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)!

Bienvenidos a Madrid

Hola amigos! We have arrived in Madrid. We survived the night train from Paris to Madrid. We had dinner on the train where we met another couple from Los Angeles, who were very friendly. Our sleeping car was tiny but private and we managed to sleep through most of the night. When we arrived, we checked into our hotel to find a large, luxurious room in the heart of Madrid. After lunch at an outside cafe in Plaza Mayor, we headed to tour the Palacio Real, the Spanish royal palace. Next, we took the Metro (which was easy to use and very clean) to the Modern Art museum that houses many works by Picasso and Dali. By then, it was time for some tapas for dinner, which we enjoyed at another outdoor restaurant. After that, we took a stroll through the sprawling city park nearby to relax and do some people watching. Now, we're off to enjoy some chocolate and churros, a popular Spanish dessert. Que delicioso!

A Monet Day

This morning we took an early morning train ride to Giverny, where Monet's house and gardens are. We saw the water gardens that inspired his water lilies paintings. It was a beautiful day to walk around outside--sunnier and warmer than what we've experienced so far. When we returned to Paris this afternoon, we visited the Marmottan Museum, which houses an impressive collection of Monet's work. It was a neat experience to see the original paintings after visiting the gardens.

We enjoyed some (mostly window) shopping this afternoon, and now we're on our way to dinner. After that, we plan to take the Seine river cruise that we were too tired to take the first night we were here! This is our last night in Paris, and tomorrow night we'll be heading to Spain on a night train. We plan to continue this blog in Madrid and Seville. We love reading everyone's comments!

Mona Who?

Today we fought our way through the throngs of tour groups at the Louvre Museum. We saw a great overview of Greek sculpture, Italian and French painting, and Egyptian antiquities, but we also left thousands of pieces of art to see on another trip to Paris! The Mona Lisa was especially crazy; with all of the people taking pictures, you would think it was Brittany Spears. We didn't even try to get right up to the painting. We admired it, and the crowd, from afar.

This afternoon we walked the length of the Champs-Elysees, and ended at the Arc de Triomphe. We enjoyed yet another picturesque panoramic view from the top of this majestic monument. Tonight, we're off to a picnic dinner in front of the Eiffel Tower. Oh la la!

A Slice of History

We embarked on a historic walk of Paris today, which included the Sainte-Chapelle and the Notre-Dame Cathedral. We climbed a narrow stone spiral staircase to the top of the Notre-Dame belltower, which gave us a terrific view of Paris. We also toured the Archeological Crypt and saw ancient ruins of the city. Tonight we celebrated our 6th anniversary with an authentic French meal at a nice restaurant. "Authentic" also means "we have no idea what we're ordering," but it all worked out!

A Day in Versailles

We finished off our first day in Paris at the Eiffel Tower. We had dinner at a restaurant near our hotel, where we met a couple from Ohio who were nice (despite the fact they were Buckeyes). Today we spent most of the day in Versailles, where we toured the palace and walked the grounds. All of the fountains were turned on in the gardens at the end of the afternoon. It was beautiful! When we returned to Paris, we successfully navigated the Metro to Montmartre, where we enjoyed the view from Sacre Couer overlooking the city. We topped off the evening with coffee and dessert at a cafe not far from our hotel as the sun went down...around 10pm! It's amazing how long it stays light at night.

Arrival in Paris

We arrived in Paris this morning and vowed to fight jet lag by refusing to nap or think about what time it is at home.  We took a death-defying shuttle ride from the airport to our hotel, including a narrow escape from the crazy traffic circle around the Arc de Triomphe.  We're still not sure how we managed to not hit any pedestrians or mopeds!  

 

We had our first lunch at a quaint cafe on Rue Cler, a short walk from our hotel.  Then we checked in and admired the view from our room (see picture!)  We're on our way to the Eiffel Tower now, followed by a river cruise on the Seine.  It's been a perfect first day so far! 

Preparing for departure

After waiting on the runway in Orlando for an hour because of thunderstorms, we've made it to Miami (which seems like a foreign country in itself). Our flight to Paris leaves in an hour and we can't wait to touch down in the city of lights!

Getting ready for Europe

Lesley and I are getting pumped for our trip to Europe. We've created this blog to share updates and pics from our trip with our family and friends. Hopefully, it'll work.