these beautiful days might be in short supply.
Over the next month, I am traveling through Europe almost every weekend. So, since it was my last weekend in Seville until the end of November, I decided to enjoy the day in my study abroad city.
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| Parade in front of Tiendas del Centro |
By midday the streets were packed with people. Walking to the main shopping center, Tiendas del Centro, I came across a parade. The street was closed off as a marching band made its way between the crowds. Children held pastel balloons, dancing and running around excitedly.
I made my way to the cathedral passing by two street performers, one playing violin and the other cello. Away from the packed parade, the soft calm music felt like another world. More people stood around the two in stunned silence, enjoying the peace.
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| Plaza del Cabildo |
Across from the Catedral de Sevilla is a hidden plaza, Plaza del Cabildo. A semi-circular building surrounds the plaza, with a fountain along one wall and a shaded pathway with columns following the curve of the building. On Sundays, there is a collectors market with old coins, stamps and antiques. Collectors of all ages stooped over tables brimming with trinkets and shiny objects.
Winding my way back toward my casa, I came across an art fair in the middle of another plaza. Paintings, drawings and murals lined the square shaded by tall green trees and people wandering in between the canvases.
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| Art Fair |
At 3pm, after eating lunch at an Italian restaurant in a quiet square in the middle of the shopping center, two of my roommates and I hit the streets again. We had no specific location in mind, but roamed along winding cobblestoned streets. When we came across a fork in the road, we chose at random, letting the streets guide us. By this time, the crowds from the events of the morning had dissipated. The narrow streets were void of people, while the cafés and bars were packed.
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| Wandering with the roommates |
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| A quiet cobble-stoned street |
Without realizing it, we made a full circle, getting lost and at the same time knowing exactly where we were. At the end of our journey we stopped for ice cream and a break from the warm sun before heading home.
I have been in studying abroad in Seville for almost two months, yet I am in awe of this magical city everyday.
Kaleigh Shufeldt is the Fall 2014 CEA Mojo in Seville, Spain. She is currently a senior at the University of Arizona.