Check out our pics!

We've posted some of our favorite pictures from our trip. Don't worry, we didn't include all of our 300 pictures of the Eiffel tower. : ) Enjoy!

We're home!

Well, after 4 flights, 10 trains, 7 bus trips, 3 taxis, and 21 metro rides, we completed our trip and made it back home safely. It's so nice to be back in the comfort of our own home. We've just about adjusted to the time difference after several good nights of sleep. Lesley is especially glad to be back in the company of Jasmine and Piglet (see pic). Now we have several hundred pictures to sort through and a scrapbook to put together. We can't wait to share them with you!

Flamenco is better than the Macarena!

Last night's flamenco show was a highlight of our trip. It was a 2 hour show, so we were able to see a variety of dances, and the musicians were wonderful as well. It was quite an experience! After the show we got some fried fish to go and ate it on our hotel's rooftop terrace.

This morning we packed up and left Seville (I'm posting a picture of our luggage, ready to go, just to prove that carrying it all on can be done!) We took the train about 45 minutes northeast to the city of Cordoba, stowed our suitcases in a locker, and headed over to the Mezquita. It's a former mosque that later had a cathedral built in the middle of it...it's quite a blend of styles and religions. We then had lunch (an air conditioned restaurant was a must, so the sign in the window of the resaurant, as shown in the picture, was a welcomed sight!) After that we headed back to the train station and continued back to Madrid.

We're spending the last night of our vacation back in the same hotel we stayed in when we were in Madrid a couple of days ago. We had a delicious dinner tonight at a restaurant specializing in serving a Madrid meat and vegetable stew. Tomorrow we'll fly home! We had such a great time, and we've really enjoyed being able to share our journey with you. We'll post again when we get home!

Exploring Seville

This morning, we were so delighted by the cool morning air, we decided to eat breakfast outdoors at a nearby plaza. This region is known for its oranges, and we have been loving the fresh-squeezed juice offered at many cafes. After breakfast, we walked to a modern, high-tech flamenco museum. The multiple interactive video displays introduced us to the origins and traditions of this art of dance and music. Tonight, we´re planning on going to a flamenco show, so we thought this would be a good place to start!

After a snack, we met a tour guide named Alfonso for a tour of Seville´s cathedral, the 3rd largest in the world. He was full of interesting tidbits of information and funny stories. The cathedral has a tomb containing Christopher Columbus´ remains. Not all of his remains are in Seville, only a handful (tapas-sized, according to Alfonso!) The cathedral was beautiful.

After our tour, we found a nice restaurant for lunch. We´ve adjusted to the Spanish meal schedule: lunch at 3:00, dinner around 9 or 10. The restaurant provided a shady garden oasis from the afternoon heat.

We´re off to flamenco and fried fish, 2 specialties of Seville!

Vamos a Sevilla!

Today we took a two and a half hour ride on the AVE (high-speed) train to the southern city of Seville. When we arrived, we checked into our unique hotel, La Musica de Sevilla, which has musically-themed rooms with pianos and guitars to play in the lobby. It´s right in the center of the sites we want to see, so we´ll be able to walk everywhere while we´re here. The only problem with that is the scorching heat! It is very hot, but we´re enjoying our cool room and as much shade as possible.

After lunch, we toured the Alcazar, a former Moorish castle that is a current royal residence. The castle has a unique style of mixed Moorish and Spanish architecture, with amazing moasics and gardens. We saw a variety of animals when we walked through the gardens, including peacocks, ducks, and a very cute cat!

After a refreshing siesta in our room, we´re on our way to enjoy some more tapas for dinner, then we´ll check out a recommended spot that is the equivalent of a beer garden for sangria! Hasta manana!

Holy Toledo!

Today we took a high-speed train to the city of Toledo, about 60 miles south of Madrid (it only took half an hour on the AVE train). Toledo used to be the capital of Spain, and is still preserved as a medieval town, complete with narrow, winding cobbled streets and city walls. There is a cathedral in the center of town that is said to be the best in Spain, and we were impressed. It was like an art museum in itself. We enjoyed walking up and down the hilly streets (well, we really just enjoyed the down part). Toledo is known for its ceramics and marzipan candies, so we were sure to indulge in both!

Back in Madrid, we just finished a delicious dinner of paella and sangria. We were both so stuffed, we had to walk back to the hotel the long way just to make that "why didn't I stop eating sooner?" feeling go away. The long way took us back by the Palacio Real, which is beautiful when lit up at night. The city streets were bustling on this Saturday night. We love this city!

Tomorrow, we'll take the train to Seville, where we'll stay for 2 nights. We hope to write more from there! Also, we changed the settings for leaving comments, so it should be easier now. Adios!

Museums and Monasteries

We started the day at the Prado Museum, home to thousands of great masterpieces, including such notables as El Greco, Valasquez, and Titian. By the way, the art and history in Europe is so fascinating, it makes us wish we could go back to Furman and pay more attention during those Western Civ and Humanities classes!

After lunch at the Prado Cafe, we hopped on a bus and took an hour-long ride to El Escorial, a 16th century palace and monastery. We were lucky enough to get a personal tour with a guide who spoke excellent English. There were lovely gardens outside, which is where we took a couple of the pictures we´ve attached.

Madrid is simply beautiful. The weather is very warm and sunny, and the streets are lined with trees and gorgeously landscaped flowerbeds. Life is good (just check out the churros con chocolate from last night)!