La verdad, señora, empiezo a pensar que hay un placer todavía mayor que el de ver Granada. Y es el de volverla a ver.
It's always weird to be back in Granada, to see my old home through different eyes. And it was especially interesting to return with my sister, who wanted me to show her my Granada, and give her my personal tour of all my favorite places. The three days there were a bizarre mix of revisiting old favorites and discovering hidden gems I had no idea existed! I swear Granada is more beautiful every time I come back and volverla a ver. We arrived at lunch time and had a huge lunch with my host family in their beautiful garden patio of all my favorite foods: rice with rabbit and artichokes, jamón, their homemade salchichón, and for dessert some typical Semana Santa sweets: torrijas (basically french toast, Spanish style) and leche frita. Next, we climbed up towards the Alhambra to get a good spot for the Santa María de la Alhambra processions, which were incredible. Unlike most of the processions, which just walk around the city, this one begins in a church next to the Alhambra and descends through the forest down into the city. The sunlight streaking through the green forest and illuminating the white lace on the flat as we joined the mass of people escorting the procession down in the city was magical!
Nazareños
Following the procession down into the city
When we finally made it back down to Plaza Nueva, we took advantage of the last couple hours of sunshine to stroll along the Rio Darro and up to the Albaicin for sunset.
I'll be honest, I didn't love Sevilla the first time I visited my sister in December. She was still getting to know her city and hadn't fallen in love with yet. Together, we explored Sevilla, trying to figure out what we liked about it. And while I was impressed by Sevilla's monuments, I left feeling indifferent, lost in the city´s tourist façade and unable to dig down and discover the heart of the city. This trip though, my sister´s passion for her city was inescapable and highly contagious. For a week and a half, I got to live like a local, going to the movies, picking her up from school, getting dinner with her friends, going shopping, getting ice cream, taking long siestas, and falling hopelessly in love with the city.
If you want some mood music for this post, click play below!
It was a perfect two weeks-we managed to cram in a trip to Granada for the weekend, a trip down to the beaches of Cádiz, and an afternoon exploring the Sevillan pueblo of Carmona, while still having lots of time to explore our favorite parts of Sevilla.
Thursday morning churros in the Macarena, watching the hustle and bustle of Semana Santa.
Getting lost in Sevilla´s maze of old streets, discovering beautiful little churches like this one.
Shopping in plazas like this that are off the typical tourist track.
Sunset along the banks of Guadalquivir & the Puente de Triana, in what quickly became my favorite spot in Sevilla.
Post-siesta coffee to wake us up for the all-night Madrugá processions, which begin around midnight and go until noon the next day.
