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Recap

Monday, September 20th (continued from last post)

I got back to Sevilla at 8:45 or so. I threw my oversized hiking pack on my back (walking miles with this thing can get tedious at times) and made my way back to the hostel. I made a reservation at the same hostel, La Banda, that I stayed at last week. The people working there were awesome, so going back for round two was a no brainer. I grabbed a cheeseburger from McDank’s around the corner and checked back in around 9:45.

There were eight or nine people in the lobby when I walked in. I heard “Look who came back!” Victor was sitting down there, and he was a bit surprised to see me again. Then I heard “Jack from Atlanta is back!” Francesca was in the lobby as well.

Victor and Francesca are my homies from La Banda. They’re the only two workers who actually live on site. Victor is a 26 year old Brazilian who can speak more languages than I can fit on one hand, and Francesca is a 22 year old Italian from Tuscany. (To my little sister Frances, Francesca is 10x cooler than the English version. Consider a name change). I hung out with them a lot the prior week since they were always around, so it was nice to see some familiar faces.

Ironically, almost everyone working at my hostel was Italian. I learned more about Italy in Sevilla than I did about Spain lol.

I chatted with Victor and Francesca about Lagos for a minute, and I introduced myself to some of the other staff members who hadn’t met me the previous week. Victor took me up to my room, and I unpacked my stuff and showered.

The hostel had a rooftop bar, and I grabbed a beer and chatted with some of the other travelers. A few people were still there from the previous week, and I met some other Americans who had just arrived. One of my new roommates, Neil, was an American living in Austin, TX and working for a tech company. We chatted about Austin’s growing tech and startup scene for a while.

I had no intentions of going out this night, but I wasn’t tired thanks to me screwed up sleep schedule in Lagos. Around 11, I went down to the lobby to write for a while. Francesca was working the front desk, and we ended up hanging out for like three hours. One of the coolest things about traveling has been learning people’s stories. She had a fascinating story.

She was from Tuscany, Italy, and she moved to Australia for a while right after high school. She worked various odd jobs (babysitting, waiting tables, etc) in Melbourne for a while before returning to Europe the following year.

Matt Shiel, if you’re reading this I am 100% coming to see your Aussie-ass in Melbourne if your country ever opens back up. I keep hearing good things.

She worked in various places around Europe before the pandemic, and she moved to Sevilla back in the spring once lockdown restrictions were lifted. Francesca wasn’t the first person that I met living this “nomad” lifestyle, but I find it interesting every time because each story is different.

Tuesday, September 21st

After a long weekend in Lagos and staying up late the previous night, I slept in until 12:30. I woke up, grabbed some lunch, and set off to see the Real Alcazar.

I’m a history nerd, so this palace was awesome. Spain, especially its southern Andalusia region, has one of the richest histories on our planet. Originally an important port city for the Roman Empire, Sevilla was caught in a 1000 year power struggle between Islamic forces from northern Africa and Christian forces in Europe. This struggle ended in 1492, the same year Columbus found America, when the Christian armies forced the Moors out of Europe once and for all.

A thousand years of different dynasties and religions created incredible blended architecture and artwork in historic sites all around the Andalusia region, none more than Real Alcazar. The geometric patterns common in Islamic design still cover many floors and walls, but Catholic monarchs expanded the fortress and introduced Gothic and Renaissance elements.

The compound grew over the centuries following the Reconquista in the 13th century, and today it is an expansive complex with an array of beautiful gardens.

I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the city before hitting the gym around eight. After almost a month of living off of “outdoor” workouts, a real gym was a welcome change up. Squat racks > front squatting cinder blocks.

I got back to the hostel at 9ish, and they had live music at the rooftop bar. A bunch of local Sevillans were in attendance since their friends were playing. We all hung out on the roof til 11, and then I went down by the river with all of them afterwards.

These guys and girls were Spanish af. Maybe half of them spoke English, and it was awesome. A girl was telling me about how she named her (now deceased) pet hamster “Canuto”.

Canuto means joint in Spanish. This chick literally named her hamster weed.

Since we were on the topic of pets and drugs, I told her about my friend Connor’s pet monkey that likes to vape:

One of the Spaniards brought his guitar, and I sat with a couple of South Korean guys from the hostel (Jason and Bean) trying to figure out what the singers were saying.

There’s something cool about immersing yourself in the culture where you are. Two other guys and I, none of us with a drop of Spanish blood, having a fiesta by the river with a bunch of locals. Cool stuff.

Wednesday, September 22nd

One of my friends from Tifton, Brian Jordan, recommended visiting Cadiz (CADIZ NUTS! GOT EM) while I was in Andalusia. Cadiz is small beach city on a peninsula in southwestern Spain. It’s also the oldest city still-standing in Europe. Cadiz was founded by the Phoenicians from modern day Lebanon in 1104 BC. I woke up around 9:30 to head to the train station.

In the lobby, I met two other Americans: Zach and Andrew. They were both UGA grads living in Atlanta (small freaking world, right?) I was in a rush to leave for the train station, but we planned on hanging out later.

It was a two hour train ride from Sevilla to Cadiz, and I made it down there before lunch. It was the classic coastal town with cobblestone streets, tight alleyways, and delicious seafood.

