Day 2 in Sevilla

Hola, today we went to our new favorite restaurant for breakfast (where we had Tapas for lunch yesterday). It’s pretty close to the University so it is always busy and prices are decent. After that we walked to the Cathedral and went inside, it was huge! It’s the third largest cathedral in Europe and it’s also where Columbus’ tomb is located. It is really impressive. You can walk up the bell tower (35 stories tall – no elevator) to get an incredible view of the city – we could see everything. We saw where the Bullfight arena was from the tower and decided to walk that way afterward. Along the way we strolled through many cool/rustic streets and really cool squares. After that we walked along the river and back toward our hotel. We had worked up an appetite by that time and stopped to have a very interesting meal. They didn’t have menus in English and no one there spoke a word that we could understand so we basically just pointed to something- everything is quite authentic. Mine was giant plate with rice topped with marinara sauce, a huge piece of fatty/salty ham, a raw egg (too over easy) and a beet salad. Eric’s was some type of dark meat chicken that we couldn’t even find the meat on (it was pure bones, skin & fat). Needless to say we were still hungry so got some Tapas afterwards. Eric went the safe route and ordered a burrito, I tried to be adventurous (don’t know why) and ordered patatas queso and ensaladilla. The patatas were good but the ensaladilla looked like duck meat on top of a cup of mayo (pictures are included). After one bite of that I decided to not try another so we both filled up on bread. Luckily, there was a good gelato stand nearby! I really wish I wouldn’t have forgotten so much of my Spanish over the last few years – I know enough to get around but the food situation is difficult. Even if I know what to ask, it’s not like I can understand what they’re saying back to me.


We’ve decided that we absolutely love Sevilla (up there with Venice & Nice) but the food in Italy was far better. Maybe tonight’s dinner will be a nice surprise. We usually try to eat outside so it’s great that it’s been dry. Inside the restaurants we’re the only non-smokers so we feel like we can’t breathe. Plus, sitting outside is much more entertaining, you can see all the mini cars trying to navigate on the streets – I don’t think I’ve seen one car yet that’s successfully turned a corner without having to go up on the curb first. I guess that’s why everyone here has a scooter or just walks. We love all the architecture, old buildings, pretty colors & cobblestone streets.
It’s great that we still have two more full days here. Tomorrow night we’re going to get tickets to see a Flamenco show and if the weather stays night might do a little river boat tour.
Pictures from today are attached, click on this link below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38097129@N08/

¡Adoramos Sevilla!

We arrived in Sevilla this afternoon and so far we absolutely love it! Reminds us a lot like Florence, mainly all the super old buildings & really narrow streets. Barcelona had snow, first time in 25 years, so the sun here feels amazing. Barcelona was fun though too, the snow and freezing rain added to the adventure. Yesterday we went to Sagrada Familia but it was under extra construction so you couldn’t go up the stairs. Inside most of it was roped off but we got a few pictures before our camera died. We also went and looked at a bunch of Gaudi’s architecture and saw some different areas of the city (the Eixample). After a few hours, our shoes & socks were soaked (we weren’t planning on snow) so we headed back to our hotel to get warm.
This morning we took a flight from Barcelona to Sevilla and right after check in we were starving for lunch and headed down the street to stroll around. We found a Great tapas bar with outside seating in the courtyard. I love the culture here, everyone has wine in the middle of the day, not sure if they’re working or not but everyone seems so relaxed & happy. We then walked down to the Gardens and started familiarizing ourselves with the area. We don’t have much planned for this leg of the trip, I think our days will revolve around breakfast, lunch and dinner then we’ll find activities to do in between. We’re so happy for this sun and warm weather! Our hotel is in a great location, Santa Cruz, so we’re within walking distance to everything. I read in our Rick Steve’s Spain book that all the locals walk along the river after dinner so we’ll probably start that tradition as well. So far it doesn’t seem like that many people here speak English like they did in Barcelona so we’ll have to brush up on our vocabulary.
We were finally able to upload our pictures so the link is below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38097129@N08/

Hola de Espana

We arrived in Barcelona yesterday after what felt like a lifetime of flying. It was weird, we didn't go through customs in Amsterdam or Spain, they must not care about who enters into their country. Once we checked into our hotel yesterday we went to explore the area. We're right off Las Ramblas so our location is close to everything. Down Las Ramblas they have lots of street vendors and entertainers, even some little pet shops selling roosters and rabbits. Today we walked down to the waterfront and then went up to Olympic Stadium. We took a Gondola up to Montjuic castle and saw great views overlooking the whole city. Right now we're in our hotel lobby and trying to wait two more hours before we go eat dinner since nothing opens until around 9pm. Yesterday we tried out a little Tapas place for lunch but then today we met an American who recently moved here and said those aren't very sanitary since the food sits out for hours.

We can't get into our Flickr account but once we're able to we'll post some pictures. Yesterday it was blue skies and sunny but today was a little grey and it has recently started sprinkling. The picture above is from Montjuic castle overlooking the city. Two other funny things I've noticed, 1) When you order a beer, it's just that, only one type of beer. 2) They don't have different kinds of milk, it's leche and there's no difference between skim or 2%. Tomorrow we'll go to Sagrada Familia, the Gaudi Museum and see some other sites.

~Whit & Eric