Tuesday, November 24, 2015

10:39 PM

As Nick mentioned in his previous post we were taking a lovely train down to Seville, this was our first time being on a train since the Japan Railway system and for us the ease of train travel is much more enjoyable and allows for a lot less stress when it comes to travel days. There isn’t the fear of losing a bag with the airlines, and thankfully, given all of the various airlines we have taken on this adventure, we have not had a single issue with bags! Major thanks to the universe for that statement. But, the calm nature of which trains are in and out, it’s something more desired to be travelling by ground (rather quickly, I may add). We did purchase a Eurorail Pass for the rest of the time in Europe, which after Ireland and the UK we will pick back up and use again for the remainder of our travels.

Arriving in Seville, we quickly realized how much warmer it was compared to Madrid and certainly Italy for that matter; it was startling because we had let go of our summer clothes and really only had fall and winter gear. Knowing that Ireland, with rain and cold, was just around the corner we did not take for granted the few days of sunshine and warmth! It was once again a very calm environment. The Spaniards do enjoy their siestas, with shops closing for three hours in the middle of the day and a continued sense of calm just as Madrid. We also know that Spain has one of the highest unemployment rates, somewhere around 20%, which isn’t surprising given that the rest of the global market works through the whole day…

We knew that Flamenco was born in Seville and while trip planning months and months ago we had pinned the Flamenco Museum as a must see, which also had a Flamenco show you could attend. I love to dance and Nick was more interested in the Spanish guitar, which Flamenco incorporates, so this was an easy yes for the two of us. Once finished with the museum, we landed ourselves at almost front row seats in this 70-80 person venue. We were told before the show started that this was the first and only flamenco museum in the world! They say that the final piece of flamenco is the audience, if you feel that a breath has been taken away from you by the dancer, you know that you are watching true flamenco. It was truly exhilarating. I love dancing period, but this is something I can hardly relate to, which brings such a sense of thrill watching a dance and listening to music so unique that it’s unlike anything you have ever seen or heard of. The show incorporated two dancers, one male and one female, who were both given the stage together and separately. We were both surprised as the male dancer evoked more passion that the female dancer. They also showcased the guitarist and then brought in the singer for a duet which was breathtaking as well. Hopefully our images will allow the story to come alive.