There is a saying that the worst fate a man can have is to be blind in Granada. I’d like to add another unfortunate fate: to have no appetite for food in Sevilla. I arrived to Sevilla mid-siesta and wasn’t feeling my best, especially in the heat. After no food for nearly 36 hours, vomiting, in general having a mal cuerpo it is a huge testament to the receptionist at the hostel that I enjoyed check-in. From the second I arrived to The Garden Inn Hostel in Sevilla I knew I was in for a good time. Some hostels have that charm. This hostel also had free sangria.

I was supposed to meet up with my friend Peter the day before, but illness leads to tardiness so I was a day late to see him. He greeted me at the reception desk and the receptionist started singing the worst, most off key version of Happy Birthday after I told her it was his birthday. There is never a pleasant sounding Happy Birthday song,  but her rendition was one of the most hysterically terrible but endering Happy Birthday greetings I’ve ever heard.

Peter and I headed out for tapas as he was hungry and I realized that I should be hungry. My stomach wasn’t able to handle the food but it was able to handle a beer – progress and priorities but gosh did those tapas look good! We had a great lunch catching up, laughing about the people we met on exchange, sharing travel stories and discussing our future travel plans.

We the split ways and I headed to the Alcázar to catch the once a month free hour of entry (lucky timing!) then went back to the hostel because it was way too hot to function. My tour through Alcázar can be described as “shade hopping” and admiring the structures from under trees, roofs, anything that could provide some kind of relief from the heat.

My favorite photo from the Alcázar – even the birds needed to hang out by water to stay cool!

Back at the hostel, Peter and I sat outside and enjoyed the free sangria with other guests. Not only was the hostel a charming place to stay, but we also hit a jackpot with the other guests staying there. We sat at a table from 8pm to 11:45 laughing and chatting with everyone – Australia, Sweden, Malaysia, California, Canada, England, France were the nations sipping on sangria.

Hostel recommendation: The Garden Backpacker Sevilla 

The boy from Sweden, David, had been at the other hostel with me in Granada. I thought I had left behind the embarrassing puking reputation in Granada, but sure enough David came strolling in with a smirk, finger point and somewhat sympathetic eyes when he saw me. Despite throwing my face in my hands in embarrassment, I was extremely happy to see him. We had a great conversation at the other hostel, but it was way too short and I was regretful that I had not asked him for book recommendations. Its so great when travel reconnects people again!

Our crew headed out to the town around midnight for another round of tapas and some parties. I had the best spanish in the group so I did all the ordering, and had so much fun with it. After tapas, I was also able to order Peter a slice of birthday cake. I asked for a “postre” which I remembered was either “sandwich” or “cake” so it was a huge relief when the cake was handed to him. Would’ve been awkward to sing Happy Birthday over a sandwich.

This is when our night turns hysterical – David had met a girl who recommended a really underground club in Sevilla. She said it might be shut down because of issues with the police, but we were still determined to check it out. Steve Jobs assisted us with navigating down the winding roads of Sevilla until we finally hit the street. Our next clue from David: “Its near a post office bin”.

We found a post office bin then headed down the dark alleyway, all laughing at how ridiculous the location was. We reached the back and nearly gave up when Peter told everyone to be silent: sure enough, we could hear the pounding bass of club music.

Excited, we walked around front again trying to find the hidden door to enter. I pushed open one door, and we all slowly entered. I somehow ended up in front because I spoke spanish, so I lead us up the neon lighted staircase towards the secret club. We were a group of 7 goofy dressed, semi-dirty backpackers giggling up a neon staircase. At the top, I was surprised to nearly walk into a private living room.

I absolutely lost it and started laughing, as did Peter who was right behind me. We all retreated but the owner of the living room came out laughing at us. He told us that we were in the right place, was really curious how we found out about the club, then explained that there was no party tonight. A massive man then stepped out behind the man, and though all our interactions were friendly, we decided it was time to go.

Outside, we discussed what just happened and congratulated ourselves for finding the secret club. Though, because we heard the music, I do have the theory that there was, in fact, a party – and our group just didn’t make the cut to enter. Regardless of the party/no party debate, we had a hilarious time finding the club.

My second day in Sevilla started very early with a walk around the neighborhood surrounding my hostel. I then met up with a free walking tour that ended up taking 4 hours (though it was advertised as 2). Our tour guide was hilarious and knowledgeable, and it was a relatively small group. We were all able to introduce ourselves and I really enjoyed the company of the group plus the knowledge from the guide Medi. Sevilla is filled with years of history on history on history – one of the oldest cities in Europe.

Small details on the tour struck me as particularly interesting. Cathedrals in Sevilla are an odd mix of moorish and baroque architecture. It was fascinating to see arabic ceramic designs inside cathedrals.

After the tour about half the group went out to lunch together, and the table I was at strategically ordered community style tapas. We absolutely feasted, and this was my first meal with my appetite back and one of my favorite meals of all time. For the rest of the day I hung out with people I met on the tour, continued exploring the city, then stayed up late into the night talking on the hostel terrace.