For some reason Google Fi does not like me. Prior to leaving for Spain, Stephanie and I changed our phone plan to Google Fi from AT&T. We did so because Google’s unlimited talk, text, and data plan – unlike the other major phone carriers – includes international roaming. The trick is that Google expects its users to be based primarily in the United States, so you do not want to go overboard using international mobile data. Wi-fi is so prevalent that this is not a problem.
About three weeks into our stay my phone refused to connect to a wireless carrier. No cellular, no mobile data. Good thing I did not need access to any bus or train tickets in Omio at the time. Until then my phone worked flawlessly. I contacted Google Fi (via chat) and was told that there was a “problem” with the network in Spain. Occasionally I could manually select a wireless network that would give me service for a few hours, then nada. I could not shake the feeling that Google Fi intentionally decided not to play nice with my phone even though I made only a few calls from Spain and used hardly any mobile data. As a practical matter we use Facetime when talking to folks back home to avoid international phone charges.
Finally I gave in and bought a prepaid Vodafone SIM card for 15€ (20GB of mobile data and 400 minutes of international phone calls – doubled to 40GB/800 minutes per a summer promotion). My phone (One Plus 7) has two SIM card slots. It took me awhile to figure out how to seamless switch back and forth between two SIM cards. I configured Google Fi for texts, Vodafone for mobile data, and the ability to select either when making a phone call.
The prepaid SIM card is only good for a month. I’ll never use 40GB of mobile data during that time and I’m sure as hell not making 800 minutes of phone calls. Basically it is a safety backup. I may extend the SIM card for another month to cover the rest of our stay, depending on whether Google Fi miraculously starts working again when we get to Valencia.
Within about 30 minutes of activating my new phone number, I started getting robo calls from Madrid and Barcelona. Great. Now I have spammers calling me at all hours of the day from two different countries in two different languages.
During our last few weeks in Seville, Stephanie and I made it to the remaining major tourist sites, in particular the Plaza de España and Setas de Sevilla.
The Plaza de España was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. It is a large semi-circular building with towers on each end, around a moat and central fountain, located within the Parque de Maria Luisa. The park is a large and well maintained urban park just outside Seville’s city center. As you would expect, shady paths, ponds, fountains, monuments, lawns, and secluded areas are abundant. Several museums are located in the park, notably the Museo Arqueológico (archeology) and Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares (arts and popular customs, i.e. folk art).
Stephanie and I walked from our Airbnb to the area, which took about 35 minutes, and first spent some time exploring the paths of the Parque de Maria Luisa. During our walk we saw many younger couples. Some were sitting on benches, others holding hands, and a few rolling around in the grass. I had no idea that learning “get a room” in Spanish would have been beneficial. Sadly it made us feel old.
We quickly decided to go to one of the museums, to get an hour or so of air conditioning if for no other reason. The archeology museum is temporarily closed, so by default we went to the folk art museum. The cost was only 1,5€ each, which seemed like a good deal for some cool air. Until we realized that the folk art museum is not air conditioned. Ugh. We paid, entered, and were directed to the exhibits in the basement. Hot, muggy, and little to no air flow. The workers sat on folding chairs strategically placed in front of small portable fans. We walked around wondering why anyone would put themselves through this experience. I guess that is one of the perils of being from out of town. Tourists do not know about the lack of air conditioning until it is too late.
Notwithstanding the lack of air conditioning, the exhibits could have made for a good experience. Nope. The museum consisted almost entirely of day to day items from the mid-1800s to the early-1900s. Display cases exhibited pottery, weights and measures, utensils, tools, etc. Rooms were set up. Look at this farmhouse bedroom, kitchen, artist studio, wood shop, office, and so on. This museum has field trip for elementary school kids written all over it. Me, I’m out 3€ and about 45 minutes of my life.
Thankfully a Mexican restaurant was nearby. We had a long lunch in some air conditioning. When the waitress realized we did not speak Spanish, she brought us menus in both English and Spanish. It was a nice gesture, but not needed. At basic Mexican restaurants there is little difference between the menus written in English and Spanish. Taco, burrito, quesadilla, nachos, enchilada, and margarita are universal. Of course we know cerveza. And if you’ve spent as much time in Mexican restaurants as Stephanie and I have, you know the words for chicken (pollo), beef (carne), sausage (chorizo), and fish (pescado). We kept it safe and ordered beef tacos and nachos.
