Back to school ......

.......and it's great! I didn't give much thought to how I would react to all this. Now I'm plunged in the midst of studying Spanish in a school in the heart of Sevilla I have to admit it feels completely surreal - and wonderful - what a privilege and amazing experience! School is 09.30 - 13.30 Monday to Friday with 2 breaks - the first taken up with a much needed boost of caffeine in the bar downstairs followed by a spot of sunshine on the school's roof terrace - from where we can see across to the cathedral and down to the hustle and bustle of the streets below. A small friendly school, excellent tutors and some interesting classmates - American, Italian, German, Danish, Portuguese ....... I seem to be the sole English student but a max of 10 students at any one time. This is surely going to be real challenge - the entire lesson is delivered in Spanish and I'm not that conversant with the language yet - that's why I'm here!!! Should be very interesting .......................


As I walk to school each morning Sevilla is only just waking up and by the time I return, most of the shops have closed again and workshops hidden behind closed doors for siesta time (makes light on the purse!). Everything comes to life again in the evening and tonight we stumbled across a couple of workshops with the most exquisite pieces of work in the making - and some completed pieces of stunningly beautiful stained glass. Optimistically, I enquired if any of the pieces were 'se vende' (for sale) sadly to be told they were not - though I guess such items in hand baggage might create a challenge at check-in at the airport! Then there were the silversmiths busy restoring and creating some amazing pieces of work - commissions from the local churches. There's such buzz in this area with its old town character and sizzling nightlife.

Sevilla for 6 weeks - hooray!!

Having spent 3 very hectic but immensely enjoyable weeks back in the UK staying with and visiting friends and family we flew back to Spain for our 6 week stay in Sevilla on 31st October. We were booked on the 6 a.m. flight to Malaga in order to give us plenty of time to navigate our way to the main line station in the centre of Malaga to catch the train to Sevilla - a two and a half hour journey - then the final leg by taxi to our apartment in the Macarena quarter of Sevilla -the northern area of the old town. All went swimmingly smoothly except for the one and a half hour flight delay due to a computer malfunction prior to take off which meant losing the tug facility and our take-off slot. Fortunately we had a gem of a captain with a quirky sense of humour who eased the long wait with his quips, invites to the cock-pit, offers of drinks and cold snacks and use of mobile phones until we received clearance. Malaga train station was housed inside a huge bright and modern shopping mall with a very pleasant restaurant where we enjoyed some tapas and vino which, along with a little shopping, helped while away the 2 hours before our train was due. Super efficient rail service which somehow takes so much of the strain out of travelling which meant at the end of a total of 13 hours travelling we were still feeling pretty bright and breezy.

The taxi driver dropped us and our luggage off outside the address we had given him and drove off - a house sited in one of the typical back streets of the city with extremes of beautifully tiled/balconied houses to the more rundown neglected interspersed with those little essential grocery shops - including would you believe Lidl!! Everything looking so unfamiliar and anonymous at that moment and standing on the pavement outside No. 41, I took reassurance from the phone call I'd made from Sevilla train station to a number we'd been given and hoped we'd have a response to the intercom at the front door! The final bit of our journey and the door was opened. We were lead down a long corridor to our ground floor apartment at the back of the house - suitably described as 'student style' I believe!! Very small (compact I think is the word) and basic but clean. You know the score perhaps: a shower that manages to deposit more water on the bathroom floor than in the shower tray; 1 towel each; 3 plastic folding chairs and table in the lounge/diner and a small TV for Spanish channels only and another item of furniture that goes under the description of 'sofa'; a small 'fully equipped' kitchen which means it comes with washing machine (as yet to be tried and tested!), 2 small hob plates and a microwave (no grill or oven) so a quick review of our cooking habits required here, and sufficient crocks, pans etc. But, we have an enormous fridge/freezer - quite bizarre in the circumstances - but due to lack of cupboard space most useful for items one would not usually choose to refrigerate!! Then of course we have our little 'patio' - bedroom, lounge and kitchen are built around the tiny patio - from where we get our only daylight into the apartment and by peering up 3 storeys high and looking up at the little square patch of visible sky we find out what the weather is doing (though who'd be silly enough to think it's doing anything but sunshine and blue skies here!) After a swift and necessary readjustment of expectations and a few chuckles, we decided it would do us fine for our 6 weeks - I know we'll be very happy here - who wouldn't be in this amazing, wondeful, incredible city?

Yesterday (Sunday), map in hand, we checked out the route to the language school and found it tucked right inside the heart of cafes and bars just a stone's throw from the cathedral - what a location! The school is located in an old converted Spanish house around a 20 min walk from the apartment with so much to see and enjoy en route including, in contrast to these back streets and just around the corner from here, a modern, up-market tree-lined avenue with fountains, colourful children's play areas with a miriad of cafes and bars. As we made our way to the centre we could hear the faint strains of one of my favourite pieces of classical music and to my absolute delight we came upon 2 lads playing the violin and the cello accompanied by pre-recorded piano music - it was as if someone had given them my list of favourite pieces as we stood and listened - I couldn't tear myself away. It was the typical Sunday in Sevilla - folks out and about enjoying the warm sunshine, tables and chairs spilling out of all the bars and cafes full of folks enjoying the social scene, musicians lost in the reverie of their own playing - guitars, accordians ........ It's certainly good to be back.

More excited than apprehensive, I await the delights and challenges and new friendships I hope the language course, which begins on Tuesday morning, will bring.