Southern Belles in Southern Spain

Took a quick trip to Sevilla en route to Morocco.  Well, although Sevilla was only a pit stop on what ended up being an awesome trip, the night was so unique, unexpected, fantastic, and unforgettable that it deserves its own post. 

Background story:  I booked a trip to Morocco with my friend Lauren (from IES) and her friend South (who was visiting from home before starting a summer program in Florence.  The plan was to go from Madrid to Sevilla  and then tour group picked us up in Sevilla to take us to Morocco.  Lauren and South had already been traveling in Southern Spain, so I took the bust to Sevilla to meet them there, and were all going to spend the night at some inadvertent family friends on Lauren’s house. 

Bus ride was good, a hearty 6 hours, but I got some good study and sleep time in. This is actually pretty impressive, because if you knew me in my juventud, I would never have been able to sleep or do homework on a bus.  Oh how I’ve grown up!  Anyway, I knew I was getting to Sevilla before Lauren, so I decided to walk around for a bit and explore.  First, had to get an ice cream since it was so hot! 

View from the bus

Walked through the town, some pretty gardens, the university, and Barrio de Santa Cruz, the old Jewish neighborhood with really narrow “kissing” streets.  Then I assumed Lauren and South had arrives, although Lauren’s phone was off so I wasn’t able to reach her.  Showed up at this house, #4 Pasaje de Vila, and before ringing the bell, I realized I has no idea who these people were.  Spainsh? American? A family? College students? I honestly had no idea. 

Barrio de Santa Cruz

 Well, I ring the bell anyway, hoping Lauren will be there to make the situation a little more comfortable.  She isn’t.  But Maura opens the door, a lovely woman from Atlanta Georgia with a hint of a southern accent.  She invites me in, offers me a drink, and promptly introduces me to her mother, who is visitng from North Carolina (and happens to be the connection of how Lauren knows these people) her daughter Ryn, Irish babysitter Rebecca, and twins Walker and Smith.  Her husband, John, and dad were working and sleeping, respectively.

Maura is so nice and tells me all about the house and the family.  John works for a medical equipment company, and travels a lot for work.  His mom was from Sevilla and he has a huge extended family there, so the family moved a year ago from Georgia to Sevilla so that John could spend less time traveling, the kids could become bilingual, and they could reconnect with their Spanish roots. 

They live in a gorgeous Spanish villa, 4 stories, with a view of the cathedral from the roof terrace.  Absolutely beautiful and huge home, with enough beds to house their now 5 guests! 

View from the Terrace

 Lauren, South, and I were treated with complete luxury the entire weekend.  We had drinks and snacks on the terrace with the family, and then Maura had some other inadvertent family friends (3 older women from Atlanta on a bike trip of southern Spain had stopped through).  We all went out for drinks at the restaurant right next door, where Maura and John are buddies with the locals.  The drinks were fancy fruity gin and tonics, apparently a specialty at the restaurant.  We were also treated to really fancy and gourmet tapas appetizers and 2 bottles of wine when the fruity (and strong) gin and tonics were finished.  John didn’t let us pay for a cent!

Fancy Gin and Tonic

The ladies

 The plan was to go out to meet Lauren’s friend Pat (an Australian she met while traveling in the north of Spain) but Pat ended up coming to meet us at the restaurant and we stayed until closing time, drinking beers.  I also had a raw oyster.  My first, and not the most pleasant but not a terrible experience.

empty oyster shell

When the restaurant was closing, even though we technically weren’t getting kicked out, John bought 2 more bottles of wine and invited us up on the terrace for a "puff!"  Once on the terrace, we break into the wine and enjoy a Cuban cigar (my first, and probably last) and listen to music.  Maura also warmed up some leftover shrimp and grits she had made (my first, and hopefully not my last!). We drank, ate, and chatted late into the night.  When we finished the two bottles of wine, John went downstairs and filled up a giant glass of sherry from a barrel from a winery just outside of Sevilla for our dessert drinks!

Long story and some crazy times later, it was about 4 am so we decided that we had for sure abandoned all hopes of going out and went to bed.  Slept very well, since the  window shutters are wood panels that block out 100% of the outside light.  We had a leisurely Spanish style morning, just lounging and chatting, and then Maura made us eggs, coffee, and muffins, as if they hadn’t already done enough for us by feeding us, spoiling us, wining and dining us, and giving us a place to sleep, nice showers, and great conversation.  Both John and Maura are super interesting and I really enjoyed talking to them openly and candidly, even though they have a few years on me.  I also think it is so awesome how they just picked up and moved their family to Sevilla.  I hope to see them again sometime and repay them back for their amazing hospitality.

Maura, Me, South, Lauren, John

Maura and Yvonne even walked us to the bus stop for out tour!  My night in Sevilla was definitely one of the most memorable I think I will have here in Spain, and probably one of the most luxurious!