Spain, wow! Where do I start? I mean really! I’ll say this first, that within a couple of hours of arriving is when it hit me that I wished I would have paid more attention during my Spanish classes and actually done my homework lessons. My sister, met me at Madrid airport, but immediately had to head of to meet up with a business prospect after she dropped me off at one of the best luxury hotels Seville, Spain can offer. I wasn’t expecting that, I was hoping to spent time with her and to stay at her home, but she told me that her husband had his entire family over for the week (unexpected) and that her house was full to the brim. My room was paid in full for a whole week!

As some of you know, I need my coffee in order to function properly in the morning, but since I wasn’t proficient in Spanish, I didn’t even want to order a cafe con leche (yes, I at least remember some Spanish), my sister saw my distress and quickly gave me a few standard sayings to aid me while she’s gone from sight. At least at the hotel registration desk, they know English. Whew. I headed down to the cafe across the street and the girl behind the counter, when she didn’t have customers, helped me learn some more phrases in Spanish. But, I think I was learning it with a South African accent.

Okay, back to Spain! Seville! My sister finally had time for me that evening, it was Friday, and she used me as an excuse to get away from her husbands family. We met up with her best friend, Toni and let me just say that all the rumors about Spanish people staying out until the wee hours is true!  We arrived at the feria and I was absolutely amazed. I was so overwhelmed for the first hour. There was so much to see. The Seville feria is like over a century old and all the Spanish people dress up in traditional costumes and they all drink and eat traditional wine and food. This was totally fun. This is where my sisters local knowledge came in handy. All the drinking and eating takes place in private casitas; you have to be invited. Luckily, we were all invited by my sister’s best friend. We ate and drank all night. We walked around only a little bit and I was tired, it was already 2am. But, my sister and her friend weren’t even close to calling it quits for the night. Everyone we met was so nice and very friendly. I really had a very unforgettable night. The highlight was when I got called up to learn the Savilliana. It’s a local traditional dance. I was so drunk, I kept falling down. I was only embarrassed the next day, after I woke up around noon!

So, that’s only my 2nd day in Seville, stay tuned for when my sister will take me to meet her husbands side of the family!