The coolest spot to me was a fortress located half a mile into the ocean. (I think it’s name is Faro of Cabiz? There’s minimal info about it online.) I had to walk across a long, cobblestone bridge leading from the beach to the compound, and the bridge cutting through the ocean was a cool sight. Once I was out there, I could see the whole city.

I spent the rest of the afternoon reading “The Alchemist” on the beach. Fantastic book by the way. I haven’t read a ton of fiction, but this one is the creme de la creme. I missed the 5:45 train back to Sevilla, so I caught the next one at 6:30. I got back around 8:30 and met one of my new roommates, Nick. Nick was in his late 20s from Florida. He was taking some time off of work to go back to school for a few online classes, and he decided to travel while knocking them out. We went to the gym at 9ish and talked college football the whole way there. Dude is a die-hard Miami Hurricanes fan (sorry bro). We also realized we were both SAEs in college, so Phi freaking Alpha to that. Small world indeed.

We brought a pizza back to the hostel and arrived around 10:30 or so. We headed to the roof to hang with everyone else, and I introduced Nick to Zach and Andrew. Andrew and I spent some quality time talking about Atlanta’s finest establishment: Johnny’s Hideaway.

A big group of us went out that night, and we set up at an outdoor bar a mile away. Zach and I hit a late night gelato run, and I went to bed around 1.

Thursday, September 23rd

I woke up feeling dangerous, or something like that. I was up at 9 and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I grabbed some coffee and hit the gym. I ended up spending the next three hours just jogging all over the city trying to see everything that I had already missed. I spent a while in a cultural museum near the Plaza de España, and I got back to the hostel around lunch time.

I had a small problem: I wanted to extend my stay for one more night, but the hostel was fully packed. I decided to fly to Paris on Friday, but I needed to figure out where to sleep that night. I made a reservation at another hostel in town, but I didn’t put any money down yet.

It rained a lot on Thursday, so I spent most of the day hanging out at the hostel with people. I talked to Victor for a while about his life. He had been all over the place. He was born in Brazil, but studied in Germany. Victor had a bachelor’s and master’s degree, but he stopped midway through a PhD program. He now works with refugees and teaches language classes online while working at different hostels. Pretty cool gig.

Around 6:00, I had a genius idea. Considering I was planning on going out that night, and my train to Barcelona (my flight is Barcelona —> Paris) was at 8:45 in the morning, I was only going to sleep maybe 5 hours.

Jack: Yo Victor, can I just sleep on a couch in the lobby tonight?

Victor: …. Sure? We haven’t done that before, but since you’re leaving early I guess it’s fine.

Jack: Sick. This is the first “private” room I’ve had since I came to Europe.

At 8:00, I went upstairs for live music again. Juan and Jesús, two guys who had played the week before, were back. Let me tell you something, I couldn’t understand all of the words, but those dudes can shred. Shamelessly plugging their Spotify: look up Canastéreo.

The hostel served paella and sangria for the guests that night, and it perfecto.

After dinner, I went down to the lobby to get my “bedroom” set up.

Fede, another Italian guy working at the hostel (I swear there were 28 Italians working here) was at the front desk. I hung out with him and Francesca for like 30 minutes, then Andrew, Zach, and I went out.

Three years ago, there was an awesome strip of bars by the river. We went to check some of them out, but they all had “COVID restrictions”. You know, the ones where you wear a mask to walk in, but immediately take it off five seconds later. You have to have a table to be in there, but everyone crowds around the bar once they get in. Those “COVID restrictions”.

I understand taking the virus seriously, and I can accept that some places have stricter policies than others. The wishy-washy “sorta wear a mask”, “have to have a table but actually everyone is mingling maskless inside” is so ridiculous though. Like none of these measures make any tangible difference with spreading the virus. It just limits occupants, doesn’t actually involve social distancing, and makes it harder for businesses to make money. Logic has definitely taken a backseat to narratives with a lot of COVID responses.

After getting blocked at the door by the bouncers, we went back to the shot bar from last week. I ran into some of the American college kids from the week before, and we all walked to a bar near the hostel: Tamgo. Tamgo is cool because it’s open til 3:30, the staff is chill, and locals and tourists both mingle there. Andrew definitely enjoyed mingling with the locals.

I got back to the hostel at 2, where I hung out with Victor, Tom (British guy in the hostel), and a few other guests. A very-much in love couple walked through the lobby at 2, saying they were going to a hotel for the night instead. Young love ❤️

I grabbed a couple of towels for blankets, set my clothes out for the morning, and called it a night.

A Few Random Updates

My fantasy football team sucks.

I’m meeting Tanner and Rylan in Croatia in two weeks. Mike may be joining the squad as well. October 7th, be there or be square.

After Paris I’ll be in Nice, Toulouse, Lyon, and the rest of southeast France. Send any recs my way.

Ireland fully opens up on October 22nd. Dublin is going to be so ridiculous and I can’t wait.

Still trying to find a fun place to spend Halloween in Europe. Also open to costume recommendations in said place.

It’s Robert Riddle’s birthday. Happy birthday Fat Bert.

I’m coming home for Christmas so my grandma doesn’t kill me.

Anyways, that’s it for now. I’ll catch you guys in southern France.

Jack

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