October 20, 2013, by Guest blog

This city has not failed to impress me every single day

So it has been three months since I arrived in Seville but the discoveries never seem to cease. This city has not failed to impress me every single day, from the grandeur of the architecture on my scenic route to work, to the genuine kindness of its inhabitants.

When I first arrived I was hit by the heat, being a London resident and a Nottingham student, it is safe to say I was not in the slight bit prepared for the weather. I was told that it got hot here but I never imagined it would hit heights of forty-five degrees! Anyway, I was certainly not complaining, I love the heat.

The first thing I noticed about the city was its laid back lifestyle. Life is a lot slower here, something I had to adjust to extremely quickly. Here in Spain they follow the ‘mañana’ lifestyle. For those of you who do not know Spanish, mañana means tomorrow, so the people here are not averse to doing things so slowly that it gets done the next day. For example, when you ask for the bill at a restaurant, you may sometimes have to wait a full fifteen minutes before receiving it.

Speaking of restaurants, the food here is amazing! I have eaten more tapas than I care to count. It also does not help that the mother of the family I am living with is constantly feeding me good food (a fact which I most certainly will not tell my own mother). But seriously, if you ever come to Seville, I would advise you to try some of their famous tapas dishes such as Solomillo a whisky (Grilled sirloin drizzled with a light whisky sauce) and Espinicas and Gabanzas (Spinach and Chickpeas). The best thing about the food is that it is so cheap. Typically tapas costs €2.50, the servings are generous and usually come with a lot of bread to fill you up even more.

Seville is a city steeped in history and culture, just taking a brief walk through the city centre will show you just this. Every morning I pass the Giralda, the Alcazar, and the Cathedral, these distinct monuments are lasting evidence of the Moorish presence in Seville many hundreds of years ago. The architecture is marvellous and the intricate details used in the structures are positively breath-taking.

Finally, my best first impression of Seville would have to be the people. Being from London where you are considered crazy if you talk to a complete stranger, I have had to get used to being smiled at and spoken to by strangers. It is considered rude if you do not greet people, especially those you may see regularly like the restaurant owners etc. And whether or not you know somebody, they are always more than willing to give you a smile as they pass by. I have noticed that the people here all look at lot younger than they are. I cannot help but think that maybe if we Londoners adopted the more relaxed, carefree lifestyle that the people of Seville follow, maybe we would not be so stressed all the time.

So in all Seville is suiting me very well. I have three more months left in this amazing city and I cannot wait to see what else it has in store for me!

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