Swollen lips, stolen bags and Flamenco

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Sorry guys, published this one out of order...Yes Cathy we did miss a day and here it is :P

In the middle of the nite I woke up with a sore lip. I figured it was probably a misquito bite and went back to bed. But when I looked in the mirror in the morning, it was much more than that. (Unfortunate event #4) - My bottom lip had swollen to almost three times its size! (And yes, I have a picture for all to see). I was fully prepared to stay in the room all day, it was a nice room after all. But it was our only full day in Sevilla and couldn't be wasted. So, I went downstairs, grabbed breakfast, and hid in the corner. We wandered the streets and ended up in Plaza De Espana. It has a beautiful fountain in the middle where the carriage pulling horses drank out of. The entire buliding seemed to be covered in tiles.
We wandered through the park across the street and sat on a bench to have some lunch. That is when my day bag almost got stolen. A similar situation happened the last year when I was in Madrid. They work in teams. I had just put my bag down beside me for a second (I usually eat with it on my lap to avoid this situation). A man had walked passed quite quickly and the only reason I had noticed him was because he was wearing an orange shirt. A few seconds later another man started asking my sister for directions. I heard a noise in the bushes behind me and I saw the orange shirt loitering in the bushes. I grabbed my bag instinctively and placed it on my lap. The man asking for directions soon walked away and only then did it occur to me what they were doing. I told my sister to watch the 2 of them, they would eventually meet up. And ta-da, about 4 minutes later they were across the courtyard from us, slightly hidden behind some trees, but they were definately together. I think that was my last warning, as third time is a charm right? And I am not about to lose my bag!
Anyways, by the evening my lip had started to go down quite a bit, it almost looked normal. We had some free tea and coffee in the hostel reception area and chatted with a few other backpackers. This poor girl came out of her dorm room crying as she had just realized that someone had stolen her wallet straight out of her backpack. She had no Credit Cards, no debit cards and no money. She did have her passport, which was kind of useless as she is from England and is considered an EU citizen. We all gave her some change so that she could make the necessary phone calls.
Angele and I had headed to the grocery store for dinner and saw her in the lobby, so we invited her to the roof top terrace to join us, as we knew that she had no money for food. There were already a group of Canadians and Americans with the same idea. The table was full of cheese, crackers, ham, fruit and wine. We added our cheese and crackers and joined the festivities. We all had such a good time chatting and enjoying the sun up on the roof. But about an hr later we realized that we had to get going. We had tickets to a flamenco show that started in an hr and we didnt even know how far it was from our hostel. The walk to the venue was a little but dodgy as it went by a park and some not so well lit areas. But we got to the show just in time and it was about and hour and a half long. Flamenco is also rumored to have originated in Sevilla so it was only fitting that we watched it. Also, Angele had taken flamenco lessons back in her ballet days. The costumes, singers and dancers were all amazing the show was quite authentic. It wasnt just a kitchy tourist attraction.
Our only problem was that it ended at 11:30pm and we didnt want to walk the dodgy streets alone. Luckily we recognized a couple staying at the same place and we weaved our way towards them. Even luckier that they spoke english. They were on holiday from Scotland. We all walked back together and it was a pleasant (and safe) walk home 😊
Amie

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Comments

[Cathy]

Thanks!!
Hey, I totally feel better now that I know the beginning part of the swollen face issue. I feel terrible for you buddy. Hopy things start to turn around for you. LOVE YOU, Cheers, Cathy

[Melanie and Jessie]

Heya!! :)
Hey girls, sounds like you are having a definite adventure. It must be tough some days to be so far from home and have bad things happen :( Only you two would make awesome things happen from really bad things. Take care and keep those journal entries comin. I love livin in "La La Land" wishin I was with you guys. Luv Melanie (and jessie)