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Brandon O'Brien

Travel and Adventure Journal

I wanted a place to journal all my travels and adventures around the world. I always enjoy going back and reflecting on my past travels and getting to relive them through my words and photos.

Plaza de Espana, beer and a giant mushroom

Plaza de Espana, beer and a giant mushroom

Wednesday, November 27, 2013 @ 8:53 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 154

I'm not sure what stars aligned last night but I think I had the best sleep of the entire trip. I laid down around midnight and was out cold until around 8:30am. I don't think I moved all night I was sleeping that well. Once I got up I worked on ClearCheckbook a bit and had a good 50/50 hot chocolate/coffee mix.

Before lunch I went down to the big Mercadona supermarket and bought some stuff for the next few dinners as well as a few things for lunch. I came back and made a sandwich and then went out to explore. I had read good things about Plaza de Espana and saw that it was used in one of the new Star Wars movies.

It was about a 15 minute walk away and was a very cool area. The entire building is highlighted with really colorful tile work. The plaza is a big half moon shape with large towers on either end and an artificial canal that you can rent small boats on. There's a big fountain in the center of the plaza surrounded by a nice tile mosaic. All around the plaza are sitting areas that highlight cities throughout Spain, usually with a tile painting of some historic event that took place there.

I read my book there for a while then walked back into the city center. Along the way I found another one of those 100 Montaditos. It's the same place I went to in Valencia that serves €1 beers and sandwiches every Sunday and Wednesday. I dropped in for a couple beers and some small sandwiches to hold me over until dinner. The place was packed with big groups of people ordering 10+ sandwiches at a time. It was pretty impressive watching the cooks whip out all the food so quickly.

I came back to the hostel for a bit then started talking with a group of people who were going to head to this place they were calling the giant mushroom. I wasn't sure what they were talking about but they said it was supposed to be a really cool building with a bar on top. We all went over there and paid our €3 entry fee (which also included a free drink at the top) and got to the top for some great views. There is a crazy walkway that goes all around the top of the structure which the locals refer to as the mushroom. The actual name is the Metropol Parasol.

We claimed our free drinks and chilled up there and watched the sun set over the city. The walk back to the hostel was really nice. The streets are packed with people enjoying the night. There are (currently unlit) Christmas lights lining all of the streets. It's going to be great to walk around once they're all lit up.

I came back to the hostel and made some more fajitas since I still have that pollo asado seasoning that I bought in Valencia. I was thinking about doing the hostel dinner again tonight but I didn't feel like waiting until 9 to eat. I'll probably head up there for a drink in a bit though.

Teaser photos:

Plaza de Espana
Plaza de Espana
Plaza de Espana
Plaza de Espana
Metropol Parasol
Metropol Parasol
Seville from the Metropol Parasol
Seville from the Metropol Parasol

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Tags: daily journal, spain, seville

Posted from: Spain

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