After lunch we finally made it to the Plaza de España. We walked around taking in the size and majesty of the building. The Plaza now houses various government offices (such as immigration – you cannot miss the gun wielding police at one end), hosts the occasional festival and concert, and is a magnet for tourists. You can take a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, watch a flamenco dancer or two, row a boat around the moat, or get an ice cream. We watched a flamenco dancer for a few minutes, but otherwise dodged the horses and ignored the boats. I doubt that the folks who paid money to row a boat in the sun and mid-90s heat were having all that much fun. The Plaza was somewhat uneventful during our late afternoon visit. It probably would have been livelier at night with a few cervezas.
Most of the cultural sites in Seville have designated times of the week where one can visit for a greatly reduced fee, or free for EU citizens, or just plain free. With a little planning we visited several museums that were free, probably saving us over $50 during the course of our stay. This is one of the benefits of traveling slowly and not trying to see every tourist site within a short amount of time.
For example, as I was working on our prior blog entry on the Real Alcázar, I noticed that 1€ tickets were being sold for Monday evening visits. I’m fairly certain this option was not available when we purchased our online tickets earlier in the summer (though I may not have seen it because we wanted to tour the upper royal rooms, which is not included for this price). Stephanie and I jumped at the chance to go back for a second visit. I’m glad we took this opportunity. There were fewer tourists present and we were able to get better photos and videos. We even found a small patio area that we missed the first time around.
After the Real Alcázar, we hit McDonald’s for a quick bite to eat. There was no time to sit down and eat a leisurely meal as is customary. We were on our way to the Setas de Sevilla, i.e. the mushrooms, an expansive wooden observation platform built in the city center (https://setasdesevilla.com/en/home). The top of the Setas is about 7 or 8 stories high, a bit taller than the surrounding buildings. Underneath the structure is a museum, the Antiquarium, displaying roman ruins that were discovered onsite when the former building was demolished. A market exists on ground level, above which is a plaza popular with skateboarders and teenagers. At night the Setas are lit up with colored lights and a light show is played for those on the walkway.
Stephanie and I made it to the Setas shortly before sunset, and prior to the ticket price doubling for the nightly light show. After buying our tickets, 5€ each, we took an elevator to the top and strolled around the walkway. The walkway is very wide and easy to navigate. There are observation areas in key places. We found a vantage point that we liked, away from congregating crowd at the highest observation area, and stood there admiring the view. We stayed for about 30 to 40 minutes, long enough to catch sunset and enjoy some cool weather.
Our five, hot and sweaty, weeks in Seville have come to an end. It was a great place to kick off our travels. The size of the city was perfect, not too large, very walkable, with plenty to do and see. You cannot walk more than a few blocks in the city without coming across a church, chapel, palace, or museum of some sort. Tapas bars are everywhere. Our Airbnb in Triana was nice, outside of the tourist zone, and in a very safe area. Unlike our travels to Europe in past years, we have seen few Americans in Seville. Staying in Triana is certainly one reason. But even in the tourist areas, we’ve heard English spoken less than five times. (Side note: Google Translate has been a great help.) While our ability to speak Spanish is negligible at best, our ability to read basic signs and menus improved dramatically.
We tried to use our lack of Spanish to avoid the few beggars and street sellers that we encountered. It didn’t work. Begging and selling is universal. No language skills are required. In an intersection in Seville’s city center (the intersection of two very narrow one way streets), a man was standing in the center obviously and loudly asking every passerby for money. As we walked by, I muttered “no habla español” and kept walking. Behind me suddenly I heard “English! My brother, you’re just like me. How about some money? Please, bro!” I kept walking and tried not to laugh. If I had some small coins I probably would have given the guy something.
Hasta luego, Sevilla. If you missed our prior posts on Seville, check out our thoughts on the Real Alcázar de Sevilla and Museo de Bellas Artes and also the Catedral de Sevilla and La Plaza de Toros.
Our next stop is several days in Córdoba and a visit to La Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba.
Garrett and Stephanie
Very entertaining! … well written and informative. Love the humorous comments!