Barcelona or Bust

Today we went on a little sightseeing tour which centered greatly on the works of Gaudi.  Our hotel is across the street from one of his works for a private family.  We then saw the cathedral (which still isn’t finished) and several other places he designed.  Gaudi definitely has a distinct style.  Some of it reminded me of a gingerbread house.  We also went to the Olympic stadium.  It is all so big!  After lunch we finally made it to the beach only to watch huge thunderheads roll in.  Having stopped for a snack along the way, we got caught out in it.  There was nothing to do but take a siesta!  When we woke it was raining harder than ever so we threw on clothes and headed out for a convenient, but overpriced meal at a restaurant nearby.  We ended the evening playing gin and drinking beer in our hotel room.  Tomorrow we are hoping for better weather so we can enjoy the beach.    

The Last Leg

Gladly, we checked out of our Sevilla hotel this morning and headed to the airport.  On our last Iberia flight, my luggage was over the weight limit for a carry on and we had to pull stuff our and stick it in Rocky's backpack.  This time, our bags seemed to pack easier (maybe our dirty clothes have lost their fluff?) but I still worried about the limit.  When we made it to the counter, we watched in horror as the girl made a man stuff his carry on into the metal measuring tool.  I had flashbacks to our American Airline flight and thought that maybe our luck had run out.  When we made it to the counter, however, we discovered we were in the wrong line and needed to go to a different area.  After approaching the new counter, Rocky weighed his bag, which of course was under the 10 kg limit.  Reluctantly, I placed mine on the belt and watched the digital numbers change.  It was like an episode of Biggest Loser.  The numbers flashed and stopped on exactly 10.0 kg.  Our relief was visible.  The next challenge came when we stuffed ourselves into the extremely small seats on the plane.  Seriously, these planes are made for little people.  I think they have an additional row of seats and even MY knees hit the seat in front of me while our seats were in the upright position.

Our hotel turned out to be our favorite yet.  Rocky is excited because there are a few English TV channels he can watch before going to bed.  He has been limited to international CNN for the whole trip.  Not being able to watch the basketball games has almost been too much.

We walked around some today and checked out the sights.   I was more than a little excited to stumble upon a Starbucks on the boardwalk!  We ate dinner and celebrated our second anniversary on the Rambla which is in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city on the street.  The food is fantastic.  My summer project will be to figure out how to cook paella like in Spain.  Tomorrow we will go on a short tour of the city and then maybe head to the beach.  We are heading to bed now so that we can make it to breakfast on time in the morning.  Just a few more days! 

A Cold Shoulder

Visiting Madrid started our trek through Spain off well. We were only there two days so we had to cram a lot into a little time. Surprisingly, the temperature dropped into the 50s, and we were not prepared. It was a chilly few days. Still, there was a lot to see and we enjoyed it. Madrid has a huge botanical garden that we wandered through and Rocky was in heaven. He now has decided he wants our backyard to look like the garden. That might be interesting! We also discovered that the economy here is suffering similar issues as in the US. As a result, new college graduates are unable to find jobs so they are now protesting in the middle of the city. They have set up an entire community of tents and have been there for three weeks.

We also found the market where there are a million different tapas to try and tons of wine.  They are set up in a big pavillion and you just wander around trying a little bit of everything.  Food has definitely been one of the highlights to the trip. 

Sevilla has not impressed us as much as we had hoped. Set in the old country, they receive fewer “outsiders” than most places and they were less than friendly. We stumbled through as best we could with our broken Spanish and managed to get a meal and some ice cream. While having some wine in the Alameda de Hercules, a drunken homeless man came up behind us and began to rub up and down my arms while sputtering what was obviously slurred Spanish and showering me in spit as he talked. He then pulled up a chair to our table and continued to have a one-sided conversation. Finally, someone came from the bar and threatened to call the policia if he did not leave. Gross!
Today we took a day trip to Granada to see an old palace that originally belonged to the Muslims, but was taken over by the Christians when Isabella and Ferdinand began conquering for Spain. It stretched for miles and was pretty interesting and some of the decor was amazing. We aren't convinced it was worth the 3 hour bus ride, but it was a way to fill the day and it worked out. On the way back, my small bladder got the best of me and we had to have the tour bus pull over so I could use the restroom while the rest of the bus waited on me. There was no way I could make it to our rest stop at the midway point. Not my finest moment.

We are looking forward to getting to Barcelona tomorrow. I see a lot of beach time in our future. On a side note, Rocky now speaks English with a Spanish accent.

From Madrid to Sevilla

So the past few days have been a whirlwind.  We hit a few bumps in the road, but everything worked out fine.  We have limited internet access so our posts are minimal right now.  No wifi so we are logged on in the hotel lobby.  We are still having a blast and loving every minute.  Madrid was huge and I think we walked every inch of it.  We have great pictures to post, but some other time.  We are now in the small town of Sevilla about to go find some tapas.  Tomorrow is our tour of the old country down through Granada.  If there is time tomorrow we will check back in, post pics, and catch up on what we´ve been up to.  For now we wanted to make sure the madres were not worried having not heard from us in three days!  Now off for lunch! 

Mercato Centrale

We got a late start on our day, waking up at 11:00.  By the time we showered and left the hotel it was time for lunch.  There are so many choices of where to eat.  The sidewalks are crowded with little tables and waiters eagerly wait to show you to a table.  Today we chose a quiet place in Mercato Centrale and had wine, amazing salads, and fresh bread.  Afterwards we stumbled upon the one place in Italy that has to-go coffee.  We took advantage of this rarity and then wandered toward the market.  Knowing I was going to make a purchase was almost more than I could stand.  I felt enormous pressure to make the right choice.  Rocky was a champ, following me from stand to stand and listening to my indecisiveness.  I ended up having to leave for a while to think on it.  We strolled over to Piazza della Signoria which is an open air museum.  Sculptures lined the square and were open for anyone to view.  A replica of Michelangelo's David is among them.  After enjoying the museum I was finally ready to make a purchase and although he never said anything, I'm sure Rocky was ready to escape the crowded market. We made a few more rounds and I finally found the right purse and got it for a steal!  To celebrate we had another round of gelato and are now relaxing for a few minutes before heading to dinner.  Tomorrow morning we bid farewell to Italy and set off for Spain.