"Let's Take a Coffee."

It’s my third day in Sevilla, and little by little I’m starting to discover the city and and all that it has to offer. My new motto: try everything.

If you know me, you know I’m not a big coffee drinker by any means. My mama always told me it would stunt my growth, though it seems I really never stood a chance in the vertical department. But, every now and then I’ll take it upon myself to indulge, usually in Dunkin’ with a very light, very sweet coffee. 

So, I’ve noticed that whenever we have a break between orientation meetings, our orientation guide asks us in his endearing Sevillan accent whether we want to “take a coffee.” I’m guessing this comes as a direct translation from “tomar un café.” Yesterday, still unable to shake my jetlag and needing a quick fix, I decided to take him up on the offer. We stopped in Alameda, a plaza with a lot of bars and restaurants, and one of the central nightlife spots in Sevilla. There we “took a coffee” at Café Borras.

It. Was. Delicious.

 Apparently if you ask for “café con leche,” they give you half coffee and half milk and it ends up as a perfectly mixed concoction, with just the right amount of bitterness and kick. 

After tapas and tintos round two last night, my orientation group and I decided to go out for the first time to experience the real night-life (which usually doesn’t end til about 5 or 6 in the morning). We started out near Café Borras in Alameda at la Sureña where we got 5 beers for 3 euros, and that’s a bargain if I’ve ever seen one! We bar-hopped from there, ending up at 84 where the bartender gave us a free round of honey rum that went down like water. 

After meeting up with some other groups, we made it to Alfalfa, another popular bar/nightlife area. Even though my mama told me to never talk to strangers, it’s been the norm here in Sevilla. Last night I had a great conversation with a 20-something very fashion-forward girl at Bare Nostrum. We exchanged compliments about our clothes and she told me about her principe(prince), or boyfriend, who absolutely loves her trendy new pixie cut. After more girl-talk, we chatted it up with some much older men about their glory days owning the streets of Alfalfa. Lemme tell you, if you’re gonna talk to random people at the bar, groups of 50-year-old men usually give the best advice and tell the best stories.

I may be breaking mama’s rules, but that's what they're there for, right?

Until next time...Ciao!