The last week of my enchanting and magical time in Sevilla, I was blessed to live in Javier's and Alicia's amazing apartment which was in el barrio La Alfalfa, situated in the very midst of el centro, Sevilla. Javier was my second home-exchange partner, and was living in my house in Oakland for the month of June, while working on his graduate thesis at Berkeley. His girlfriend, Alicia, who graciously showed me around Sevilla in the early part of my trip, was away in Brazil during my stay in their lovely home. Get this - the apartment is actually in the back portion of a convent. Yes, as in NUNS (las monjas)!! The convent is still operational, however, the back portion of it was renovated into apartments many years ago.
The apartment is quaint and eclectic. French doors in every doorway, and windows too, opening to the fresh air. Spanish tile on the floors throughout. Ancient and historical detail everywhere. GORGEOUS!
An almost hidden, secret treasure is a gorgeous rooftop terraza (terrace), where Alicia and Javier have a lovely, blooming garden, chaise lounge, table and chairs... I enjoyed several sunny evenings there with a glass of wine.
But the historic architecture, French windows, Spanish tile and terraza were not even the best part. The best part was that the bedroom shares one wall with the convent, and every morning and evening, I could hear las monjas singing vespers! It was breathtaking [think Sound of Music!] What a wonderfully sweet surprise! So, whenever I heard their lovely voices singing, I took the cue to stop whatever I was doing, and pray along with them. It was beautifully comforting and deeply healing!
